“I hope I havenae killed her, thought Hamish. I couldnae stand the paperwork.”


Death of a Ghost is the usual fun time in the Highlands with Hamish Macbeth and the quirky residents of Lochdubh. As this one opens, Hamish is lamenting an affair with a woman who is a control freak, and he’s still pining for his wildcat Sonsie, now loose in the wild. Wildly politically incorrect in its black humor, and often painfully hilariously truthful in its observations, the Hamish Macbeth series is a breath of fresh Highland air every time you open the covers.

This entry has a ton of plot elements going on, none of which is as important to readers as the day-to-day life of Hamish. Blair is even nastier than usual in this entry, but his nastiness is directed at a brown-noser named Fox, who is looking to out-Blair him in the suck-up department, and curry Daviot’s favor. That side-story gets very dark and very ugly very quickly, and carries over into the next entry. Before we get there, however, there is a lot on Hamish’s plate. There is a high-ranking ex-copper who owns a supposedly haunted castle, and Hamish initially takes a liking to him. Soon there’s a body, then there isn’t, as it disappears. And then along comes cigarette smugglers, pious wife-beaters — and husband beaters — and snooty and manipulative Olivia Sinclair. Charlie, to Hamish’s utter dismay, takes a fancy to the woman!

Before you can say havers, more people are murdered or missing, Jimmy nearly gets himself kicked off the force, and Hamish fends off a serious attempt by the minister’s wife, Mrs. Wellington, and the Currie sisters, to marry Hamish to a hand-picked lassie. Hamish’s reaction to the latter is, as one might imagine, both hilarious and wildly politically incorrect. Next, an ugly duckling is transformed, but just how much? This is a twisted little entry with dark, but often riotous undertones. Dick and Anaka make a cameo appearance in this entry, finally getting married. Hamish avoids Priscilla at every turn, saves Jimmy’s job, and, as always, solves the cases to Blair’s consternation.

Perhaps a bit scattershot compared to some of the leaner entries, Death of a Ghost is still a blast that is extremely enjoyable for long-time fans of the series. It seems that the death of someone has everyone wanting to mark the murders case-closed, but as always, our favorite constable has an uneasy feeling there’s something amiss.

“Could she have murdered anyone? I mean, — was strangled.” — Harriet

“All it takes for a woman to do something like that is an unsuspecting victim, a belt, and passion.” — Hamish

A terrific series which fills a wonderful little reading niche that no other series can, it’s always fun to visit Hamish in the Highlands and Death of a Ghost is no different. Highly recommended. ( )

I have only read one book previous in this series and to be honest was I not so impressed with it. However, I thought I would give the series on more chance. The story seemed interesting and I love reading books set in Scotland.

Death of a Ghost starts off with a haunted castle, but then it quickly turns into a murder mystery when Hamish and Charlie find a body in the castle. Who killed the man and why? This is only the beginning as more the killer goes after more people. And, it's up to Hamish to put a stop to it all.

I have some problems with this book, and one major problem is the way the book is written. It's pretty much just dialog and not much description. And, the dialog feels very terse and lacks fluency. This could be just me, but I find it very hard to get into the story because of that. The characters never come to life and for instance, Hamish problem with women, is that suppose to be funny? I actually don't know because it never is funny. It's just annoying. And Charlie being clumsy is another thing that is just not working for me. Not to mention when Charlie fell for Olivia, the books female fatal. That was just cringeworthy. The only things that kept me going were that I wanted to know who the murderer was.

Death of a Ghost is my last attempt reading this series. I just can't see what's so awesome with the books. The storyline, especially towards the end of the book was just so baffling. I mean everything concerning Chief Detective Inspector Blair felt like a parody. Without being funny.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Read this review and others on A Bookaholic Swede ( )

I have only read one book previous in this series and to be honest was I not so impressed with it. However, I thought I would give the series on more chance. The story seemed interesting and I love reading books set in Scotland.

Death of a Ghost starts off with a haunted castle, but then it quickly turns into a murder mystery when Hamish and Charlie find a body in the castle. Who killed the man and why? This is only the beginning as more the killer goes after more people. And, it's up to Hamish to put a stop to it all.

I have some problems with this book, and one major problem is the way the book is written. It's pretty much just dialog and not much description. And, the dialog feels very terse and lacks fluency. This could be just me, but I find it very hard to get into the story because of that. The characters never come to life and for instance, Hamish problem with women, is that suppose to be funny? I actually don't know because it never is funny. It's just annoying. And Charlie being clumsy is another thing that is just not working for me. Not to mention when Charlie fell for Olivia, the books female fatal. That was just cringeworthy. The only things that kept me going were that I wanted to know who the murderer was.

Death of a Ghost is my last attempt reading this series. I just can't see what's so awesome with the books. The storyline, especially towards the end of the book was just so baffling. I mean everything concerning Chief Detective Inspector Blair felt like a parody. Without being funny.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Read this review and others on A Bookaholic Swede ( )

I love this series. I was surprised at the identity of the killer. ( )

Jumps all around, seems to forget some murders then return to them, unlikely ending. I think the author may have run out of sensible things to do with this character, who plays dumb because he does not want to be promoted away from the village he loves.