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DEATH OF A GENTLE LADY PDF, EPUB, EBOOK M C Beaton | 258 pages | 01 Jan 2009 | Time Warner Trade Publishing | 9780446615488 | English | New York, United States DEATH OF A GENTLE LADY | Kirkus Reviews Beaton and I'm still trying to decide whether I'll try any of her other books. The story was readable and pleasant as most cozies are. But there were some consistency issues that drove me batty. Sometimes Hamish speaks in dialect and sometimes he doesn't. If this were consistent--always in dialect when he's flustered--that would make sense, but that isn't how it was presented. And at one point, Hamish is hiding out and using an alias. But one of the characters he meets in This was my first M. But one of the characters he meets in the village where he's staying addresses him as Hamish even though he introduced himself as William Shore. This lack of care on the publisher's part annoys me to no end and I have a hard time enjoying something so sloppily edited. I very nearly started ripping the pages out of the book to reedit it and send back to the publisher. View all 3 comments. Oct 17, Jessica rated it really liked it Shelves: mysteries. In which Hamish finally proposes marriage to. Also, there are four murders, two hookers, one scene of Inspector Blair projectile vomiting from alcohol poisoning, one instance of amateur theatrics, both Elspeth and Priscilla show up uninvited at the police station, Blair goes into rehab twice, Hamish goes on holiday and is nearly killed, Hamish stands up someone for a date, and the entire village thinks he's a himbo and possibly crawling in STD's. Also, Archie MacLean hits someone in the face with an evergreen branch and makes them eat a bowl of rock salt as part of the traditional Highland welcome. So, y'know, just another day in Lochdubh. View 1 comment. Jan 01, Erica rated it did not like it. We listened to this one in the car, which allows the silliness to really leer at you. I learned: Don't start a series with I guess I expected Mr MacBeth to be more charming and clever. He seemed self-centered and flaky. I got the reiterations that he loved his pets, loved his town, and that no one minded that he was a burden except the buffoon, Blair, who seems taken from the Pink Panther movies. Would reading them in order make this one seem less cardboard? Would a lesbian in a novel wear We listened to this one in the car, which allows the silliness to really leer at you. Would a lesbian in a novel wear expensive designer dresses? Do other British authors use the word "truculant" at least 4 times in one volume? Not all the mysteries were tidied up at the end! Jun 11, Ellie rated it liked it Shelves: series , beaton , cozy , mystery , ind-chalbks. It's the same stuff- and I love it. And the gentle lady is not so gentle. As in Miss Marple's small villages, the emotional life of the people is vivid and sharp. Under the superficial level of warm and fuzzy are all the ugliest of human emotions. Beaton is her funniest when her characters are their pettiest or meanest. And the plot in this one is quite interesting, a real police procedural in some ways with some unexpected twists and turns. Although the style is the same, the story is in humoro It's the same stuff-and I love it. Although the style is the same, the story is in humorous contrast to the title one of Beaton's more aggressive mysteries. This had some very amazing twists and surprises but the middle dragged a bit for me. View 2 comments. Aug 12, Shiloah rated it really liked it Shelves: mystery , adult-fiction , personal- reading-challenge , scotland. Reading mystery candy. Nothing like a quick dash to the imaginary town of Lochdoubh, Scotland with Hamish Macbeth. I really enjoyed this jaunt. Note: Gritty innuendos. Feb 22, Nancy rated it really liked it. I love Hamish. This one one good read. Mar 20, Sarah Booth rated it liked it. Our poor Hamish is going a bit doolally. Having avoided a sham marriage by the bride becoming a corpse, his embarrassment is once again village news and a problem for Strathbane police headquarters and a burr in the backside of C Our poor Hamish is going a bit doolally. Instead of a helpful Elsbeth or Priscilla so well named he gets saddled with a frightening DI from Russia who scares the pants off him. Highland high jinx and treachery abound. Now if Hamish could only just get the crazy women to leave him alone. In all honesty, I enjoyed this book way more than I expected. It was a freebie I collected in one of my adventures on the ship from a guest that had been done reading it and left it behind. I happened to be the one who handpicked it and reclaimed it, thinking it was some empowering feminist story hahaha. It ended up being a mystery crime fiction novel instead, with a male detective as a protagonist. I tried to figure out how come I enjoy In all honesty, I enjoyed this book way more than I expected. I tried to figure out how come I enjoyed it so much as to slow read it in a cozy way across the 2 days it took me to finish it, and I think I did because I do in fact happen to enjoy detective stories, and secondly because of the timing as I got tired of heavy reading at the time, and this one is something light and mysterious enough to keep you going. The humbleness of the main character in desiring his humble position in watchover the village and his love for animals were charming. Skill doesn't always mean you gotta become world famous or go for the big prize. Sometimes being content is more valuable. The cursive storytelling is I can't tell exactly why I loved it so much, I just know I couldn't put it down, which was a very strange experience. Maybe I'll try some other stories from the series someday. I don't know I'm inclined to give this book 2 stars. There's nothing wrong with the story albeit a bit farfetched sometimes. It's set in a remote part of Scotland, and constable Macbeth is afraid of losing his police station, so he does a few things when found out, will certainly get him kicked out of the force and probably in jail too. There are murders, of course, and the very nasty DCI Blair who wants to get of Macbeth, no matter what. The problem for me is the writing style. Beaton I don't know Beaton uses mainly short and very short sentences which for me is very unpleasant to read, sometimes it feels like reading a Powerpoint presentation with bullet points. So three stars for the story, one star for the writing. I made a few mistakes in choosing this book; I've been curious about Beaton's writing for a while, but Death of a Gentle Lady was probably not a great one to start with, firstly because it's the twent Cross-posted from Nightjar's Jar of Books. He desperately needs to be put out of our misery. A fair amount of page time is devoted to Blair's madness - and at this point, he truly is disturbed. I know Daviot is an idiot, but can he be this completely blind to his underling's sinister ways, his disconnect from reality? It seems Blair has been guilty of so many missteps he should have been ousted, demoted, or transferred long ago. Meanwhile, Hamish makes an increasingly easy mark in his current state. Lovelorn and constantly under threat of losing his home and his livelihood, he's found himself slipping the last few cases. His frustrations are getting in the way of his character assessments. He's also taking increasing risks when it comes to his own life. In this volume, he goes so far as to make himself a target. The results are admittedly suspenseful, but he doesn't think through the possible repercussions to the people around him. For example, the killer lays a trap in Hamish's home. With all the people who come and go from there - some at his request - he's very lucky he didn't come back to find Elspeth, Priscilla, or Angela dead on his kitchen floor. And the continuity errors! No, I shan't start. Down that road lies a rant Despite all this, there's still humor to be found. As always, Beaton is very good at eliciting chuckles through silly fleeting thoughts or the antics of the Lochdubh residents. Archie trying to become a wine-drinker comes to mind, as does the local production of Macbeth which I'd actually expected to be used to greater comedic effect. There's also the lovely descriptions of Sutherland, a character unto itself, both fierce and peaceful in its mercurial, wild beauty. As is often the case with long series, I still love the characters and the landscape. I'm invested. I just hope I can get back on board with Beaton's choices for her characters in the near future. Mar 22, Anne rated it it was amazing. An enjoyable Hamish Macbeth tale. So many murders are carried out in Lochdubh, there is never a dull moment but things must get unnerving for the locals.

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