Sunday, January 17, 2010

Death of a Valentine ~ A mid winter's night read!

Valentine’s can be deadly, figuratively for detective Hamish Macbeth and literally for the victims in M.C. Beaton’s latest mystery of murder and mayhem!

Hamish Macbeth returns in an all new mystery Death of a Valentine and he’s as blustery and brooding a Scottish highland bachelor as ever! Though I have caught glimpses of the BBC television series based on M.C. Beaton’s fiction this has been my first experience reading a Hamish Macbeth Mystery and it was a pleasure.

Death of a Valentine filled with Scottish banter and brogue is a whodunit approaching the tradition of greats like Agatha Christie. Set in the seemingly timeless highland village of Lochdubh and featuring a quirky and brooding protagonist--as fiery as his red hair, and endearing despite his roguish demeanor-- Death of a Valentine is deceptively a period piece in modern times . Beaton furthers her characterization of Hamish with as much vigor as her plot and has readers puzzling over just how confirmed a bachelor Hamish may be as well as the mystery of murder!

When police sergeant Hamish Macbeth must share his little station with a new constable, and one of the opposite sex no less, villagers relentlessly acquaint Hamish with the knowledge that constable Josie is quite a catch. Hamish and his motley crew of pets, are less than convinced of Josie’s charms…perhaps they have reason to be wary. Josie is not the only thing amiss in Lochdubh! Murder by Valentine letter bomb strikes a local beauty queen and Hamish must solve the murder despite Josie’s bumbling and inconsistent police work. But who would want to kill this youthful beauty and…

“”The thing is,” said Hamish. “thon letter bomb would have to have been made by someone with a knowledge of chemistry.”
“Maybe not.” The old lady’s shrewd eyes looked up at him. “You can get all the information on stuff like that off the Internet these days.”
“How do you know?”
“I looked it up myself. I have a computer. That way I keep in touch with the relatives in Canada.”” (Beaton 2010: 145)

Perhaps the answers are more obvious than one thinks!

Witty entertainment, I recommend this charming whodunit with tea and scones to wile away a pleasurable winter’s afternoon! 5 Northern Mama readers will win copies of M.C. Beaton's Death of a Valentine: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery

To Enter:
  • Be a Northern Mama follower or Facebook Fan {Required}

Extra Entries:

  • Subscribe via email
  • Follow on Twitter @Northernmama35 and RT Tweet {daily} about this giveaway
  • Grab my Button
  • Blog about this giveaway with a link back here {please leave a link to your post}

Giveaway open to US and Canadian residents. Giveaway closes February 1, 2010 10:00pm CT. Read Giveaway Rules for details.

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77 comments:

  1. This book sounds really good, please count me in.
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  5. I love these types of books, thanks for the giveaway!!!

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  8. Alexa Nernberg
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  36. I am quite excited about this book... I have been hearing such great things about it I may end up having to buy it. THanks for the contest, I am a follower via google reader.

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  54. I follow on google friend connect

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  55. I am an email subscriber


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