Publisher's Weekly Review
The lackluster 35th mystery featuring Sgt. Hamish Macbeth (after 2018's Death of an Honest Man), a collaboration between Beaton (1936--2019) and Green, opens with the arrival of Macbeth's new constable, the stunning Dorothy McIver, who is as bright as she is beautiful, to the Scottish village of Lockdubh. Of course, Macbeth instantly falls head over heels for her and soon sees a wedding in their future. Dorothy proves to be the perfect professional partner, and her insight into the criminal mind comes in handy when a stranger to the area is found dead in his car with a bullet hole in his head. Gangsters from Glasgow, bent coppers, and some decorous courting keep Macbeth and Dorothy busy. But without humor to buoy the outlandish plot, the story becomes a tiresome muddle. In the foreword, in which Green shares his memories of assisting Beaton in her final years, he says she "wanted to provide her readers with some gentle escapism for a rainy afternoon read." This entry doesn't quite attain that modest goal. Agent: Barbara Lowenstein, Lowenstein Assoc. (Feb.)
Kirkus Review
Veteran storyteller Beaton may be gone, but her beloved Highlands policeman lives on in another tale of murder and thwarted romance, now written by Green. Gifted crime solver Hamish Macbeth's desire to stay in Lochdubh has kept him from advancing up the ranks. He can hardly believe his eyes when the new constable sent to work with him is stunningly beautiful Dorothy McIver. Hamish has been engaged twice before, but this time he falls head over heels for Dorothy, who he's convinced is his soul mate even though his wild pet cat, Sonsie, doesn't take to her. Dorothy, a Glasgow girl with expensive tastes, slowly warms to the beauty of the Highlands and charms the villagers who've thrown a protective cordon around Hamish. After a man is found shot dead in his car at the local petrol station, the crime team arrives within hours, with Hamish's good friend DCI Jimmy Anderson in charge. The victim was a gangster involved with the infamous Macgregor crime family in Glasgow, a development that unfortunately involves Hamish's nemesis, the nasty, inept DCI Blair, in the investigation. Jimmy wants Hamish to lie low and solve the crime without taking the credit. That's fine with Hamish if it can be arranged. But can it? Soon more mayhem comes to Lochdubh, suggesting that Dorothy may be hiding secrets from her past. Can Hamish solve the crimes and get as far as the marital altar this time? As usual in this venerable series, the appeal of the characters and the Highlands upstages the slight mystery. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In this thirty-sixth Hamish Macbeth mystery since Beaton launched the series in 1985, everything is going swimmingly for Sergeant Macbeth, who wants nothing more than to stay in his tiny cottage in the village of Lochdubh in the Highlands, tending chickens and sheep and solving the occasional crime. His nemesis, the sadistic Detective Chief Inspector Blair, has been removed to Glasgow, and Macbeth has fallen head over heels for Dorothy McIver, the new constable assigned to him. But trouble comes roaring into town off the North Coast 500 highway when a Glasgow man is found shot through the head in his car at the local petrol station. Murder, attempted murder, and arson follow, all spanning from a powerful Glasgow crime family expanding north. The fact that Macbeth has a new recruit makes for some terrific comic moments (reminiscent of All Creatures Great and Small) as Macbeth introduces Dorothy to the somewhat loony locals. It also expands the reader's world beyond Lochdubh to all around the Highlands, as Macbeth and Dorothy explore castles, lochs, and mountains. In a foreword, writer R. W. Green explains how he collaborated with Beaton on this book before her death in 2019; he indicates that Beaton left him (and fans) with more ideas for the series. Long live Macbeth, Sergeant of Scotland!
Library Journal Review
Sgt. Hamish Macbeth falls in love with Dorothy McIver, the constable he has just hired, and she accepts his proposal of marriage. But of course murder gets in the way of the wedding plans. When Beaton passed away in 2019, she was working with Scottish writer Rod Green on both this book and an Agatha Raisin mystery that was published to strong reviews, and he will be taking over both series.
