Death of a Dreamer

By: M. C. Beaton

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

Occasionally, the rugged landscape of Scotland attracts dreamers who move north, wrapped in fantasies of enjoying the simple life. They usually don't last, defeated by the climate or by inhospitable locals.

But it looks as if Effie Garrand has come to stay. When local constable Hamish Macbeth calls on her, he is amazed to find the small woman still in residence after a particularly hideous winter. Unfortunately, Effie is also quite delusional, having convinced herself and everyone else that local artist Jock Fleming is in love with her, and that they are engaged.

After a huge fight with Jock, Effie is found in the mountains, poisoned by hemlock. Now, it's up to Hamish to find the dreamer's killer before any more nightmares unfold.

Great Scot! Don't miss more of Hamish Macbeth's cases.©2006 Marion Chesney (P)2006 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"Beaton's flawless 21st installment in her popular Hamish Macbeth series...boasts amusing local color and singularly savvy sleuthing." ( Publishers Weekly)

Hamish gets Hit

The story is engaging, as most of MC Beaton's are, and the narrator, Graeme Malcolm, is perfect.

Love listen to the Hamish books.

Great read. Good character development. One more of hamish detective work solves the murder. Love the descriptions of the highlands.

Narrator Top Notch

I enjoy M.C. Beaton’s writing. The Hamish Macbeth series is very enjoyable. Graeme Malcom is a perfect narrator for this series.

What a fun listen this was!

Graeme Malcolm is the perfect narrator for M.C. Beaton's series about Hamish McBeth--the Highlands Constable who will go to any length to avoid getting a promotion, so he can stay in his beloved town, with his friends and pets. This is a clever series, since Hamish is actually both very smart and clever, but cannot (or will not) cooperate with his higher ups, and operates according to his own instincts to solve crimes.

In this episode, he is working on the murder of an artist who dies mysteriously after telling folks she will be married to a man who insists he didn't propose to her. There is a side parallel story going in in which the bachelor Hamish struggles to deal with several women who have various levels of interest in him (along with a new female assistant) and manages to get himself into tricky situations with them.

If you were to put cozy mysteries on a spectrum of excellence, these would come out on top every time. They are always fun to listen to, and this one may have been one of Beaton's best in the series.

In love with Hamish and Narrator Graeme Malcolm!

Love this narrator! This particular story, with its detailed twists one was one of my favorites.

Very enjoyable

I wanted some lovely escapist fun and this one was perfect. It had enough depth to be interesting, but without becoming painfully real. Most of the bad guys got their comeuppance in the end, which is great or 'grand', as Hamish would say. Hamish has women all around him and none of them changing his life much at all, which was fun. The real constants are his pets and his work.

Enjoyable and clever

The narrator is very good and he did a great job with the variety of accents of the many characters. The one criticism, my husband and I have is that there were so many characters that it was hard to keep up with who many of characters were!

A warm and welcome place

I just love M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series! I can't get enough of them. I've read them all and I love the audio books as well. Death of a Dreamer is not a disappointment if you love Hamish.

I love Lochdub!

I am a great fan of this series and this book does not disappoint. The characters are still fascinating and the story is fresh, but I did guess the murderer before Macbeth did!

Quirky, funny and irresistible

I really have a soft spot for Hamish and his weird animals and trouble in love. This book has a lot of characters to keep track of, including many bad ladies, and it creates a tangle plot. Yes, there are coincidences galore but I love the cast of quirky Highlanders and the dysfunctional police and the beauty of the Highlands. As always, Hamish's knowledge pf local culture, customs and landscapes helps him solve murders and innate sense of human nature pays off again. This time Hamish has 4 women after his body and he is really confused and flustered. Overall a short, fun, cozy mystery.The narration was spot on too.