M.C. Beaton: Death of a Nag (UK 2018)

From the Publisher:
A busman's holiday for Hamish...
After losing both his promotion and the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, Hamish Macbeth decides the best cure for a broken heart is a week's break at the charming coastal village of Skag.

When he arrives at the Friendly House B&B, however, he finds the ambience chilling, the food inedible and his fellow guests less then neighbourly. They include the annoying Miss Gunnery: a family from London; and Bob Harris, who so nags his wife that everyone wants to kill him. And then somebody does.

Now it is up to Hamish to act - to dig deep into the past and deliver something more daunting than merely the culprit: justice.

M.C. Beaton: Death of a Nag. A Hamish Macbeth Murder Mystery. Constable, ISBN: 9781472124470 (March, 2018), 273 p., £8.99 (?).

M.C. Beaton: Death of a Nag (UK 2013)

From the Publisher:
A busman's holiday for Hamish...
After losing both his promotion and the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, Hamish Macbeth decides the best cure for a broken heart is a week's break at the charming coastal village of Skag. When he arrives at the Friendly House B&B, however, he finds the ambience chilling, the food inedible and his fellow guests less then neighbourly. They include the annoying Miss Gunnery: a family from London; and Bob Harris, who so nags his wife that everyone wants to kill him. And then somebody does.

Now it is up to Hamish to act - to dig deep into the past and deliver something more daunting than merely the culprit: justice.

'The detective novels of M.C. Beaton, a master of outrageous black comedy, have reached cult status.' -- ANNE ROBINSON, The Times
'First rate... deft social comedy and wonderfully realised atmosphere.' Booklist

M.C. Beaton: Death of a Nag. A Hamish Macbeth Murder Mystery. C & R Crime / Little, Brown, ISBN: 9781472105301 (September, 2013), 273 p., £7.99.

M.C. Beaton: Death of a Nag (USA 2013)

From the Publisher:
Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth is more dour than ever after losing both his promotion and his girl, the loyal Priscilla Halbourton-Smythe. A trip to a charming seaside inn with his dog Towser is meant to raise his sagging spirits. Instead, he arrives at "Friendly House" to find the ambiance chilling, the food inedible, and his fellow guests less than neighborly. There's an amorous spinster, two tarty girls, a retired military man, a secretive London family, and Bob Harris, who so nags his wife, Doris, that everyone wants to kill him. Then somebody does. Soon Macbeth is called upon to act -- to dig into the past and deep into the heart to deliver something more daunting than merely the culprit: Justice.

M.C. Beaton: Death of a Nag. A Hamish Macbeth Mystery. Grand Central Publishing, ISBN: 9781455572304 (April, 2013), 294 p., $8.00.

M.C. Beaton: Death of a Nag (UK 2009)

From the Publisher:
After a romantic disappointment and an undeserved demotion, Scots village bobby Hamish Macbeth decides a week's holiday at the coastal village of Skag might be just the ticket.

He's dead wrong, of course: the food is dire, and the man in the next room nags his wife so loudly and continuously that more than one person at the Friendly House bed-and-breakfast wishes him dead, though only Hamish is heard threatening him.

When this chap's body is found floating in the river Skag, Hamish is the prime suspect. While clearing his name, the lanky Scot has to deal with the widow who's suddenly making eyes at a refined bachelor, two leather-skirted Glaswegian beauties intent on raising disco hell, and the rude revelation of one family man's secret life. Some holiday!

M.C. Beaton: Death of a Nag. A Hamish Macbeth Murder Mystery. Robinson, ISBN: 1845297326 (March, 2009), 273 p., £6.99.

M.C. Beaton: Death of a Nag (USA 1996)

From the Publisher:
A FORGOTTEN NORTH SEA RESORT IS A PLACE TO GET AWAY FROM EVERYTHING. EXCEPT MURDER.
L ochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth is more dour than ever after losing both his promotion and his girl, the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. A trip to a charming seaside inn with his dog Towser is meant to raise his sag-ging spirits. Instead, he arrives at "Friendly House" to find the ambiance chilling, the food inedible, and his fellow guests less than neighborly. There's an amorous spinster, two tarty girls, a retired military man, a secretive London family, and Bob Harris, who so nags his wife, Doris, that everyone wants to kill him. Then somebody does. Soon Macbeth is called upon to act-to dig into the past and deep into the heart to deliver something more daunting than merely the culprit: Justice.

The eleventh novel featuring the one-man police force of Lochdubh sardonically updates the classic English Manor House mystery. The result is every-thing fans relish in M.C. Beaton's books: local color, superb entertainment, and a clever final twist.

"IMAGINATIVE SLEUTHING AND HAMISH'S ON-TARGET INTUITION AGAIN PROVIDE THE NEAT SOLUTION... IN THIS COMFY-AS-AN-OLD-SHОЕ SERIES." -- Kirkus Reviews

A FEATURED ALTERNATE SELECTION OF MYSTERY GUILD

M.C. Beaton: Death of a Nag. A Hamish Macbeth Mystery. The Mysterious Press / Warner Books, ISBN: 0446403393 (June, 1996), 182 p., $5.99.

M.C. Beaton: Death of a Nag (USA 1995)

From the Publisher:
A new mystery in M.C. Beaton's Constable Hamish Macbeth mystery series -- lauded in both Britain and America for its authentic local color and appealing detective, "that laconic lad from Lochdubh" (Christian Science Monitor) -- is as delicious a treat as Devon cream and scones.

This time out the red-haired, irascible Macbeth has left his tiny Scottish village for a holiday with his dog, Towser. True to form, Macbeth doesn't venture far from the highlands he loves, just a few hours away to Skag, a forgotten North Sea resort town that offers run-down guest houses, a fish-and-chips shop, the haunting sound of its "singing sands," and murder.

Until his recent demotion from sergeant back to constable and the end of his engagement to the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, Hamish Macbeth had been a contented man. Now every face he meets in Lochdubh is dour with disap-proval at the man "who broke that poor girl's heart."

Escaping to Skag is meant to raise Macbeth's sagging spirits. Instead, he finds that "Friendly House," described as a charm-ing inn a stone's throw from the sea, is not as advertised. The ambiance is dismal, the food inedible, and his fellow guests an unpromising lot that includes the spinster Miss Gunnery, two tarty girls, a retired military man, a London family, and Bob Harris, who so nags his wife, Doris, that everyone wants to kill him. And then somebody does.

Unfortunately, Macbeth himself is overheard threatening the man -- right before he is seen punching him in the nose. As the leading suspect, Macbeth must now clear his name by finding out who at Friendly House is the real killer. But this vacation taken on the cheap will cost Macbeth dearly. The secrets each of the guests wants to hide will provoke desperate deceptions, and another unexpected death will touch Macbeth's own life with tragedy.

M.C. Beaton: Death of a Nag. A Hamish Macbeth Mystery. The Mysterious Press / Warner Books, ISBN: 0892965304 (June, 1995), 216 p., $18.95.