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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Take an Aspirin and Wait!, 27 Mar 2000
M.C. Beaton's "Death of an Addict" presents us with her 15th Hamish Macbeth mystery. For those familiar with both Beaton and Macbeth, naturally, the plot, the circumstances, the characters, the resolution--they are all the same. The Macbeth series is a Formula One ride--little will surprise the devout. However, that said, Beaton treats us once again to what we have come to expect from her and Macbeth, the local constable from the Scottish Highlands village of Lochdubh. (It is in thisbook that we learn that it is pronounced "Lock doo"!) Basically, we find Macbeth once again tending his hens and sheep and lazing about; a newcomer is introduced to us and shortly thereafter is found dead, with "all the usual suspects"! Of course, "red herrings" is Beaton's middle name and the reader has to contend with them for the most part. But no matter, once again we are reminded of "the formula" and tolerate these additives. While certainly a fan myself, this edition, however, I found, showed us that Ms Beaton was a bit out of her element. In "Addict," she and Macbeth undertake the world of the drug barons and lords and street dealers. Ms Beaton seems out of her element here, as her solutions are way too simplistic and she would have us think that this world is not any more wicked or problematic than her own local community murders (usually committed out of jealousy over some petty quarrel). The drug world is different, more complicated, and quite likely far more evil than any of the other crime settings. The usual Beaton solution is not convincing. Hamish, of course, solves the situation, meets another woman he falls in love with (it never takes him long), and by the end of the book is once more alone. His long time love, Priscilla Smythe-Burton, keeps hanging about in all the books (Ms Beaton should "fish or cut bait" with her, however. How long does she think we--or Hamish--will hang on! For the devotees, don't miss this one, of course, but a good sip of Highland malt will be needed to dull the pain of the book!
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by M.C. Beaton
by M.C. Beaton
by M.C. Beaton
by M.C. Beaton
by M.C. Beaton
