Cover Image: Death of a Green-Eyed Monster

Death of a Green-Eyed Monster

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Member Reviews

I LOVE the way Green writes Agatha Raisin in Beaton's style, but this is the first Hamish Macbeth book since he's been carrying on the in Beaton's place and I wasn't as big of a fan. The storyline in this was great, it just didn't feel as true to the characters.

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I was very impressed by this mystery. I wasn't sure how it would be as the author is passed and the series is taken over by someone new. The characters, plot, and mystery all brilliantly written and executed. Highly recommend!

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This was one of the better Hamish Macbeth stories. We really enjoyed it. Sorry to have MC Beaton gone, but RW Green has done a wonderful job picking up the reins. Great twists and still all the great old characters. I'm so glad that Hamish and his pets and village live on.

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I know that lots of M.C. Beaton’s fans enjoy the Agatha Raisin mysteries but I have to confess to a soft spot for Hamish Macbeth. He is featured in this new title in the long running series.

Those who have read the Hamish books or have seen the TV series know that Hamish can be unlucky in love. Is that about to change? How will a murder impact Hamish’s plans? Read this fun title to find out.

Hard to believe that this is the 34th book in the series. Sadly, Beaton died in 2019 but a successor is carrying her legacy forward. He is doing a nice job of it and a note from him can be found at the beginning of the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

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It has been a few years since I read a Hamish Macbeth mystery. The description hooked me. Could the big highlander with a knack for solving crimes finally be lucky in love?
It was lovely visiting the town of Lochdubh and the many characters who live there. Hamish keeps losing constables to their dreams jobs. He has a talent of helping people find what they are good at and a job doing just that, but who helps Hamish when he needs it?
In the latest mystery trouble comes knocking at his door and his heart is captured. Hamish is usually an excellent judge of people could be really be wrong this time? His friends circle around him to celebrate his new found love in his constable Dorothy. Dorothy has a complicated past could she be lying about loving Hamish. When dangerous people from Dorothy's past come to Lochdubh trouble follows.

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This book starts with a thoughtful post about Beaton''s life and the author who worked with her to make sure this volume was completed. Like the Agatha Raisin novels the Hamish books were always mystery comfort food for me. You always know that Hamish will be where you left him. Still longing for love, scrounging for good meals or time off and generally being the heart of his community. When a young officer is transferred to Hamish of course he falls for her and surprisingly she returns his affections. Soon a wedding is planned but the bride has many secrets, strange arguments are happening in her room late at night as well as several suspicious murders. I loved this story! I consumed it in a few days, it was sweet and sad and if this ends up being the last of the series its sweetly done..

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It looks like Hamish might actually make it to the altar. But first he and his new constable/fiancee must solve a murder. I enjoy the Hamish MacBeth series and this is an excellent addition to the series.
I am not sure if the series will continue beyond this volume. Perhaps R.W. Green will pick it up but regardless this is a very satisfying volume in the Hamish Macbeth saga.
This is a review of an eGalley provided by NetGalley.

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Many of us mourned the loss of M C Beaton (Marion Gibbons) in 2018. Hoping this is not the last book in the Hamish Macbeth series as this detective, his pets, his village and the people in it won me over long ago. Death of a Green-Eyed Monster continues Beaton’s clever and witty writing and tells an engaging story along the way.

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Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest, personal review. Hamish Macbeth has a new colleague, Dorothy. She is capable and talented but there is some mystery from her past. There is of a course a murder to solve and you hope the best for Hamish and Dorothy but know there will be twists and turns coming until the end. M.C. Beaton was such a wonderful author and is sorely missed, so the attempt by this author, while admirable, still doesn't completely capture the character of Hamish as she would have. I would still recommend it as a book to read though because it is a good mystery with a beloved character.

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This was a great addition to the Hamish books. And while not written by M.C. Beaton, it truly captures her style and story sense. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to the next one! My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

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Scottish policeman, Hamish Macbeth, has been struck by cupid’s arrow. He is head over heels in love with his new constable, Dorothy McIver, who feels likewise. But, a murder occurs in the town of Lochdubh as Hamish and Dorothy are planning their wedding. Crime doesn’t stop just because love is in the air.

Death of a Green-Eyed Monster is the 34th book in the Hamish Macbeth Mystery series – an impressive number of books by any standard. However, this book was completed by R.W. Green after the death of Ms Beaton. Fortunately, he was able to collaborate with her and the result is a book that would do her proud. I enjoyed visiting Lochdubh and getting reacquainted with its residents. This series is gentle and easy and it should appeal to a wide variety of cozy readers.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

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The newest Hamish McBeth character has a greater depth of emotion than we’ve seen in the past. This is both good and bad in that he is more interesting yet less familiar. It’s difficult to step into a prolific writer’s shoes but the new author has done a commendable job and the new Hamish is worth a sequel.

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In M.C. Beaton’s “Death of the Green-Eyed Monster” (Grand Central), Scottish Police Sergeant Hamish MacBeth does not have a jealous bone in his tall, muscular, fiery redheaded body. In his thirty-sixth adventure in the fictional Scottish Highland town of Lochdubh, Hamish is surrounded by fiendish co-workers and mysterious criminals, who thrive on past resentments which ultimately prove to be motives for murder.
​The story begins as Constable Dorothy McIver appears at the local police station as Hamish’s new assistant, and Hamish is immediately smitten. Falling in love seems to be a habit for him, with two broken engagements in his recent past. But Dorothy is the real deal. She’s beautiful, dedicated to their profession, a true soul mate to Hamish, and is equally smitten with him. Her past remains a mystery, but Hamish agrees to leave the past behind and concentrate on their future together when he pops the question on a picturesque hillside.
​Mere moments after their engagement, Hamish and Dorothy are drawn into the murder investigation of the gangland assassination of a Glaswegian underworld henchman. He’s found at a local gas station inside a bright yellow Mustang with a bullet in his skull. His gang, the MacGregors, is notorious for having their fingers in organized crime in Glasgow, and this murder suggests they are expanding into Hamish’s patch of lochs, mountains, castles and farms in the northernmost part of the Scottish mainland.
​When the big boys are dispatched to investigate the murder’s connection to international gang warfare, Hamish and Dorothy are thrown off the case. Their superior and an old buddy of Hamish’s, Jimmy Anderson, knows Hamish won’t accede to the dismissal, and he warns them to be careful, otherwise the two lovebirds won’t be able to work together, ever.
​As Hamish defies the warning, he introduces Dorothy to his land of clan history and the ancient folklore of mermaids, lairds and devils, taking the readers along to uncover clues in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Dundee. Along with Dorothy, the readers succumb to Hamish’s love of Scotland, and appreciate why he chooses to remain in the Sutherland District rather than beat the mean streets of Glasgow.
​Sprinkle in a colorful cast of former local policeman who are now chefs, bakers and security officers, and MacBeth’s relatives in every city and hamlet, and the readers discovers that Hamish has eyes everywhere. His exuberant sidekicks of Lugs, his mutt, and Sonsie, his big wild cat, are on hand to add levity to the gangland style murder, as are the meddling Currie twins, American James Bland and Hamish’s former fiancées, accountant Priscilla and television reporter Elspeth. Since major plot points occur at the Tommel Castle Hotel, there is a castle full of characters and suspects in this tale as twisty as Sutherland’s tourist route along the North Coast Five Hundred highway.
​Hamish’s personal history also includes a dastardly superior officer named Detective Chief Inspector Blair, who while banished to Glasgow, has returned to supervise the investigation. He is a deranged, vengeful, and spiteful man, who will stop at nothing to torment Hamish, ruin his sterling reputation, and impede his impending nuptials. But will the evil Blair succeed?
​This is R.W. Green’s first outings as the successor to Marion Beaton’s Hamish MacBeth series, and he captures the charm of “a hero with endearing contradictions—a hard worker who is prone to skiving off when the mood takes him; a law-abiding police officer who might poach a few salmon or a deer from time to time; and an honest cop who deal with people fairly but is also capable of bribing a witness or planting evidence to get his man.” In “Death of the Green-Eyed Monster,” Hamish MacBeth is a man who is blinded by love as he contends with the twin demons of jealousy and revenge. Will the demons win out or will Hamish finally make it to the altar with his beloved Dorothy?
​As in the previous MacBeth books, this novel deals with human failings. Thanks to the gentle touch of R.W. Green, readers will look forward to spending more time in the future with Hamish as he protects the land and people he loves dearly.

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A cozy mystery if there ever was one. This was the first of the series that I’ve read and easy enough to grasp the characters snd their past histories. It was pretty easy to determine what was going to unfold and except for a few places very predictable. If you like a series for predictability this is for you. Unfortunately, it’s not a series I’ll explore further.

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Hamish Macbeth is the lone policeman in Lochdubh. He lost his last constable to the kitchen at the Tommel Castle, where he’s putting his culinary skills to use as the chef. For now, it’s just him and his dog Lugs and his pet wild cat Sonsie. And then Constable Dorothy McIver walked in the door.

Possibly the most beautiful woman Macbeth has ever seen, Constable McIver says she chose this posting especially, to get away from the chaos of Glasgow. She wants a quieter life, so she requested Lochdubh and can’t wait to win over the hearts and minds of the locals. Macbeth knows that it would be awkward for her to live there with him, so he makes a deal with the owner of Tommel Castle for her to have a room there instead.

Macbeth starts her training by showing her around the town and introducing her to the locals. Those who aren’t falling under the spell of her beauty are charmed by her intelligence and willingness to help them with whatever they need. The Currie sisters think there is someone spying on them from outside their house? She’ll spend the evening with them to see if he comes back to flash them again . . . with a flashlight. There’s a four-year-old boy stuck up a tree? She’ll climb up and pull up a photo on her phone of how a koala carries her kids to convince him to climb on her back as she makes their way back down.

And when a daring driver sped past them in an attempt to run the North Coast Five Hundred, a risky race along the North Coast that’s a dangerous road at high speed, and Macbeth has his friend Dougie stall the driver at his filling station, McIver is impressed at the ingenuity he relies on to keep his corner of Scotland safe. Dougie holds the driver there, saying that the pumps aren’t working, until Macbeth can get there and convince him to stop driving so fast on the Scottish roads.

As the weeks of training go by and Macbeth introduces Dorothy to more of the Highlands, he finds himself falling for her. Late summer turns into fall, and then to winter, and Dorothy needs a few weeks to head back to Glasgow.to tie up loose ends there. In those lonely weeks where Dorothy is away, Macbeth decides that he wants to marry her. And when she gets back to Lochdubh, he asks her, and she says yes.

The next day, Macbeth sees another racing driver go by and calls Dougie to delay him at the filling station again. By the time they can to Dougie’s, it’s too late. The man is in his car, but he is dead. Someone shot him. Now, Macbeth has to call in the crime scene detectives, and his quiet town will be overrun with big-city officers trying to solve this while he’s trying to plan a wedding. And if that’s not enough to juggle, two of his former fiancées are also in town, wanting to get to know Dorothy better.

There are rumors of ties to organized crime in Glasgow, there’s a mysterious American who is clearly lying about something, Macbeth’s archenemy Detective Chief Inspector Blair is part of the murder investigation and throwing his weight around Lochdubh, and despite his love for Constable McIver, Macbeth knows that there are things about her time in Glasgow that she’s not telling him. Will Macbeth put all the pieces together to solve the murder before his wedding, or will something happen to keep him from getting his happy ending?

Death of a Green-Eyed Monster is the latest Hamish Macbeth mystery from M.C. Beaton and R.W. Green, and it’s filled with all the things that we want from Hamish Macbeth—his love for his corner of Scotland, his particular style of police work, his relationships with the other officers, and his enduring belief in love.

I really enjoyed Death of a Green-Eyed Monster. Reading Hamish Macbeth feels like taking a vacation somewhere familiar, or like taking the time to catch up with an old friend. And while the ending may not be the one I had been hoping for, it still fits the story and the series. You don’t need to read the entire series to understanding what’s going on in this one (which is good for Hamish newbs, as this is book 34!), but the more time I spend in these Highlands of Hamish’s, the more I fall in love with Scotland. And let’s face it, the more I fall in love with Sonsie.

Egalleys for Death of a Green-Eyed Monster were provided by Grand Central Publishing through NetGalley, with many thanks.

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Death of a Green-Eyed Monster Earns 5/5 Highland Hijinx…Compelling!

M.C. Beaton passed away in December of 2019, but her image of Hamish Macbeth lives under the pen of R.W. Green, who in Beaton’s final days was able to glean a real sense of the characters, the community, and the style she used to bring the subdued Lochdubh police officer to readers. Having read books from this series by both authors, Green did a successful job taking the reins or, more appropriately I guess, the warrant card. In “Death of a Green-Eyed Monster,” Hamish is still the low-keyed, yet intuitive, red-headed copper bent on staying well under the radar often giving credit to other detective for the solving of any crimes. He seeks no transfers, no promotions, no upgrades to his job. He does, however, after two failed engagements, lack female companionship…until now. Enter Constable Dorothy McIver. Together they make quite the pair, professionally and personally, and when tracking a pair of speeders, they come upon a gruesome scene. The murder, and subsequent attempted murder of a possible witness, brings in outside investigators, one of which is Macbeth’s biggest adversaries, DCI Blair. A former mentor, DCI Anderson, with a bit of self-serving motive, shares his concerns with Macbeth the whole mess may be connected to organized crime with gang names more akin to Braveheart clans. He is also suspicious of Blair’s intentions, too, and suggests a parallel investigation to ensure legitimacy. Clever. Intense. Is it the wealthy, pompous American? The belligerent cop out for himself and having it in for Hamish? What about the woman looking for Dorothy? Then, again, what about Dorothy? There’s a bit of an enigma.

Totally engaging, and more than enough differences from the television series loosely based on Beaton’s work, to make it a unique and entertaining page-turner. Hamish’s personality and motives may be the only similarity, however his appearance along with many of the village’s residents, fur-friends, visitors, connections, and importance to the drama makes it new experience. There are many green-eyed monsters from obvious to well hidden with several having “jealousy” as a motive or a motivation, but with jealousy there also comes revenge. The final reveal was a shock making me audibly “gasp,” and I approved of the realistic consequences that might not be by the book. Brilliant. Top notch. Green’s writing style is also a 5-star element with his use of descriptive language to illustrate well a “bucket-list” vision of the highlands, the varied personalities, and the emotions attached to the chases, the skulking, the near misses, the secrets, the misdirection, and all the wedding preparations for Hamish and Dorothy. Fans of Beaton, Hamish, or just a thrilling mystery will love this book!

One complaint, that in no way effected my experience or needs to effect the rating, is that I don’t like the new covers: the plain green background and white title splashed over the front. I really like the old covers with pictures of the highlands or items connected to the stories elements. Even the ARC I was sent had a lovely picture of Lochdubh and a shadowy figure. Oh, please reconsider the covers.

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This book fell flat to me. I wanted to like it more. Hamish Macbeth , a Scottish policeman, has a new constable, Dorothy McIver. He is completely besotted with her and asks her to marry him. But just as everyone is about to celebrate the nuptials , a murder occurs. This misses the charm of the earlier books and Hamish' s love for Dorothy is hard to believe.

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Hamish MacBeth appears to be softening in his old age. Or perhaps it was love that dulled his edges? Or maybe the passing of M.C. Beaton and the introduction of a new writer to the series? Whatever the reason, I felt that we were seeing a somewhat watered down mellower Hamish. So, if cantankerous is what you are looking for in your highland constables, this one might have been a bit of a disappointment. It also felt a bit like a review of previous constables and current citizens of Lochdubh. Though the people in town normally play a solid role in the stories, I felt like they all came through to wave and remind us they were there without actually having a hand in events, with the exception of the Curie Sisters. If you are reading the series as a nice distraction, it still holds up well; however, if you are an avid Hamish fan, hopefully he will be back on solid footing the next go around.

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This is the 34th book in the Hamish Macbeth Mystery series. The first 33 were written by M.C. Beaton herself. This is the 1st written by RW Green, who was personally selected by Marion to continue her series.I started this series in 1985 with Death of a Gossip. I feel Mr Green's continuance of this series will surely make Marion proud.

A "Mafia" type gang from Glasgow is causing trouble in Hamish's quiet Scottish village. There of course , is a murder with several suspects and many twists and turns. All the locals are back and some lend help, wether it was wanted or not..

It was a very good addition to the series, even though the end didn't go the way I'd hoped it would. You will to read it to see what I mean.
Thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.which publishes 2/15/22

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I reviewed this on Goodreads and on The Storygraph as well as a brief blurb on IG stories (saved to a highlight reel). the link is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4515976775

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