Death of a kingfisher

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Title:

Death of a kingfisher

Author:

Beaton, M. C, author.

Series:

Hamish Macbeth ;

Series Number:

27.

Summary:

When Scotland is hit by the recession, the local tourist director renames the woods of the quaint village of Braikie "The fairy glen" but when a kingfisher bird is found hanging from a branch in the woods the people turn to Police constable Hamish Macbeth and soon the vandalism that threatens to ruin the woods, forever, turns into murder.

Audience:

Adult Follett Library Resources

Edition:

1st ed.

Physical Description:

245 p. ; 22 cm.

Genre:

Detective and mystery fiction.

Subject Term:

Macbeth, Hamish (Fictitious character) -- Fiction.

Police -- Fiction.

Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Tourism -- Fiction.

Dysfunctional families -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Highlands (Scotland) -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Grand Central Pub.,

Publication Date:

2012

ISBN:

9780446547369

Publication Information:

New York : Grand Central Pub., 2012.

Call Number:

BEATON

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607002642364	Adult Fiction	BEATON	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

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Summary

From the author of the Agatha Raisin television series...

Death of a Kingfisher: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery

When Scotland is hit by the recession, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth notices that the Highland people are forced to come up with inventive ways to lure tourists to their sleepy towns. The quaint village of Braikie doesn't have much to offer, other than a place of rare beauty called Buchan's Wood, which was bequeathed to the town. The savvy local tourist director renames the woods "The Fairy Glen," and has brochures printed with a beautiful photograph of a kingfisher rising from a pond on the cover.

It isn't long before coach tours begin to arrive. But just as the town's luck starts to turn, a kingfisher is found hanging from a branch in the woods with a noose around its neck. As a wave of vandalism threatens to ruin Braikie forever, the town turns to Hamish Macbeth. And when violence strikes again,the lawman's investigation quickly turns from animal cruelty to murder.

Author Notes

M. C. Beaton's real name is Marion Chesney. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1936. She has written over a hundred books under her own name and other pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Helen Crampton, Jennie Tremaine, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester. She started her writing career while working as a fiction buyer for a bookstore in Glasgow.

Working at one time or another as a theater critic, newspaper reporter, and editor, she used her British background to write a series of regency romances set in England and Scotland. Some of her regency romances include The Folly, Colonel Sandhurst to the Rescue, and Regency Gold. In 1986, she was awarded the Romantic Times Award for Outstanding Regency Series Writer.

She has also written two mystery series under the pseudonym M. C. Beaton: The Hamish Macbeth Series, which became the inspiration for a television show in England, and The Agatha Raisin Series, about a retired advertising executive. Her title His and Hers made The New York Times Best Seller List for 2012.

Marion Chesney passed away on December 31, 2019 at the age of 83.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Sgt. Hamish Macbeth prefers the peace and quiet of village life, relative solitude, and his own low rank, but is unable to enjoy any of them in bestseller Beaton's diverting 28th cozy featuring the Scottish policeman (after 2011's Death of a Chimney Sweep). First, he's encumbered with lazy deadbeat Constable Dick Fraser. Meanwhile, disturbingly pretty Mary Leinster has transformed beautiful Buchan's Wood into a tourist attraction called Fairy Glen. Cantankerous Mrs. Colchester has her two awful grandchildren, 12-year-old Charles and 16-year-old Olivia, visiting and causing mischief. The murder of a kingfisher, his mate, and their nestlings is merely the opening salvo in a barrage of events perhaps aimed at ruining the Fairy Glen. Macbeth's nemesis, Detective Chief Inspector Blair, adds to his woes. A surprisingly high human body count finds Macbeth one step behind, but, as usual, leagues ahead of his nominal superiors in this entertaining entry. Agent: Barbara Lowenstein, Lowenstein Associates. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Library Journal Review

The Scottish constable (Death of a Chimney Sweep) tackles a tourism-related murder in the latest installment of the popular cozy series. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.