Sonderbooks Book Review of Death of a Village

*****Death of a Village*

by M. C. Beaton

Reviewed 03/03/03.
Warner Books, New York, 2003. 245 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (MCN F BEA).

I found this book delightful. This is a cozy British mystery, set among Scottish villages. Hamish MacBeth is a constable who is in danger of being promoted and sent to the big city. He likes his life in Lochdubh, so he must find a way to sabotage his promotion.

Once he’s back to work as usual, he finds another intriguing case. A whole village is acting strangely. When their mayor’s house explodes, police must decide if it is the work of Irish terrorists or someone local with a grudge. No one in the village even got out of bed to investigate when they heard the explosion.

This is a light-hearted mystery story, charmingly told. There are some deaths and some danger, but nothing to make the reader sick with fear or nauseated from the violence. I found it refreshing after the darker story Winner Take All. The next time a library customer asks for something “fun,” I will look for this book.
Thanks to former customer Cat Geary for telling me that M. C. Beaton is a good author a few years ago--I finally got around to reading one! I do think that her recommendation got me to order the book in the first place.

Another book by M. C. Beaton: Death of an Outsider

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Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

****Death of a Village

by M. C. Beaton

*****Death of a Village*