About the Author

M. C. Beaton has won international acclaim for her New York Times bestselling Hamish Macbeth mysteries. The BBC has aired 24 episodes based on the series. Beaton is also the author of the bestselling Agatha Raisin series, which will air as an eight-episode dramatic series on Sky1, starring Ashley Jensen. She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband. For more information, you can visit MCBeaton.com.

Reviews

"Longing for escape? Tired of waiting for Brigadoon to materialize? Time for a trip to Lochdubh, the scenic, if somnolent, village in the Scottish Highlands where M.C. Beaton sets her beguiling whodunits featuring Constable Hamish Macbeth."--New York Times

"This series is pure bliss."--Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Simultaneously endearing and frustrating, Scottish policeman Hamish Macbeth must solve two murders in this 24th book of New York Times best-selling author Beaton's acclaimed series. This time, Hamish almost immediately dislikes his beloved village -Lochdubh's newest resident, the saccharine Mrs. Gentle. As usual, everyone else thinks he's daft until the elderly widow's facade begins to crack, showing her truly nasty personality. Mrs. Gentle fires an apparently passportless Middle Eastern girl, so Hamish characteristically makes her a spur-of-the-moment marriage proposal that he almost instantaneously regrets. After the woman he now knows to be a Russian prostitute strands Hamish at the altar, he thinks murder is afoot. Add in the violent end of Mrs. Gentle, the presence of Hamish's mortal enemy, Chief Detective Inspector Blair, a blackmailing hooker, and the Lochdubh residents' certainty that they'll all catch AIDS from Hamish, and the listener has a comfortably enjoyable and amusing time. Narrator Graeme Malcolm is particularly good with the female voices--there is never any doubt about which character is speaking. His array of English and Scottish accents is impressive, his pacing is excellent, and he is able to convey both humorous and serious moments with ease. Essential for public libraries. [The Soul Thief is also available as downloadable audio from Audible.com.--Ed.]--B. Allison Gray, Palmdale City Lib., CA Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

"Longing for escape? Tired of waiting for Brigadoon to materialize? Time for a trip to Lochdubh, the scenic, if somnolent, village in the Scottish Highlands where M.C. Beaton sets her beguiling whodunits featuring Constable Hamish Macbeth."--New York Times
"This series is pure bliss."--Atlanta Journal-Constitution