Death of a Valentine (Hamish Macbeth Series #26) »

M.C. Beaton lives in the Cotswolds with her husband. In addition to the Hamish Macbeth series, she writes the Agatha Raisin mystery series.

Amazing news has spread across the Scottish countryside. The most famous of highland bachelors, police sergeant Hamish Macbeth, will be married at last. Everyone in the village of Lochdubh adores Josie McSween, Macbeth's newest constable and blushing bride-to-be.

While locals think Josie is quite a catch, Hamish has a case of prenuptial jitters. After all, if it weren't for the recent murder of a beautiful woman in a neighbouring village, there wouldn't be a wedding at all. For it was a mysterious Valentine's Day package—delivered to the victim before her death—that initially drew Hamish and Josie together on the investigation. As they work side by side, Hamish and Josie soon discover that the woman's list of admirers was endless, confirming Hamish's suspicion that love can be blind, deaf . . . and deadly.

Publishers Weekly

The news has spread quickly that the charming, much sought after police sergeant Hamish Macbeth is to marry his constable, Josie McSween, in the Scottish village of Lochdubh—but their latest case, the one that brought them together in the first place, is unraveling so quickly and dangerously that their lives—not to mention their engagement—are soon in jeopardy. Haughty, clipped, with shades of radio drama, the hokey narration by Graeme Malcolm is a disappointment, but considering the quality of the writing, it shouldn't be much of a surprise. Malcolm has little to work with in this lackluster thriller, which offers an abundance of mystery genre clichés that go from charming and nostalgic to downright annoying in a hurry. A Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 9). (Jan.)