“Death of a Traveling Man” 
           by M.C. Beaton


Review #178


Scottish police constable Hamish MacBeth is every bit as charming, humorous, and clever as ever.  The slightly lethargic, tousle-haired village copper in the Scottish Highlands, has been promoted against his will. As Sergeant, he makes more money, but must suffer more work as well, not to mention the enthusiasm of his new helper, Police Constable Willie Lamont, who has less talent for police work than for cleaning, polishing, and scrubbing. His insistence on keeping the police station spotless is driving MacBeth mad.


Hamish rescues a young boy from the river and saves some stranded mountain climbers; he listens to a minister confess wavering faith, is plagued by a superior who resents his promotion and has repeated run-ins with a drifter who parks his van behind the minister's house.


The “devastatingly handsome” drifter, Sean, charms four women out of their money and harasses Hamish's ladylove, Priscilla. When Sean's body is found after a fatal bludgeoning, Hamish seeks out the young man's rock-singer girlfriend and unhappily discovers a blackmailing scheme that incriminates some locals. Hamish has a difficult task of finding Sean”s killer without upsetting Lochdubh's placid way of life or his police superiors in Strathbane.


The characters are wonderfully original; the plot is cleverly crafted and intriguing to the end. There's lots of laugh-aloud humor; and even the darker, bleaker parts of the story add to its overall appeal. Love when I can laugh through a mystery book!