Customer Reviews
Farce Among the Tragedies When Hamish Poses as a Drug Kingpin - By: Donald Mitchell, 16 May 2007 
Life looks simple enough as the book opens. Lochdubh's finest, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth, checks out a former heroin addict, Tommy Jarret, & is quickly convinced the young man has kicked the habit & wants to stay clean. Imagine Hamish's shock when Jarret dies of a heroin overdose soon thereafter. Detective Chief Inspector Blair & Detective Jimmy Anderson of Strathbane are quickly convinced it's an accidental overdose & the case is closed. Hamish isn't convinced. Jarret had been writing a book about his drug-using days & all but the first chapter has disappeared. Also, Jarret also had a sedativein his bloodstream. Jarret's parents are also skeptical & persuade Hamish to keep an investigation going.
Hamish takes his vacation so he can investigate on the quiet. His searches begin with a sex-obsessed church that seems to be a cover for something else. Confronting Jarret's former roommates, Hamish decides on the spot to pretend to be a drug dealer who wants to buy a big quantity of heroin. Hamish calls for help, & soon a large police operation is mounted with the inexperienced & uncomfortable Hamish at the middle.
To make matters complicated, the operation is headed by the very attractive Detective Chief Inspector Olivia Chater of Glasgow who will play the role of Hamish's "wife." DI Chater wants no messing around & she plans to wear the pants. The role playing develops into all kinds of giggling situations as they find themselves sharing bedrooms, beds, & needing to put on a good show for the drug dealers' minions who trail them.
Naturally, Hamish cannot control his need to wander around & soon gets himself into an embarrassing situationin Amsterdam.
Despite missteps, Hamish & Chater delve deeper & deeper into the heart of the Highlands' most dangerous drug ring. Along the way, they also solve the mystery of a monster that's haunting Loch Drim.
Blair finds out about Hamish's success & is beside himself with envy. What will Blair do?
After many interesting complications, Hamish still cannot see who killed Tommy Jarret. Taking what's left of his vacation, Hamish is once again on the track of those who are responsible for Jarret's death.
The story has a bittersweet ending that helps Death of an Addict rise above most of the storiesin the series. The aura of danger throughout much of the book & the sadness of drug addiction make this story far darker than the usual Highland tales Ms. Beaton has written before about how obnoxious people get what's coming to them from another visitor to the Highlands. I enjoyed the difference.
But don't expect this story to have the gritty realism of all those New-York based movies about drug cartels. Look elsewhere if that's your bag.
Another great Hamish Macbeth mystery! - By: Kurt A. Johnson, 28 Oct 2003 This is the fifteenthin a series of wonderful mysteries featuring the detective work of small town, Highland Scottish detective Hamish Macbeth, P.C. In this book, when an ex-heroin addict is found dead of an overdose, the Strathbane police chalk it up as the well-deserved death of another junky. However, something tells Hamish that this death was no accident. When he goes to Strathbane to infiltrate the local drug scene, he quickly finds himself swimmingin deeper waters then he could ever have expected. Teamed up with a non-nonsense woman Detective Inspector, Hamish faces one of the deadliest of drug lords, & keeping himself alive might prove hard work indeed!
This is another great M.C. Beaton (pseudonym of Marion Chesney) book! I love the setting & characters of these books, especially Hamish Macbeth himself. The author does an excellent job of swinging the story between lighthearted humor & deadly action. Indeed, this may be one of the most intense Hamish Macbeth books I have read.
Yep, this is another great Hamish Macbeth mystery, one that would make an excellent addition to your library!
Take an Aspirin and Wait! - By: Billy J. Hobbs, 27 Mar 2000 
M.C. Beaton's "Death of an Addict" presents us with her 15th Hamish Macbeth mystery. For those familiar with both Beaton & Macbeth, naturally, the plot, the circumstances, the characters, the resolution--they are all the same. The Macbeth series is a Formula One ride--little will surprise the devout. However, that said, Beaton treats us once again to what we have come to expect from her & Macbeth, the local constable from the Scottish Highlands village of Lochdubh. (It isin this
book that we learn that it is pronounced "Lock doo"!)
Basically, we find Macbeth once again tending his hens & sheep & lazing about; a newcomer is introduced to us & shortly thereafter is found dead, with "all the usual suspects"! Of course, "red herrings" is Beaton's middle name & the reader has to contend with them for the most part. But no matter, once again we are reminded of "the formula" & tolerate these additives.
While certainly a fan myself, this edition, however, I found, showed us that Ms Beaton was a bit out of her element. In "Addict," she & Macbeth undertake the world of the drug barons & lords & street dealers. Ms Beaton seems out of her element here, as her solutions are way too simplistic & she would have us think that this world is not any more wicked or problematic than her own local community murders (usually committed out of jealousy over some petty quarrel). The drug world is different, more complicated, & quite likely far more evil than any of the other crime settings. The usual Beaton solution is not convincing.
Hamish, of course, solves the situation, meets another woman he fallsin love with (it never takes him long), & by the end of the book is once more alone. His long time love, Priscilla Smythe-Burton, keeps hanging aboutin all the books (Ms Beaton should "fish or cut bait" with her, however. How long does she think we--or Hamish--will hang on!
For the devotees, don't miss this one, of course, but a good sip of Highland malt will be needed to dull the pain of the book!
Hamish "hams" it up - By: , 03 Aug 1999 Both series by this author are delights...and this new addition is no exception. Hamish is expanding his horizons & going "uptown." Although I prefer him sticking to the village & just hanging around waiting for another murder to solve, I did enjoy this latestin the series & will continue to buy & read,in that order, of course. Hamish isin good form with a new romantic interest, but I do miss Patricia & hope she returns soon.
Very disappointing effort! - By: , 11 Jul 1999 
Having read all of the Hamish McBeth series, I was eagerly looking forward to the latest installment. I have deep suspicions it was written by someone other than M. C. Beaton, as the charm of Scottish village life was almost completely absent from the book. The way I picture Hamish, I could never mistake him for the head of an international drug cartel even disguisedin an Armani suit. Ms. Beaton's work started to change, for me, a couple of books ago when she killed off Towser, Hamish's dog. He was an imaginary dog - he could have lived forever. She needs to return to the formula that got her here. As they always told usin English class, write based on what you know.
