M. C. Beaton

"Local police stations all over the Scottish Highlands are being threatened with closure. This presents the perfect opportunity for Detective Chief Inspector Blair, who would love nothing more than to get rid of Sergeant Hamish Macbeth. Blair suggests that Cyril Sessions, a keen young police officer, visit the town of Lochdubh to monitor exactly what Macbeth does every day. Macbeth hears about Blair's plan and is prepared to insure that Cyril returns...

When Paul and Trixie Thomas, an unemployed English couple, move to Lochdubh, the villagers are wary of them--and when Trixie is found dead, village police inspector Hamish MacBeth suspects her husband from the very start.

With a cold in his head and no place to go for Christmas, Hamish snaps up the invitation of drop-dead gorgeous Jane Wetherby to spend the holiday at her Scottish island health farm--and figure out who is trying to kill her.

Hamish MacBeth is a stubborn, silent, gloomy Scotsman who's also kindhearted, intelligent, and intuitive. A Lochdubh native, he knows his village, the surrounding countryside, and the local folk like the back of his hand. His life is satisfyingly settled--he's engaged to the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, and there have been no serious crimes in Lochdubh for months. Then incredibly handsome Peter Hynd comes to town, charms all the women, antagonizes...

Cotswolds inhabitants are used to inclement weather, but the night sky is especially foggy as Rory and Molly Devere, the new vicar and his wife, drive slowly home from a dinner party in their village of Sumpton Harcourt. They strain to see the road ahead--and then suddenly brake, screeching to a halt. Right in front of them, aglow in the headlights, a body hangs from a gnarled tree at the edge of town. Margaret Darby, an elderly spinster, has been...

When Police Sergeant Hamish Macbeth, along with a new promotion and more money, is given a new partner--young, eager P.C. Willis Lamont--he and Lamont race to solve a mystery involving a handsome young drifter.

While holidaying in Cyprus with her fiance, sleuth Agatha Raisin witnesses the murder of a woman tourist who is stabbed to death in a discotheque. As Agatha opens a probe, someone tries to kill her.

When a prominent village resident is found murdered, Agatha Raisin ignores the talk of fairies and supernatural happenings and begins to search for a human killer.

Called on to investigate the death of wealthy baby food magnate and perennial prankster Arthur Trent, Hamish Macbeth finds himself faced with a list of suspects that includes Trent's greedy relations.

The curmudgeonly yet irresistable Agatha Raisin finds herself addicted to Mr John, her wizard of a hairdresser. Agatha continues to pine for her ex-fiance James, but she has time to snoop into the possibility that Mr John may really be a ruthless blackmailer.