Tuesday 2 June 2015

Book 53 of 2014: Death of a Cad by M.C. Beaton

Ages and ages ago I got Mr Click the collection of Hamish Macbeth books from The Book People. He finds them nice and light little reads and once he started reading them, I began dipping into them as well.

Back in December last year I was looking for something fairly quick and light-hearted to read, and so I decided to go for the second book in the Hamish Macbeth series, Dead of a Cad. This one sees Hamish's friend Priscilla bringing her new fiancé to Loch Dubh where, once again, someone ends up dying, leaving Hamish to figure out who did it.


I think I enjoyed this more than the first book, Death of a Gossip, because I knew what to expect from the story. When I read the first book I was surprised at how funny it was in places, this time around I wasn't caught out by the humour; I knew that this book would be a bit tongue-in-cheek in places.

I also already knew most of the characters, so there were no surprises there either. Hamish is a bit of a bumbling character but he's generally a nice guy, if a little bit lazy. He's got a unique view of the world and he's in a very good position to solve crimes. I kind of had my suspicions about who the murderer was going to be from the beginning but as with all crime books, I like to try and figure it out myself while I'm reading. Isn't that why most people read these sorts of books?

At the time I read this book I was suffering a bit and feeling under the weather. This was exactly what I needed. I'd read A Christmas Carol before it and so wanted something a bit more modern, but something which wouldn't require too much thought. This obviously ticked all the right boxes. Despite being a crime book, it's not one which requires too much thinking about, perfect for when you're not feeling 100%.

I managed to read it in just three days and might have done it sooner had I not been trying to read by a torch which kept going out. I think it would be an ideal book for a long journey and I'm fairly certain that I'll come back to the others in the series at some point in the future when I've got a bit of travelling planned.

Our edition of Death of a Cad includes a preview chapter from the next book (Death of an Outsider) and I kind of like how it resets everything back to the way it was at the beginning before Priscilla got engaged. I can't help but wonder if all of the books are going to follow this format. On the one hand it's nice because you know you can pick up a book anywhere in the series and know what to expect, on the other hand, it might get a bit repetitive.


Either way, I'm going to enjoy reading the rest of the books in this series to find out what happens next.

4 comments:

  1. I enjoy stories like these, but prefer not to read them all at the same time for fear that they become repetitive.

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    1. Same here, I used to burn through series of books, whereas now I try to read something else (or several somethings) in between so I don't find myself getting bored with them. :-)

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  2. Reading by torch sounds fascinating. Very old-timey!

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    1. Hehe, when it's dark out (and I'm not reading by Kindle) it's the easiest way to keep from disturbing my husband. I've just recently replaced the bulb in my touch lamp so I might have to swap it for the lamp in the bedroom since it's not as bright as the lamp we currently have.

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Let me know what you think. :-)