Book Review: Death of a Smuggler by M. C. Beaton and R. W. Green (2025)

Synopsis: Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is both pleased and puzzled when Constable David "Davey" Forbes is re-assigned to work with him in Lochdubh. However, before he has a chance to convince Davey to tell him about the disciplinary issue that resulted in his demotion, Macbeth is once again investigating a murder, this time it's the mistress of a wife-abusing fisherman who has gone missing. Adding to the mystery are two young women who have been spotted in the area and may be victims of human trafficking.

Review: I didn't have anything particular in mind when I went to the library a few days ago and figured I'd pick out something new. However, as I was walking to the checkout counter with my original choice, I noticed Death of a Smuggler in the new book section and decided to give the newest Hamish Macbeth book a try instead.

I wasn't overly sure what to expect from this book since they haven't been quite the same since Beaton's death and Green's attempt to keep her legacy alive by writing the books with the help of her notes. This one, however, did turn out to be better than expected, though still admittedly a bit flawed.

I'll start out with the good. For one, I liked how this book shifted the focus back to Lochdubh and everyday crime/murder rather than be a spy-like novel like the previous couple books. This in turn allowed the book to be more about the local residents, both familiar and new, versus having Macbeth driving all over Scotland.

I also like how the book is building the budding relationship between Macbeth and Claire. After destroying what I thought could have been a perfect ending to his story by continuing the series after Beaton's death, it is good to see him with a woman who both seems to love him and understand the kind of person he is. I just hope that romance doesn't end tragically, like his last one.

Davey's return was also intriguing because the reasons weren't clear. Was it a disciplinary thing or was someone, like his supervisor, Jimmy, trying to keep an eye on Macbeth again?

My biggest problem with the book was the mystery, which was lacking. While the book at least attempted to convince me there were multiple suspects, it wasn't overly difficult to figure out who the killer was, especially since the book also went out its way to describe how violent he was.

I think the book's big mistake was revealing too much detail about the smuggling operation ahead of time, including who each of the main players were and telling part of the story from the two smuggled women's perspective. Since the book effectively gave away where the other possible suspects were and made it clear the two women weren't around the victim long enough to strangle her, the red herrings just didn't have the same effect.

Final Opinion: I liked it better than the last couple. However, I'm still not convinced the series should have been continued after Death of an Honest Man seven years ago.

My Grade: C+

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Book Review: Death of a Chimney Sweep by M. C. Beaton (2011)

Book Review: Death of a Liar by M. C. Beaton (2015)

Book Review: Death of a Green-Eyed Monster by M. C. Beaton and R. W. Green (2022)