Book Review: Death of a Groom by M. C. Beaton with R. W. Green (2026)

Synopsis: Tommel Castle is set to host an elaborate Valentine's Day wedding between Alannah Hamilton and Darius Palmerston, with Alannah's wealthy and influential father, Charles, saving no expense and Police Sergeant Hamish MacBeth's ex-fiancée Elspeth Grant traveling with the wedding party to provide exclusive coverage of the event for her television station. However, as seemingly forewarned by Elspeth's gift for premonition, the happy event is met with tragedy and Hamish, along with his constable, Davey Forbes, are soon investigating a murder after Palmerston is found slashed to death by a sword hours after the wedding and another wedding guest is later found killed. 

Review: While I had my early doubts (and dislikes) about the direction Hamish Macbeth's story was taking following M. C. Beaton's death and the decision to continue the series with R. W. Green's assist, I have admittedly begun to enjoy some of the later books more than expected. In fact, when I checked out Death of a Groom from my library Friday evening and started reading it yesterday afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised when I couldn't put it down and finished it in near-record time.

This was a book I think may have finally re-captured the elements that made me a fan of the series to begin with and I'm pleased to say may have officially rekindled my enjoyment.

The thing I liked best about this book was the solid mystery. The victim, Palmerston, was a terrible person who had a habit of making nearly everyone he met dislike him, to the point even his own family had disowned him. This in turn meant there were plenty of potential suspects - the horse groom who loved Allanah, Allanah's father, who despised her fiancé, a jealous best friend, one of several locals he insulted and possibly Allanah herself.

Making the mystery even more confusing was the second victim (I'll avoid the spoiler), who was literally the opposite of Palmerston and seemed to be loved by everyone. It raised a question about how the murders could be related because anyone who would have wanted him dead wouldn't have wanted the second victim dead too.

I also considered the wedding itself an intriguing mystery. Allanah was clearly not in love with Palmerston but insisted on marrying him despite literally everyone she knew cautioning her against it and being in love with another man. It made little sense on the surface because she was the one with the money and had nothing to gain from the sham marriage (or even the murder of her new husband). Why was she going through with it?

Another thing I liked about this book is how Hamish finally seems to be getting a happy ending romance-wise, with Claire being a great fit for him, including being super understanding when his job requires him to cancel romantic plans. It does admittedly make me a bit fearful something tragic will happen to her, as was the case the last time he was in love, but I'll hope I'm wrong about that.

My only real complaint about the book is it didn't address what I felt was a key elephant in the room - the future of Tommel Castle and Hamish's other ex-fiancée, Patricia Halburton-Smythe. The double murder and the negative publicity certainly couldn't be good for business, and I was disappointed when the book ended without discussing the aftermath or how Patricia, who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, was doing. Even a couple paragraphs would have sufficed.

Final Opinion: This was a solid murder mystery with plenty of suspects and some intriguing characters. I was both stumped and entertained.

My Grade: A

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Here are some reviews of other Hamish MacBeth mysteries:

Book Review: Death of an Honest Man by M. C. Beaton (2018)

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)