Death of a Scriptwriter

June 1, 1998
In his 14th bracing appearance, Scottish Highland police constable Hamish Macbeth (Death of a Dentist, 1997, etc.) investigates crimes visited upon those who tinker too much with a mystery series. Anxious to be back in print, elderly mystery writer Patricia Martyn-Broyd signs an options contract that cavalierly gives a television company all rights to her books. Poor Patricia should have read the small print. Her aristocratic heroine and staid story line are soon transformed into a wild 1960s romp, featuring buxom blonde actress Penelope Gates. Patricia is mad enough to murder the scriptwriter, Jamie Gallagher. She isn't alone. Penelope's jealous, often inebriated husband, Josh, is tired of his wife's clothes coming off in every part she plays. Jamie, Josh and Penelope all die in quick succession during location filming in the weird Scottish village of Drim, which is a mere stone's throw from lanky, laconic Hamish's hometown of Lochdubh. A good man cursed with a blustery, jealous superior and poor judgment in affairs of the heart, Hamish has a motley crew of actors and producers for suspects, in addition to the snooty yet vulnerable Patricia. There's a little less of Hamish himself this time out, and his romantic misfires feel cursory, but the environs are brooding and Beaton's affectionate wit remains dry and delightful. Mystery Guild featured alternate; author tour.

Starred review from April 15, 1998
Hamish MacBeth returns in a mystery that brings glitz to the Highlander police constable's usually isolated Scottish haunts. A transplanted Brit, Patricia Martyn-Broyd is the author of several mysteries, though her work is now out of print, and she is in the grip of writer's block. Then comes the news that Scottish Television wants to feature Martyn-Broyd's detective, Lady Harriet, in a mystery series. Patricia is overjoyed until she learns that the production company has made some changes--like turning Lady Harriet into a pot-smoking hippie. The show seems doomed from the get-go. First, the obnoxious scriptwriter is murdered. Then, the actress playing Lady Harriet takes a tumble off a mist-shrouded cliff. His superiors consider MacBeth too lightweight to handle such a high-profile case, but not surprisingly, it's his detecting acumen that allows the case to be solved. As usual, Beaton shows herself to be a skillful plotter in the classic style--plenty of possible perpetrators, a last-minute surprise or two, and as many twists and turns as a path up a Scottish hillside. But the standout factor remains MacBeth himself--so low-key at the outset that first-time readers will hardly notice him, especially as he slips around Columbo-like, an unglamorous klutz in a glamorous show-biz milieu. But slowly, bits of his personality come to the fore--his weariness, his wounds, and his dogged desire to make a real life for himself. He wins us over completely, of course, and we keep coming back for more, hoping that MacBeth will triumph, not just with the case at hand, but also with the equally vexing demons of daily life. ((Reviewed April 15, 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)