In dark, wintry Lochdubh, Christmas Cheer is about as welcome as a flat tyre on a deserted road. The Calvinist element in town has always resisted what they view as secular frivolity, so for most of the townsfolk there'll be no carols, feasting, gifts - or even whiskey on Christmas Day! And for PC Hamish Macbeth there's no holiday from crime - he finds himself hunting for a missing cat belonging to a lonely spinster. Curt and unfriendly, the woman is convinced her pet has been stolen but once behind her heavily-bolted door, Hamish can spot her true problem - she lives in fear, though of who or what he cannot guess. Then someone steals a Christmas tree and lights from the nearby village of Cnothan. So it is up to Hamish to sort all these problems out - and he had better do it quickly, for the church bells will soon be tolling on the eve of Christmas. Praise for the "Hamish Macbeth" series: 'First rate...deft social comedy and wonderfully realized atmosphere' - "Booklist". 'It's always a treat to return to Lochdubh' - "New York Times". 'Readers will enjoy the quirks and unique qualities of the cast...Beaton catches the beauty of the area's natural geography and succinctly describes its distinct flavor' - "Library Journal".
'Befuddled, earnest and utterly endearing, Hamish makes his triumphs sweetly satisfying' - "Publishers Weekly".
- ISBN10 0446609196
- ISBN13 9780446609197
- Publish Date 1 November 2002 (first published 1 November 1999)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Time Warner Trade Publishing
- Imprint Warner Books Inc
- Format Paperback (US Mass Market)
- Pages 160
- Language English