Christmas Fiction
2 total works
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".
'Befuddled, earnest and utterly endearing, Hamish makes his triumphs sweetly satisfying' - "Publishers Weekly".
Agatha is dreaming of a white Christmas, with plenty of mulled wine and roasting chestnuts in an open fire - but who will be joining her under the mistletoe? During the dark, grey days of early December Agatha is obsessed by only two things - Christmas, and her ex, James Lacey. Although she says she feels nothing for James now, she feels sure that planning the perfect Dickensian Christmas for all her friends will somehow reanimate her love. Even the murder of a Mrs Tamworthy, poisoned with hemlock at the local manor house, does little to distract Agatha from organising her perfect yuletide celebrations. And yet it should do, as Mrs Tamworthy had written to Agatha, telling her that one of her family wanted to see her dead before the year was out. Slightly guiltily (and belatedly), Agatha sets out to solve the case with the help of her new recruit, young Toni Gilmour.