Death of a Groom

This partnership between R. W. Green and the now deceased M. C. Beaton (Beaton produced scores of mysteries starring Scottish Sergeant Hamish Macbeth, Agatha Raisin, and more) is the strongest, and most entertaining collaboration Green has produced to date. Here we find the droll Hamish hanging about the sleepy Scottish village of Lochdubh. But he is hardly alone. Lochdubh is host to a lavish wedding that has drawn all of the local police, residents hired by the Tommel Castle Hotel to help with food and refreshments, and of course the many posh members of the wedding party. Tensions abound: two of the guests are Hamish’s former girlfriends; the British guests persist in ridiculing the Scottish locals; and a vicious snow storm has been unleashed, causing everyone to be on lockdown. Green does a great job of building up tension until it all explodes and a body is found in the dining room of the hotel. It’s a bloody and garish murder, launching Hamish and his colleagues into a deep investigation. Serious enough to be a satisfying work of crime fiction, and a touch gory, this book should attract existing fans while introducing Hamish to new readers.