"DEATH OF A VALENTINE," by M.C. Beaton, Grand Central Publishing, 256 pages $23.99
When crime hits a small town, it seems no one goes untouched. Dark secrets come out, and perfection becomes, well, flawed.
Such is the case in "Death of a Valentine," a Hamish Macbeth mystery by M.C. Beaton.
In the highlands of northern Scotland, a very large tree is about to fall. Police Sergeant Hamish Macbeth, a bachelor if there ever was one, is finally getting married.
And he's not marrying just anyone, but his constable, Josie McSween, who has glossy brown hair and big brown eyes and helped Hamish solve a Valentine's Day murder.
Josie's become the darling of the village of Lochdubh, and it's clear she adores Hamish. In fact, it seems everyone is happy with the situation except the groom to be.
Rewind to Josie's arrival in Lochdubh. Hamish likes being the lone law-enforcement officer, and he doesn't want a partner. He sends Josie out to essentially baby-sit residents in far-reaching areas to get her out of his hair.
But when a beautiful woman from a nearby village is murdered on Valentine's Day, Hamish is forced to include Josie in the investigation.
It turns out this murder victim wasn't as chaste or perfect as people had thought. And the list of suspects keeps growing. Hamish is up to solving the case, but can he solve the nagging feeling he has about Josie?
At first glance, "Death of a Valentine" is a lighthearted and somewhat quirky mystery — or at least as lighthearted as you can be when a mail bomb explodes in someone's face. Luckily, there's not a lot of specific detail about the carnage.
Instead, Beaton focuses on the characters — their eccentricities, likes, dislikes, dreams and obsessions. And boy, does one of the characters have obsessions. So much so that the obsessions start to drive the story more than the murder mentioned in the title.
Consequently, while still humorous, alcohol and drugs and plotting and scheming get in the way, leaving the reader with a sour taste. The occasional use of a curse word is also jarring and feels out of place.
Fans of other Hamish Macbeth books will no doubt enjoy "Death of a Valentine." Beaton's gruff main character is likeable and well developed. And the mystery itself has as many twists and turns as a roller coaster. But the change in tone will be off-putting to some.
e-mail: jharrison@desnews.com