Death of Yesterday

August 13, 2014 - Death of Yesterday (M.C. Beaton). The 29th entry in the series from M.C. Beaton continues in the vein of recent entries: A victim we hardly knew, large chunks of time pass, and the love life of Scottish police constable Hamish Macbeth is still a muddled mess.

This tale begins with a newcomer to the Scottish Highlands claiming she was drugged and raped in a pub. But, she can't remember exactly what happened. Hamish suggests she see a hypnotist, but the woman never shows up for the appointment. A couple weeks later, her body turns up in a bale of T-shirts manufactured at the factory where she worked. One murder deserves another, and before it's all said and done, five or six people have died – including one who gets what's coming in a particularly gruesome manner.

Mixed in with the murder plot is the continuing saga of Hamish's love life. The familiar faces of cool upper class beauty Priscilla Halburton-Smythe and fiery reporter Elspeth Grant resurface, and Hamish has a one-night stand with a woman connected to the investigation. Just when it looks like he's going to settle down, it all gets thrown up in the air again.

The main problems with this book are pretty much the same ones I had with the last book. The case never seems to be over, Hamish's romantic problems won't go away, and consequently, the book wears out its welcome. The author seems to be betting that readers will stick with the series to find out who Hamish marries. At this point, that's not a bet I would take.