What is there to say that I haven't already said before?
Well, one thing that reading these four books together highlighted was another common character in the Beaton books - a young, generally insecure female character who inevitably:
- is not the killer
- is jealous of/dislikes Priscilla because of her cool, blond, capable ways (and sometimes also because of her relationship to Hamish)
- develops a crush on Hamish
- also gets involved with (and in some cases sleeps with) some unsuitable *other* character (a cad), often expecting that they will get married, despite the fact they have known each of ther for but days (dude!)
I find this character irritating in the extreme.
On a positive note, one book I actually didn't mind was Death of an Outsider, which differs from the other Hamish books in a couple of ways. For a start, Hamish in not in Loch Dubh but has been seconded to another village becuse the bobby there has gone on holiday. Hamish actually has a relationship with someone other than Priscilla! And, although he is wet enough to think having slept with her on three occasions really does mean he has to ask her to marry him, she is not so wet to believe this (therefore differing from the irritating female as described above, although to be fair she is deluded about her art and only leaves hamish cos she's going back to her husband). This is also one of the first books in the series and so the storyline (the murder) was used in the TV show and I have vivid memories of one particular scene when the murder was discovered. Awww... memories.
Anyway, anyone who's interested in a hot pink hussy should get in touch ASAP, as that's all I got left now.
(PS: If you've read 'Death of a Gossip', you've pretty much read 'Death of a Glutton'. And vice versa. The End :-)
