Book Review: Death of a Gossip (1985)

I decided to take a short break from reading Agatha Christie novels but was still in the mood for another mystery novel. So, I ended up going to the local library and picked out this book at random.

I didn't know much about this book or the author but, based on the description, I thought it looked halfway decent. After finishing it yesterday, however, I have to say I wasn't as impressed with it as I thought it would be.

I'll start out by saying I did like Hamish Macbeth. He was a notorious mooch, a poacher and kind of lazy, making him the last person anyone would expect to solve a murder. And, even as he was investigating, his methods seemed half-hazard at best.

My biggest problem with this book is the mystery really didn't do him any justice. There was potential, largely because everyone in that fishing school had a motive for murder. But, the book didn't give many clues (he solved the mystery by making phone calls to friends) and ultimately gives away who the murderer is before Macbeth has a chance to make his big reveal.

The supporting characters also seemed to lack depth. They were either really snobbish or, in the case of Alice, very naive (to the point I immediately stopped suspecting her because she wasn't smart enough to pull it off). The weak murder mystery would have been greatly improved by adding a little more to each of the potential suspects.

I also wasn't a big fan of the long chapters. Beaton choose to break the book apart by having one chapter per day. This made some of them seem to drag on to a point I found myself struggling to stay interested. I don't know if it would have helped much, but having shorter chapters would have made it more readable.

The book had some potential, especially with Hamish Macbeth, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. 

My Grade: C