Death of a Gossip (1985)

Death of a Gossip is a mystery novel by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney), first published in 1985. It is set in the fictional town of Lochdubh, Scotland and is the first novel of a series featuring the local constable Hamish Macbeth.

Plot

Eight people of varied background meet in the fictional village of Lochdubh in Northern Scotland. They attend the Lochdubh School of Casting : Salmon and Trout Fishing, owned and operated by John Cartwright and his wife Heather. What should be a relaxing holiday amid glorious Highland lochs and mountains becomes a misery. One of the party, Lady Jane Withers, a society widow and notorious gossip columnist, upsets everyone with her snobbishness, sharp tongue and rudeness. Lady Jane soon learns that each of her fellow guests has a secret in their past that they would prefer to remain unknown. When her Ladyship is found dead in Keeper's Pool, no-one is surprised and everyone is relieved.

Hamish Macbeth, Lochdubh's local policeman, has to search for a murderer amongst the many suspects. No-one is willing to talk. With the assistance of Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, the love of his life, Hamish solves the mystery in his usual unorthodox style. Hamish's success does not endear him to Chief Inspector Blair, a senior detective from the nearby fictional town of Strathbane.

Characters

John Cartwright: Owner of the Lochdubh School of Casting: Salmon and Trout Fishing

Heather Cartwright: Wife of John, joint manager of the school, believed to be the better angler

Hamish Macbeth: Lochdubh's village constable

Mr. Marvin Roth: A wealthy American from New York who is planning to run for office

Mrs. Amy Roth: the wealthy American's wife, related to an old Southern family

Lady Jane Winders: Widow of a Labour Peer; she is "The Gossip"; a gossip columnist for newspaper

Jeremy Blythe: A barrister from London

Alice Wilson: A secretary from London

Charlie Baxter: A twelve-year-old from Manchester with divorced parents

Major Peter Frame: Former army officer, the only member of the class with prior fishing experience

Daphene Gore: A debutante from Oxford

Priscilla Halburton-Smythe: The daughter of a wealthy local landowner

Genre

Death of a Gossip is a slightly modified version of an English Drawing Room Mystery. This type of mystery brings together a group of people, one of the group is murdered and the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth solves the crime by careful observation of the group. At the end of the novel they are all brought together in a drawing room where one by one each person is shown to be innocent and the guilty party is exposed.

Publication history

1985, USA, St. Martin's Press ISBN 978-0-312-18637-1, Pub Date March 1985, Hardcover

1988, USA, Fawcett Publications publisher ISBN 978-0-312-18637-1, Pub date 12 April 1988, Mass Market Paperback

1999, USA, Grand Central Publishing, ISBN 978-0-446-60713-1, Pub Date 01 Feb 1999, Mass Market Paperback

1989, UK, Savannah Koch publisher, ISBN 978-0-9514464-0-9, Pub Date 5 August 1989, Hardcover

1994, UK, Bantam Books, London, ISBN 978-0-553-40791-4, Pub Date 28 July 1994, Paperback

2008, UK, Robinson Publishing, ISBN 978-1-84529-665-0, Pub Date 23 April 2008, Paperback

2013, UK, C & R Crime, ISBN 978-1-4721-0520-2, Pub Date 2013, Paperback