Book Review: Death of a Traitor by M. C. Beaton and R. W. Green (2023)

Synopsis: Kate Hibbert has a habit of disappearing for weeks at a time so, when Lochdubh's newest resident goes missing, Sergeant Hamish Macbeth isn't immediately worried, even after Kate's cousin, Diane, visits him in person to express her concerns. When Hibbert's body turns up in a lake, Macbeth discovers evidence suggesting Hibbert had been blackmailing many of the local residents. In addition to having plenty of suspects and possibly needing to arrest one of his friends, Macbeth has another issue. His nemesis, DCI Blair, has been put in charge of the case and he has a new assistant, Davey Forbes, who may be spying for Blair.

Review: After being left saddened by the end of Death of a Green-eyed Monster, I was a little hesitant to read the next book in the Hamish Macbeth series, Death of a Traitor. However, mostly out of curiosity and a desire to see a happier ending, I checked it out at the library. Unfortunately, while this book ended on a higher note than the previous one, it wasn't one of my favorites.

I think the book does a great job building on the events from the previous book, with Macbeth still mourning the loss of his beloved Dorothy but also reaching a point in the grief process where he's not opposed to looking at other women. This part was probably one of the more interesting parts because his romantic feelings toward the woman who found Kate's body, Sally, seemed like something that could potentially backfire.

The same was true about his new assistant, Davey Forbes. On the surface, he seemed like a solid and trustworthy guy who was even vouched for by one of Hamish's friends. However, the more Hamish trusted him, the more I wondered if the guy would end up betraying him.

Oh, and when Hamish's pets, Lugs and Sonsie, got involved and the former was on death's door, it made me wonder if there would be two books in a row with a heartbreaking conclusion.

My biggest problem with this book was the case itself. I just didn't feel like it was as solid as the mysteries from other books in this series. The clues were just too readily available, the red herrings were weeded out easily, and Macbeth had very little difficulty homing in on Hibbert's killer. 

I'm also not sure I like how the last two books seem to be adding a spy-like theme to the series, with the mysterious American, James Bland, making another appearance toward the end and setting up something for a future book. I'm willing to give the series the benefit of the doubt but hope it's not something that is going to take Macbeth down a different path that gets away from what made the series special in the first place.

Final Opinion: It's an OK book and I'm glad it didn't end on a depressing note like the previous one. However, I haven't seen anything from this book or Death of a Green-eyed Monster that haven't convinced me the series shouldn't have just ended with Death of an Honest Man back in 2018.

My Grade: C