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Book Summary and Reviews of Death of a Chimney Sweep by M. C. Beaton

Death of a Chimney Sweep by M. C. Beaton

Death of a Chimney Sweep

A Hamish Macbeth Mystery

by M. C. Beaton

  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Published:
  • Feb 2011, 256 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

In the south of Scotland, residents get their chimneys vacuum-cleaned. But in the isolated villages in the very north of Scotland, the villagers rely on the services of the itinerant sweep, Pete Ray, and his old-fashioned brushes. Pete is always able to find work in the Scottish highlands, until one day when Police Constable Hamish Macbeth notices blood dripping onto the floor of a villager's fireplace, and a dead body stuffed inside the chimney. The entire town of Lochdubh is certain Pete is the culprit, but Hamish doesn't believe that the affable chimney sweep is capable of committing murder. Then Pete's body is found on the Scottish moors, and the mystery deepens. Once again, it's up to Hamish to discover who's responsible for the dirty deed - and this time, the murderer may be closer than he realizes.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"The Scottish Highlands that Beaton depicts with such skill are beautiful and sinister, a fitting backdrop to her Hamish Macbeth series and especially to this one, her twenty-sixth craggy-cozy." - Booklist

"Cozy fans who value amusing characters over intricate plotting will be well satisfied." - Publishers Weekly

This information about Death of a Chimney Sweep was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

M. C. Beaton Author Biography

M. C. Beaton has written over twenty Hamish Macbeth mysteries (starting with Death of a Gossip 1985). She is also the author of the Agatha Raisin series (starting with Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death 1992) and is a film commentator on BBC television. She lives in a Cotswolds cottage (mid-west England) with her husband, journalist Harry Scott.  A former journalist for daily newspapers, she now devotes her time to writing fiction.  Under her own name, Marion Chesney, she also writes Regency romances, and has also written under a variety of other pseudonyms: Sarah Chester, Helen Crampton, Ann Fairfax, Marion Gibbons, Jennie Tremaine, and Charlotte Ward.

Link to M. C. Beaton's Website

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