Death of a Celebrity by M.C. Beaton

Published by

Sarah Ann

on

May 1, 2011

Death of a Celebrity is the 17th book in the Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery series by M.C. Beaton.

This time, a beautiful but skanky news reporter named Crystal French is the murder victim. For her entire career, Crystal has tried sleeping her way to the top without luck. But her luck turns when she starts reporting on various scandals taking place in the sleepy town of Lochdubh.

To maintain high ratings for her show, Crystal drudges up old news and rumors about local residents. Of course, this stirs up feelings of hate for Crystal among the villagers. When her body is found murdered, Hamish Macbeth starts nosing around to figure out whodunnit.

Just like all the other books in this series, Death of a Celebrity is an amusing, fun, and quick read.

I always enjoy reading Hamish’s musings about the rudeness and lack of hospitality among his fellow villagers. Death of a Celebrity introduces us to a new character called Detective Chief Inspector Carson, who temporarily steps in for Inspector Blair. Despite being constantly talked down to by the other officers in his division, Hamish’s kindness and true colors shine through yet again when he welcomes Carson into his home.

I’m also amused by the dated lifestyles of the Lochdubh people. Are they stuck in an alternate universe or time-warp where the the Internet exists but cell phones don’t?

One the main clues in this novel deals with hairpins. There’s some confusion around missing hairpins because the victim was wearing them in her hair. Apparently, all Lochdubh women use hairpins. Is there no such thing as hair ties, scrunchies, or barrettes over there? It’s not like the book occurs during wartime. Also, why is wearing brown hairpins in blond hair suspicious?

Anyway, these books are all great and fun, you can’t really go wrong.

The next books in this series that come after Death of a Celebrity are:

What did you think about Death of a Celebrity?

Last Updated on January 13, 2026 by Sarah Ann

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