In The Spotlight: M.C. Beaton’s Death of a Cad

Hello, All,

Welcome to another edition of In The Spotlight. It’s not easy to write one successful mystery series, let alone more than one. But M.C. Beaton has done just that. Her Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth novels have been well-received and popular since the late1980’s. Let’s take a look at how Beaton has done it and turn today’s spotlight on Death of a Cad, the second in her Hamish Macbeth series.

As Death of a Cad begins, Scottish landowner Colonel Halburton-Smythe and his wife Mary are preparing for a week-end house party in honour of successful playwright Henry Withering. Withering has just become engaged to the Halburton-Smythes’ daughter Priscilla, and the idea is to introduce him to the local “people who matter.” The Halburton-Smythes are pleased at this engagement, especially since it probably means that Priscilla will end her friendship with the “most-definitely-not-one-of-us” local constable Hamish Macbeth. Priscilla hasn’t visited her family’s home just lately, but she’s glad to visit her native Highlands. Everyone arrives and settles in for the week-end, but it’s not long before trouble brews. One of the guests is Captain Peter Bartlett of the Highland Dragoons. He’s boorish, drinks far too much and can’t leave women alone. Worse, he treats the ladies with whom he becomes involved horribly.

The week-end begins, and Bartlett makes a bet with another guest Jeremy Pomfret that he can shoot a brace of grouse before Pomfret can. Early the next morning (much earlier than the time the two agreed to start), Bartlett leaves the house so he can get his grouse before his competitor does. Instead, he’s shot in what looks like a terrible accident. Macbeth arrives on the scene on his way to speak to Priscilla and soon begins to ask questions. Halburton-Smythe and his wife are only too eager for this death to be put down to accident, as the alternative would be scandalous for the family and the houseguests. So when DCI Blair and his team arrive, the Halburton-Smythes are content to turn the case over to Blair, who concurs with their belief that Bartlett’s death was an accident. Besides, the Halburton-Smythes are not eager to have Macbeth spend any more time around Priscilla than is absolutely necessary.

Macbeth isn’t satisfied, though, that this was an accident. Everything just looks too convenient for him. He begins to look more closely at the scene of the crime and soon finds clear evidence that Bartlett was murdered. Very reluctantly, Blair has to admit that it was a murder and he begins to investigate. All of the clues seem to lead to another guest Freddy Forbes-Grant. Bartlett was having an affair with Forbes-Grant’s wife Vera, so there’s a clear motive. What’s more, Forbes-Grant actually confesses to the crime when evidence is found in his room that seems to point clearly to him. So Blair thinks he’s got the case solved.

To Blair’s chagrin, Hamish Macbeth doesn’t think Forbes-Grant’s guilty, and continues to search for clues. After another murder (of which Forbes-Grant can’t be guilty, since he’s under arrest), Macbeth puts the pieces together and finds out who killed both victims and why.

This is in some ways a traditional “country house” mystery, where there’s a group of disparate guests, all of whom have a reason to commit murder. As Macbeth looks into the case, he finds that all of the guests have had at least one very unpleasant experience with Bartlett, so any of them might have wanted to kill him. And it’s that search into the past connections between Bartlett and the other guests that leads Macbeth to the killer.

One of the elements that’s woven through this novel is a satirical look at the Scottish “upper crust.” In his search for the truth, the plain-spoken and down-to-earth Macbeth finds out several less-than-dignified things about the “beautiful people” he investigates, and we see their all-too-human sides. Here, for example, is a description of two of the guests, Jessica Villers and Diana Bryce, who are superficially best friends, on the way to the house-party:

 

“Diana was secretly contemptuous of the mannish, gawky, horsy Jessica, and Jessica was bitterly jealous of Diana’s stunning good looks…As Jessica competently managed her draughty old Land Rover along the one-lane Highland roads, Diana dreamt of snatching this famous playwright from under Priscilla’s nose. Everyone knew Priscilla had about as much sex appeal as a fish. Diana had glossy black hair and a flawless complexion. The fact that the men hadn’t exactly all fallen at her feet during her London Season still rankled. She had not let learned the hard lesson that women who love themselves too much are rarely loved by anyone else. She had been engaged twice and on each occasion it had been the man who called it off.”

 

Macbeth is, as they say, no respecter of persons, so he isn’t dazzled by money, title or land. In fact, one of the sub-plots in this story has to do with his relationship with Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. He doesn’t care a bit that she comes from money and title. He likes her for what she is, and when she does annoy him (which she does a few times), he tells her exactly what he thinks. He’s very much attracted to her, and the feeling’s mutual, but he’s certainly not blinded by her background.

Macbeth’s character is another interesting element in this story. He’s a Highlander, one of the locals. As such, he knows how the locals do things, and he knows how to talk to people to get information. When he wants to, Macbeth can make people feel very comfortable – comfortable enough to tell him things they might not tell other people. He has very little ambition and is content to be the local bobby. He’s happy with his local police station, his animals and garden and his dog Towser. And yet, lack of ambition doesn’t mean lack of interest or intelligence. Macbeth is canny, shrewd and observant.

There is a bright thread of humour through the novel, too. For example, right after the murder, Macbeth is examining the scene of the crime when DCI Blair arrives. The two heartily dislike each other, but Blair is Macbeth’s boss, so Macbeth decides it’s best if he “disappears;” certainly that’s what Blair wants. The two go back into the Halburton-Smythe house to talk to the houseguests and Macbeth chooses a moment when no-one’s paying attention to slip behind a large sofa in the living room. His reason for staying? He hasn’t had lunch and he wants his tea. The Halburton-Smythes’ maid Jessie is fond of Macbeth and sneaks him some tea and scones while he’s hiding. Priscilla discovers that he’s there and asks him later what he was doing:

 

“‘I was searching for clues,’ said Hamish, looking at her hopefully.”

 

Needless to say, Priscilla doesn’t exactly accept his explanation.

Death of a Cad is a cosy, but it’s not “frothy.” There are some solid characters, a believable motive for a credible murder, and some authentic ways of solving it. The story’s told against a Highlands backdrop and features a cop whom you couldn’t imagine living and working anywhere else. But what’s your view? Have you read Death of a Cad? If you have, what elements do you see in it?

 

 

 

Coming Up On In The Spotlight

 

Monday 6 February/Tuesday 7 February – Bad Debts – Peter Temple

Monday 13 February/Tuesday 14 February – The Crime at Black Dudley – Margery Allingham

Monday 20 February/Tuesday 21 February – The Darkening Field – William Ryan

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