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Read Death Of A Prankster (1993)

Death of a Prankster (1993)

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Rating
3.76 of 5 Votes: 5
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ISBN
0804111022 (ISBN13: 9780804111027)
Language
English
Publisher
fawcett books

Death Of A Prankster (1993) - Plot & Excerpts

AudioBook Review:Stars: Overall 3 Narration: 4 Story: 3And another in the ongoing series of Hamish Macbeth stories by M.C. Beaton, Death of a Prankster focuses on Andrew Trent, a rich and elderly prankster who can’t seem to stop the jokes even after his death. Calling in relatives to tell them he is dying, the ultimate joke is on him as he is murdered, and Hamish must find the culprit. While he has planned several different pranks for the family that has gathered, the road to the culprit is not as clear as in other stories. This was my least favorite of these stories so far: while I enjoy Beaton’s writing, the characters were a little on the thin side here, giving us little beyond their interactions to find enjoyable. Hamish was the front-and-center best source of interest in this story, from his interactions with superiors to his stubborn adherence to an apparent ‘lazy’ approach to detecting. When everyone in the house is under suspicion, even the maid and butler, there is another murder, but it does little more than add yet another twist to a fairly straightforward story. Of course, Hamish does prove that his particular mix of thoughtful observant detecting will find the culprit in the end, and he never ceases to amuse with his approach.Narration is again provided by Shaun Grindell, and I cannot say enough about his style being the perfect fit for these books. If you are wanting a simple, relaxing listen that won’t challenge you overmuch, and will provide a distraction, this is a series that you should look into. I received an MP3 version of the title from the producer via AudioBook Jukebox for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

We've read two of Beaton's more recent "Death of" set, featuring village cop, Scot Hamish Macbeth - and generally enjoyed rather charming stories with slightly more crime solving and suspense than a typical "cozy". "Prankster", one of the early novels in the series, unfortunately came up short -- short on pages (just 151), short on mystery, and maybe worst of all, short on charm. The plot is little more than a game of Clue. An old man known life-long as a practical jokester, summons the family to his estate on the pretext he's on death's door (NOT), and proceeds to involve his two daughters, his adopted son and his girlfriend, and several other family members and guests in all manner of childish pranks. A couple days of that and he turns up dead, and so the remainder of the book is all who did it, with suspicion cast upon one person or another including the butler and maid! Even a second death along the way did little to spice up things - perhaps the only element of entertainment was the interplay between our hero and his superiors, a recurring theme as Hamish of course almost always shows them up using persistence and brainpower instead of brawn.We don't have to have thrills and chills in every book we read, but we suspect we might stick to her newer books in this series; we obviously weren't particularly enamored with this one.

What do You think about Death Of A Prankster (1993)?

This is my second visit with Scottish constable Hamish Macbeth. Not much has changed in Hamish's world; his tiny police station still has no central heating, his off/on relationship with the refined Priscilla Halburton-Smythe is still, well, off and on and murder still has the bad taste to disrupt the idyllic Highlands.This time the victim is malicious prankster Andrew Trent, who has gathered his family to Arrat House under false pretenses. Why? So he can humiliate them for his personal glee. None of his jokes are funny (well, I did laugh at the whoopee cushion)...most of them are just mean and before long someone reaches their limit with the old man.The plot is a standard: family gathers, murder occurs, detectives called, solution reached. The saving grace in what otherwise would be formulaic is the fact that M.C. Beaton takes time to develop select members of the cast, making the reader more engaged in following their journey.A light, quick read.
—M.

"When Police Constable Hamish Macbeth receives the news that there has been a murder at Arrat House, home of the relentless practical joker Arthur Trent, he doesn't exactly race to the scene of the crime. After all, the last time Macbeth was called to investigate a death at the isolated Scottish manor, the 'victim' turned out to be Trent's manservant coivered in fake blood, who gave poor Hamish the shock of his life when he jumped up and revealed himself to be very much alive,"Thus prepared for another prank, Hamish arrives to find that Trent is most decidedly dead, having been stabbed and stuffed in a closet. For suspects, there is a houseful of greedy relations, all of whom are more interested in the contents of the will than the crime at hand. To complicate matters further, Chief Inspector Blair, Hamish's old nemesis, arrives on the scene as determined as ever to stand in the way of Macbeth's investigation."When his former flame Priscilla Halburton-Smythe gets involved as well, Hamish quite nearly has his hands full. Accordingly, the charming constable must enliven his sleepy style of detection ..."~~front & back flapAh, our old friend the English country house mystery. Complete with the usual assortment of unlikeable, egocentric, grasping relatives. And as is generally the case, the murderee is the chief unlikeable character, and has seemingly brought his demise upon himself with his nonstop annoying and dangerous pranks.I think if every one of this series was set in Lochdubh, we'd get tired of it, so the occasional excursion to another part of Hamish's patch is always most welcome.
—Kate

Constable Hamish MacBeth becomes involved in a murder mystery of a multi-millionaire found dead in his manor in Scotland. The rich man was a difficult prankster who pulled all sort of pranks on both relatives and those who lived in the small village near the manor. He contacted all his relatives and told them he was ill and soon to die and wanted to see them. So they all came and he barraged them with his pranks, they discovered the man was not ill at all but if they wanted to be in his will they had to stick around. While everyone is gathered there the millionaire is murdered and Hamish is on the case. It is a quick read and interesting how he and his associated solve the case.
—Jim

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