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Hamish Macbeth · Book 1

Death of a Gossip

by M. C. Beaton
Published
1 January 1985
Pages
201
ISBN-13
9780783814728
Type
novel
Buy on Amazon All Hamish Macbeth books in order
Cover of Death of a Gossip

About this book

Death of a Gossip (1985) opens the series in Lochdubh, the fictional Highland coastal village where lanky, red-headed constable Hamish Macbeth would rather poach salmon and gossip than chase the promotion that would drag him to a desk in Strathbane. M. C. Beaton wrote it at 201 pages, setting the sly comic register the whole run would keep.

Key facts about Death of a Gossip

M. C. Beaton wrote Death of a Gossip, a novel on our list. It has been out since 1985. The book has 201 pages.

We list 3 editions of this novel. Since each edition has its own ISBN, search for 9780783814728 to find the main one.

Death of a Gossip is book 1 of 38 in the Hamish Macbeth series. The series has 38 published books. As a result, this is the book to start the series with. Death of a Groom is the latest book in the series with a full release date, out on 10 February 2026.

Additionally, M. C. Beaton writes The Six Sisters, A House for the Season and School for Manners, plus 6 more series. Those series sit on our historical romance, cozy mystery and historical mystery shelves. Meanwhile, Death of a Groom is the latest published M. C. Beaton book on file, from 10 February 2026.

About M. C. Beaton

M. C. Beaton was the pen name of Marion Chesney, a Scottish-born author who wrote prolifically across romance and mystery before finding her signature register with two long-running cozy mystery series set worlds apart in tone and geography. See every M. C. Beaton book in order.

Its place in Hamish Macbeth

Death of a Gossip is book 1 in the Hamish Macbeth series. It is followed by Death of a Cad. See the full Hamish Macbeth reading order.

Constable Hamish Macbeth is the laziest ambitious man in the Scottish Highlands: a lanky, red-headed village policeman in the fictional coastal town of Lochdubh who works hard at exactly one thing, staying a lowly constable, because promotion would mean a desk in Strathbane and losing the poaching, fishing and gossiping that make his unhurried life worth living. M. C. Beaton (the pen name of Marion Chesney) built the series as the gentler, more whimsical sibling to her later Agatha Raisin books: the crimes are…

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