Death of a Glutton

The seventh Hamish Macbeth mystery (after Death of a Prankster ) lacks the series' key strengths: the canny, tousle-haired, beanpole charm of the Scottish highland copper and the dour weirdness of the remote village he lives in are given scant play here. Instead, the author scrambles to assemble her cast, kill her odious and obese victim and have Hamish shyly serve up the solution in the presence of the usual cast of nasty superiors who hate his guts. A motley assortment of desperate souls, members of the Checkmate Singles Club, have come to the village hotel to spouse-hunt. Suddenly, one of the visit's organizers, a hog of a woman, dies with an apple inserted in her sizable gullet. Peta Gore wasn't exactly a lovable sort, and among the gang of timid, mousy secretaries, aspiring yuppies, big-haired bimbos and elderly lawyers, a killer surely lurks. In most Macbeth mysteries, he can be found cadging drinks, walking Towser the dog and trying to come to terms with his feelings for fair Priscilla, daughter of the local fallen gentryman. This time Towser never gets out of the tiny police station, and the Hamish/Priscilla romantic misfires seem to be repeating themselves. A minor addition to a previously winning series. (Apr.)