About this series
Hamish Macbeth Mysteries is a series by M. C. Beaton. We list 44 books in this series so far, in reading order.
Start with Book 1: Death of a Gossip.
Tagged on most books in this series: British, Police detective, Male Protagonist and Village.
If you like Hamish Macbeth Mysteries, try A Dover Mystery by Joyce Porter, Vera Stanhope by Ann Cleeves and A Sukey Reynolds Mystery by Betty Rowlands.
What readers say
Readers enjoy Hamish Macbeth for its lazy-seeming but sharp Highland village constable who keeps solving cases while dodging promotion, the remote Scottish setting, dry humor and quick, easy reads that work especially well on audio. Many say Hamish grows a lot over the long series. Common criticisms are stereotyped characters, solutions that rely on confessions rather than fair clues, and dated treatment of women and weight in the early books, and readers note the TV adaptation is quite different.
Best for: Readers who want light, funny Scottish village mysteries with a lovable underdog sleuth.
Summary of public reader reviews, updated October 2026.
📖 Reading Order
Pin this series