Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13)

Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13)
Death of a Dentist - Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13
Author: M. C. Beaton
ISBN-13: 9780892966431
ISBN-10: 0892966432
Publication Date: 8/1997
Pages: 200
Rating:
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 19

4.1 stars, based on 19 ratings
Publisher: Mysterious Press
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

17 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 721 more book reviews
Dr. Frederick Gilchrist's cheap rates and desire to pull teeth have gained him a good clietele in Scotland. Hamish Macbeth, a policeman with a toothache, finds the reputed womanizer's body and prepares to bite off more than he can chew, dealing with more than one angry husband.
sealady avatar reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 657 more book reviews
Amazon.com
In this addition to Beaton's series featuring unassuming Scottish policeman Hamish Macbeth, Hamish finds himself precipitated by a vicious toothache into the world of Dr. Frederick Gilchrist. Gilchrist is a local dentist best known for his eagerness to replace healthy teeth with inexpensive dentures, and infamous for his hard hand on the drill. Maggie Bane, his lovely assistant with a harsh and unlovely voice, surprises Hamish with her hostility, but he is even more astonished to find the dentist's dead body reclining in his chair with mysterious drill marks on his teeth.
Delving deeper into the village's rural dish in search of the murderer, Macbeth uncovers long-buried relationships, an illicit local still, a robbery that is not what it appears, and the expected deceptions and partial truths his countrymen tell the police for reasons only a local character like Hamish can understand. Once again, he has occasion to contact his former love, the adamantine Priscilla Halburton-Smyth, and her friend, Sarah Hudson, even helps Hamish hack into police records for his investigation.

Macbeth's efforts bustle charmingly along against the background of quirky Scots dialect and rustic pubs. And Beaton's tangled web of a mystery is tidily resolved to the satisfaction of the locals and, surely, for all the devoted fans of this winning series. --Barbara Schlieper

From Library Journal
Desperate for relief, Scottish constable Hamish Macbeth takes his toothache to a nearby dentist with a lousy reputation. Unfortunately, he discovers the man dead of nicotine poisoning. As he investigates, Hamish finds that the victim had many enemies, including his own wife. A reliable series Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --
reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 67 more book reviews
Amazon.com
In this addition to Beaton's series featuring unassuming Scottish policeman Hamish Macbeth, Hamish finds himself precipitated by a vicious toothache into the world of Dr. Frederick Gilchrist. Gilchrist is a local dentist best known for his eagerness to replace healthy teeth with inexpensive dentures, and infamous for his hard hand on the drill. Maggie Bane, his lovely assistant with a harsh and unlovely voice, surprises Hamish with her hostility, but he is even more astonished to find the dentist's dead body reclining in his chair with mysterious drill marks on his teeth.

Delving deeper into the village's rural dish in search of the murderer, Macbeth uncovers long-buried relationships, an illicit local still, a robbery that is not what it appears, and the expected deceptions and partial truths his countrymen tell the police for reasons only a local character like Hamish can understand. Once again, he has occasion to contact his former love, the adamantine Priscilla Halburton-Smyth, and her friend, Sarah Hudson, even helps Hamish hack into police records for his investigation.

Macbeth's efforts bustle charmingly along against the background of quirky Scots dialect and rustic pubs. And Beaton's tangled web of a mystery is tidily resolved to the satisfaction of the locals and, surely, for all the devoted fans of this winning series. --Barbara Schlieper

From Library Journal
Desperate for relief, Scottish constable Hamish Macbeth takes his toothache to a nearby dentist with a lousy reputation. Unfortunately, he discovers the man dead of nicotine poisoning. As he investigates, Hamish finds that the victim had many enemies, including his own wife. A reliable series (Death of a Macho Man, LJ 6/1/96).
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 192 more book reviews
Hammish MacBeth and all the folks of Loch Dubh
return, another perfect highland fling.
reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 359 more book reviews
With a raging toothache, Hamish McBeth finally gives in and goes to the local dentist despite his unsavory reputation. Despite the pain in his jaw, it wasn't a good decision; someone had poisoned Dr. Gilcrist and left the body for Hamish to find. As if he didn't have enough to think about, facing his first date since his fiance, Pricilla, broke it off.
reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 32 more book reviews
Death of a Dentist but you know the drill
Many of us would like our dentists to meet an untimely end so that we can get out of an appointment we dread. Yet when the suffering Scottish policeman Hamish Macbeth is desperately in need dental care, it would have been better if the said victim had chosen another time to be murdered.
Macbeth visits the dentist in Braikie (Braikie being 20 miles from his home base of Lochdubh which did not have a dentist), named Gilchrist, even though the word-of-mouth is that he only knows how to pull teeth. There's a real dentist in Inverness but of course that's a longer drive and he'll cost more.
Alas, just when Macbeth was to see Dr. Gilchrist, he turns up dead in his own dental chair with a nasty bit of revenge drilling done on his own teeth. The doctor's, that is.
Not only does Macbeth have to chase down a murder while trying to ignore his mouth pains, he also has a robbery to solve. Someone broke into a safe and took two-hundred-and-fifty thousand pounds in 20-pound notes. It was to be the bingo prize in the huge annual jackpot that drew players from miles around. A crime wave and a cary crisis all in one week, too much for poor Hamish.
Gilchrist was a bit of a ladies' man, who liked to buy flashy clothes and cars. Was he being pressed for debts, or was there a woman scorned somewhere in the past? Is there any connection between the two crimes? On the surface there doesn't appear to be. Yet after a couple hundred pages, Macbeth does unravel the whole tale. You'll have to read it to find out what it was.
anitag avatar reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 78 more book reviews
Great series by M.C. Beaton. I love the Hamis Macbeth series the most. This book opens with Ham waking up to a toothache and it only gets worse...when he finds the dentist murdered, is almost killed himself but he keeps searching until he finds the murderer.
Great series.
reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 21 more book reviews
Another of the MacBeth series of Highland flings in mystery. Light, quick read especially enjoyable to anyone who enjoys bagpipes and low-flung clouds above heather.
punkinema avatar reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 305 more book reviews
Hamish has a horrible toothache and is forced to go to the dentist who only pulls teeth instead of treating them. However, when he gets to the dentist's office, no one is there and the dentist is dead. Hamish is then lead to a most frustrating crime to solve with too many suspects. Enjoyed this book a lot and can hardly wait to read the next one!
reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 9 more book reviews
A FUN READ, NOT TOO COMPLEX BUT ENTERTAINING.
PamLS avatar reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 27 more book reviews
A delightful entry of Hamish Macbeth. The locals consider dentistry is take out the teeth and put in denture. The dentist in Braikke is found murdered with his teeth drilled. A very enjoyable read.
reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 18 more book reviews
Hamish MacBeth Mystery
Nene55 avatar reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 15 more book reviews
I really enjoy the Hamish MacBeth series. It is like taking a little trip to Scotland.
reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 43 more book reviews
Thirteenth in the series.

A local dentist with a reputation as a ladies-man is found murdered in his office.

Will this case bring him closer to Priscilla or farther away?
reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 57 more book reviews
Hamish MacBeth keeps Lochdubh free of crime and murder
reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on
I absolutely love the cultural tone of all M C Beaton books and the joy of sharing the story. My life was improved when I discovered her series.
reviewed Death of a Dentist (Hamish MacBeth, Bk 13) on + 24 more book reviews
A quick read. Another good Hamish MacBeth story.