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Death of a Cad (Hamish Macbeth #2)
by M.C. Beaton - 2/5
The rating for Death Of A Cad is harsh. Or at least seems so, compared to my usual methods and standards. Part of my frustration is my inability to pinpoint the exact reason why the book was kind of meh, despite a great denouement. Adjectives! What use are they to me when I can only misuse them to try to gauge why I thought the book was pedestrian to a fault?
Reading this particular offering reminded me strongly less of M.C. Beaton's sibling franchise (the Agatha Raisin books) but more of Sue Grafton's popular series and not less popular that of J.D. Robb's. The book doesn't have a lot of heart. It reads like it came from an assembly line. There is no soul to the book - here we go again. What's the use of describing something as soulless if that doesn't clarify my experience and reaction and the color of my disappointment towards this book? I can't narrow it down, I can't put to paper the itinerary of my journey of reading the book. I might as well get on with it and finish off with a less angst-y and less ridiculous paragraph. But first allow me to put my toys back in my pram...
So, straight to it, finally. I was pleased that the murderer turned out to be someone given a lot of screen time in the book. I'll say no more spoiler-y things, but I didn't want to give Death Of A Cad 3 stars because for something read almost in a day, it is surprisingly cagey in rewarding the patience of the reader. I was also fed up of lowering my expectations of mysteries and had to draw the line somewhere. I don't feel that I've thrown Death Of A Cad under the bus. I'm just saying I feel like I've been taken for a ride.
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