Death of a Maid

Mrs. Gillespie is famous for being the best maid in the northwest of Sutherland. But to Hamish Macbeth, she is a malicious gossip who bangs around the furniture and clanks pots. When Hamish wins Mrs. Gillespie’s services in a church raffle, he spends most of the day trying to avoid her. He doesn’t understand how she managed to gain such a fine reputation. Then she is found dead, struck down violently by a metal bucket of water. Knowing Mrs. Gillespie’s penchant for gossip, Hamish is sure she delighted in finding out her clients’ secrets—which means that everyone whose home she cleaned is a suspect.

“Born in Scotland, Malcolm…is comfortable with local accents. His reading of Macbeth’s lines is suitably laid-back and soft-spoken; he sharpens his inflections to indicate the constable’s annoyance. He portrays the women in lighter rather than higher tones and easily differentiates between British and Scottish speakers.”--Booklist, audio review