Death of an Addict (Hamish Macbeth Mysteries)

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Hamish's biggest fish is drug baron Jimmy White. To reel White in, Hamish poses as a drug supplier, with a beautiful, standoffish detective inspector from Glasgow playing the part of his wife. The pair go off on a whirlwind trip to Amsterdam to maintain their front, leading to a comic mishap and the beginnings of a romance--one that nearly comes to a very bad end when White is tipped off by Hamish's enemy, Detective Inspector Blair.

Mystery buffs new to the series will find this Highland fling easy to follow, and those who are already fans will delight in the hint of a new long-term relationship for their laconic hero. --Barrie Trinkle

Book Description

M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth doesn't fit everyone's idea of a cozymystery hero. The police constable prefers his flock of Highland sheep and fine single-malt Scotch to cats and cups of tea, and the details of his success with women would bring a maidenly blush to Miss Marple's cheek. Yet his charm is definitely of the soft-boiled variety. Death of an Addict, Beaton's 15th book in this series, begins with the apparent overdose death of Tommy Jarret, a recovering heroin addict who was writing an autobiography. Hamish, who oversees law and order in the village of Lochdubh, is instantly suspicious of the circumstances. Told to back off the case, he picks it up again on the sly when the dead man's parents ask him to find out what happened. Hamish's apparent lack of ambition masks a keen nose for illegal activity; even the dead ends of his investigation reveal a loan-sharking operation and a cache of hallucinogenic mushrooms.Hamish's biggest fish is drug baron Jimmy White. To reel White in, Hamish poses as a drug supplier, with a beautiful, standoffish detective inspector from Glasgow playing the part of his wife. The pair go off on a whirlwind trip to Amsterdam to maintain their front, leading to a comic mishap and the beginnings of a romance--one that nearly comes to a very bad end when White is tipped off by Hamish's enemy, Detective Inspector Blair.Mystery buffs new to the series will find this Highland fling easy to follow, and those who are already fans will delight in the hint of a new long-term relationship for their laconic hero. --Barrie Trinkle

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Tommy Jarret is a young former heroin addict from Strathbane. Happy about his drug-free future, he had rented a chalet and was writing a book about recovery. Hamish Macbeth is surprised to hear of his sudden death from an overdose because Tommy had seemed so happy and his life had even taken a spiritual bent after he had joined a local New Age group, the Church of the Rising Sun. Macbeth pokes around and becomes suspicious of the church. Posing as homeless and depressed, he joins the church and volunteers his services as a handyman. Although he doesn't find anything strange other than the church's belief that all troubles stem from sexual oppression, his superiors have been separately investigating the source of widespread drug infiltration into the Highlands and have also been poking around the church. Hamish is asked by the commanding officer, Detective Inspector Olivia Chater, to go undercover as a husband and wife team, posing as large-scale drug barons. In their new Armani-clad, chauffeured existence, they travel to Amsterdam and uncover an operation that is strangely ordinary, but hardly an ordinary case.

Customer Reviews:

Farce Among the Tragedies When Hamish Poses as a Drug Kingpin.......2007-05-16

Life looks simple enough as the book opens. Lochdubh's finest, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth, checks out a former heroin addict, Tommy Jarret, and is quickly convinced the young man has kicked the habit and wants to stay clean. Imagine Hamish's shock when Jarret dies of a heroin overdose soon thereafter. Detective Chief Inspector Blair and Detective Jimmy Anderson of Strathbane are quickly convinced it's an accidental overdose and the case is closed. Hamish isn't convinced. Jarret had been writing a book about his drug-using days and all but the first chapter has disappeared. Also, Jarret also had a sedative in his bloodstream. Jarret's parents are also skeptical and persuade Hamish to keep an investigation going.

Hamish takes his vacation so he can investigate on the quiet. His searches begin with a sex-obsessed church that seems to be a cover for something else. Confronting Jarret's former roommates, Hamish decides on the spot to pretend to be a drug dealer who wants to buy a big quantity of heroin. Hamish calls for help, and soon a large police operation is mounted with the inexperienced and uncomfortable Hamish at the middle.

To make matters complicated, the operation is headed by the very attractive Detective Chief Inspector Olivia Chater of Glasgow who will play the role of Hamish's "wife." DI Chater wants no messing around and she plans to wear the pants. The role playing develops into all kinds of giggling situations as they find themselves sharing bedrooms, beds, and needing to put on a good show for the drug dealers' minions who trail them.

Naturally, Hamish cannot control his need to wander around and soon gets himself into an embarrassing situation in Amsterdam.

Despite missteps, Hamish and Chater delve deeper and deeper into the heart of the Highlands' most dangerous drug ring. Along the way, they also solve the mystery of a monster that's haunting Loch Drim.

Blair finds out about Hamish's success and is beside himself with envy. What will Blair do?

After many interesting complications, Hamish still cannot see who killed Tommy Jarret. Taking what's left of his vacation, Hamish is once again on the track of those who are responsible for Jarret's death.

The story has a bittersweet ending that helps Death of an Addict rise above most of the stories in the series. The aura of danger throughout much of the book and the sadness of drug addiction make this story far darker than the usual Highland tales Ms. Beaton has written before about how obnoxious people get what's coming to them from another visitor to the Highlands. I enjoyed the difference.

But don't expect this story to have the gritty realism of all those New-York based movies about drug cartels. Look elsewhere if that's your bag.

Hamish goes to Holland.......2007-04-03

As the fifteenth entry into the popular Hamish MacBeth series opens is enjoying the beautiful early autumn weather in his beloved Lochdaubh and rejoicing that he is finally over his long term on again off again romance with Priscilla. His peace is shattered though when a tenant of a tourist cottage is found dead. Once it is revealed that the young man had died of a drug overdose it was assumed that he had relapsed and begun using again. Hamish was not so certain, and despite being told to drop the matter, began his own investigations. The trail let him away from Lochdugh, first to an even more remote village, then to the mean streets of Strathbane and finally to Amsterdam - Hamish's first trip abroad.

As with any long running series Beaton has had to come up with various ways to keep the series fresh without losing the very things that made it popular in the first place. Taking Hamish out of the Highlands where he is most comfortable to unfamiliar territory puts a new slant on the series. Beaton has managed to let Hamish grow in a realistic manner without losing his appeal.

For fans of the series this is a treat, Hamish gets to spread his wings a bit but we still get to catch up on a bit of the latest Lochdubh news. Those new to the series would probably enjoy beginning with one of the earlier books although it is not absolutely necessary to read this series strictly in order.

Hammish Macbeth.......2006-07-01

I first enjoyed the series that played on BBCAmerica and wanted to see how it compared to the novels in which it was based. I was pleasently surprised. The series doesn't follow the novels exactly but there are elements fans can recognize. This one in particular can be seen adapted into the television production. I liked comparing the two.

Only Okay.......2005-04-09

Although Hamish is brighter than he appears, the idea of him posing as a drug kingpin just doesn't work. And the dialogue is weak in the extreme. It is extremely rare when a television series is better than the books but the BBC series of Hamish Macbeth is. This is a very light series anyway, but this story was one of the weakest.

Not of High Quality.......2005-02-20

This is the second Hamish McBeth book I have read, and it is a disappointment. It lacks the folksy charm of the first. The plotting is weak, and the situations absurd. I suppost if you want a simple, easy weekend read this would do. If I had a cottage, that is where I would put this lightweight piece of nonesense.

Death Run: Shocking Recollections of a Hard Core Drug Addict Now in Recovery

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Amazing Story!

Death Run: Shocking Recollections of a Hard Core Drug Addict Now in Recovery
Joel Reesman , and Steve Hanschka
Manufacturer: Authorhouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1403382921

Customer Reviews:

Amazing Story!.......2003-02-24

This book grabs you from the very first page. Not for the faint of heart, or the oversensitive individual. From the depths of drugs and alcohol, to the miracle of recovery and everything in between. You won't be disappointed.

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Searingly honest
Quite an Impressive Debut
No Walk In The Park
"Peace is what we're trying to find now, the three of us"
Wrenching -- but in a good way

Ghostfires: A Novel
Keith Dixon
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0312317409

Book Description

One man believes Linda Bascomb was murdered. A second believes she took her own life. The first is her husband, Warren, an aging surgeon who has lost his medical license because of his morphine addiction. The second is her son, Ben, a husband and father who struggles every day to remain sober and avoid bankruptcy.Warren has entered into an arrangement with his son that has since kept Ben financially afloat and Warren supplied with morphine. Ben's wife, Emma, desperately seeks to distance her husband from Warren before their relationship destroys her family. Opposing her efforts is Victor Javier, the mastermind of the arrangement, an immigrant whose cruelty masks a hope for his mother's deliverance. Though Linda Bascomb was once the true connection between Warren and Ben, her memory becomes the specter that polarizes them. As the pain of unresolved history accumulates, their embittered agreement collapses, and in the process destroys one life, changes another forever, and drives both from the emotional and chemical shelters in which they hide. In the inevitable reckoning, Ben and Warren are forced to acknowledge the power the dead exert on the living, the elusive nature of redemption, and the ways the things we lose define us. Sometimes shocking, always incisive, Keith Dixon's brilliant debut novel is a harsh but compassionate portrayal of love and need. Set on the emotionally bleak outskirts of New York City, Ghostfires, with stylistic power and psychological precision, lays bare a corrupt American dream-and a family with scores to settle.

Customer Reviews:

Searingly honest.......2005-04-07

Keith Dixon tackles the subjects of personal addiction, guilt and familial relations reminiscent of Hemmingway in its stark, unrelenting style.

Ghostfires gives the impression that it's about the painful legacies passed down among the Bascomb men for three generations (and it is that). While that alone makes it a worthwhile read, it's reflecting on the secondar characters in the novel that make it an enduring experience.

At the end, none of Dixon's characters are free from their own demons, or free from the fallout associated with their relationships with the Bascomb men.

Hauntingly realistic, Ghostfires draws its strength from a near-clinical attention to the truth that leaves the biggest questions unanswered, characters unfulfilled and sense of closure unsatisfactory.

Quite an Impressive Debut.......2005-01-10

Ghostfires is a magical novel. There are points that could sometimes be seen as hard to swallow, but these are quickly overcome by the sheer thematic power and the crispness of Dixon's prose.
Fiction in its highest form strives for truth. It allows the characters to stand on their own and play out their actions in a world that is more than a clever artifice. For me, as a reader and also a writer, fiction also makes me want to sometimes scream at the characters when they do something totally inane, to praise them when their actions merit. Good fiction embeds me with the characters' happiness, their hopeful strainings, and, in this work's case, their almost insurmountable pain.
In his first novel, Dixon achieves so much that it would take more words than this meager review allows. Let me just say that it is rare that a writer appears full blown and unflinching and so seemingly sure of his abilities. I look forward to anything Mr Dixon chooses to write.

No Walk In The Park.......2004-11-08

The elegant and elegaic language of this novel draws you into the lives of every one of its inhabitants with the same morbid attraction of a slowly unwinding train wreck. It is solely illuminated by the all too human conceit that life's bitterest cup is best observed at the lip of someone other than your self. You close the book with harrowing relief that it is over and somehow you, or someone you love, did not show up in it.

"Peace is what we're trying to find now, the three of us".......2004-04-28

Readers may end up enjoying this dark, somber and depressing story, but only if they get over their disbelief at the initial unlikely scenario. Ghostfires is a competently written, part thriller, part relationship drama, but none of it seems to be even remotely realistic. Are we really supposed to believe that a young man is actually helping his elderly father to traffic drugs, while at the same time struggling with his own alcoholism? And are we also supposed believe that the relationship between father and son is actually that nasty, malicious and vicious? If you can ignore this implausible set-up, you'll find that Dixon has written an uncanny novel that explores with unusual candor the nature of addiction, the perils of bottling up family secrets, and the dysfunctional ties that bind relatives together.

Warren Bascombe has agreed to keep his son Ben financially liquid, but only if Ben works as "a driver" for Victor Javier while keeping Warren supplied with morphine. Ben's wife Emma wants him to stop, and to distance himself from Warren before the situation destroys her family. But Victor seeks to keep the drug trafficking going so that he can make life better for his mother. Haunting their lives is the ghost of Warren's father who was once killed in a house fire, and whose death remains a powerful barrier between Warren and Ben. As accusations fly and secrets are revealed, both Ben and Warren begin to embark on a downward spiral of addiction and self-destruction.

Warren is the central focus of the story. He's a pathetic character exiled from his profession as an orthopedic surgeon after making a terrible mistake when high on Dilaudid. Riddled with the pain and bitterness of life - he believes that his son, Ben unnecessarily hastened his wife, Linda's death from cancer - and now racked with addiction, he reflects that his life is similar in structure and schedule to that of an incontinent. He shoots up in public restrooms and crawls out, a "recast man, a furloughed junky, only slightly filthier for the journey."

Poor Ben, losing money, fighting with drink, finds solace in prescription medicine "where three years of sobriety have been obliterated in an instant." Heading towards bankruptcy, he's desperate to turn things around and has an emotional dread at what lays ahead. For Ben, is unable to handle the pressures of modern life, he sees life without alcohol "as just life. It's a soul-killing white noise". Ben ruminates "that was how life worked. Time turned things around; eventually you swapped roles because that was how life went - first you comprised a little. Then you compromised a lot."

Emma is disillusioned, bitter and desperate to hang on to her failing marriage to Ben. She's concerned about his drinking, but is unable to stop his downward spiral to self-destruction. For her, romance and intimacy in its truly physical manifestation has become peripheral, and she feels sad and begins to fear their uneasy acceptance that a friendly, nearly parallel existence was the way things were meant to be. The plot takes many twists and turns as many of the secondary characters also expunge their secrets. There is also a particularly horrific torture scene involving an ankle and a hot plate that some more sensitive readers may find a little hard to take. Generally though, Ghostfires is a competent, moving and quite acerbic indictment of desperate characters living out a corrupt and perverse American dream. Mike Leonard April 04.

Wrenching -- but in a good way.......2004-04-15

"Ghostfires" is not an easy read, with its complicated relationships, violence, and overall darkness. But the power of the writing propels the reader forward, even through the wrenching interactions among well-drawn characters. The admiring professional reviews are to be heeded.

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How to fight heroin like a hero

Death by Heroin: Recovery by Hope
Mary Kenny
Manufacturer: New Island Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Drug Dependency | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Substance Abuse | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1902602110

Customer Reviews:

How to fight heroin like a hero.......2002-04-19

Whatever you thought you knew about heroin, this book will tell you something you didn't.
Mary Kenny gently challenges her reader to face up to the melancholy realities of drug addiction, just as she and others had to when they lost family members to the affliction. She sensitively recounts the tragic histories of heroin users who lost their lives to the drug, and tells the heart-wrenching stories of those who fought to recover.
'Death by Heroine' is an important education for everyone, which should help to banish social prejudice against junkies and to reform the way we deal with drug abuse.

The Amazing Resurrection from Death of a Former Drug Addict: An Instructive Miracle

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The Amazing Resurrection from Death of a Former Drug Addict: An Instructive Miracle
Metropolitan Cyprian
Manufacturer: Orthodox Studies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UVTWEY

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Death of an Addict
M. C. Beaton
Manufacturer: Mysterious Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K00R0I

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Death of an Addict
M C Beaton
Manufacturer: MYSTERIOUS PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WUBOUI

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Death of An Addict (Hamish Macbeth)

Manufacturer: Recorded Books, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

General | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0788734865

Product Description

5 Cassettes. With their engaging plots, mellow Scottish ambiance, and droll humor, the Hamish Macbeth mysteries always provide readers a bonnie time. The charming antics of their hopelessly unambitious and love-crossed hero have earned the series a dedicated following. Death of an Addict continues the Hamish Macbeth tradition of superb entertainment, with some fascinating twists. When a recovering addict dies while recuperating near Lochdubh, our red-headed hero suspects foul play. To complete his investigation, Constable Macbeth must leave his idyllic home and travel to Amsterdam to match wits with big-time drug dealers. Fans will enjoy seeing a new, tougher side of Macbeth as he dons smart suits and falls in love with his gorgeous superior officer. With her authentic accents and impeccable timing, narrator Davina Porter provides the perfect voice for this series wonderfully quirky characters.

Vinny: Victory over Drugs, Death, and Degradation

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Vinny: Victory over Drugs, Death, and Degradation
Vincent C. Marino
Manufacturer: V V M
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Addict death: a Lacuna in the welfare economics of drug policy.(Author abstract): An article from: The American Journal of Economics and Sociology

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Addict death: a Lacuna in the welfare economics of drug policy.(Author abstract): An article from: The American Journal of Economics and Sociology
Samuel Cameron , and Alan Collins
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2006. The length of the article is 2130 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: The full implications of the problem of the death of addicts have been ignored in the economic analysis of policy toward drugs. This article argues that drug dealers can, in theory, play an important role in sustaining the lives of addicts. This needs to be taken into account in policy enforcement and could lead to some radical changes to conventional policy proposals.

Citation Details
Title: Addict death: a Lacuna in the welfare economics of drug policy.(Author abstract)
Author: Samuel Cameron
Publication: The American Journal of Economics and Sociology (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 65 Issue: 4 Page: 963(7)

Article Type: Author abstract

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Young Ilien knows nothing of the dark tales told around late-night fires, or of the legendary Nomadin wizards and the prophesy that haunts them. But all that is soon to change. For a shadow touches the peaceful land of Nadae. An ancient evil is stirring. Already a NiDemon has crossed from the land of the dead. And now Ilien must run - from a monster of unimaginable cunning and power, toward a fate more frightening than that which hunts him. But he cannot run forever. Eventually he will have to make a stand. Sooner or later he will have to face what even the legendary Nomadin cannot . . . himself.

Customer Reviews:

Intriguing and entertaining.......2006-08-03

WOW!! What a great story! Mr. Cormier writes real world sayings into his fantastic fantasy world. Instead of using quirky sayings he uses words you hear everyday. I love the twists and turns and cannot wait to see what happens next. I finished the book in a day. I have never done that before. Just great!

Great book.......2006-02-07

I really enjoyed this book. Action all the way. I loved the pencil. I could not wait to read NiDemon

Darn Fine First Effort!.......2005-11-26

I came across this book searching for something else along the lines of fantasy and was interested in the story immediately. I bought the book and started reading the night I recieved it. I work long hours and don't have alot of time to read but I still managed to finish this book in 48 hours, an amazing feat for someone with my schedule.
When I started to read this book, I will admit that I had one complaint. While some people may be comfortable with using their own imagination, I found that I wanted to know more about the look and feel of the characters and their surroundings. I don't feel the author thoroughly described the characters and the world of Nadae as he introduced them. I would have wanted to know alot more physically about Ilien and other characters from the start. I would love to have known things such as hair color, eye color, walking gait, if for no other reason than to better immerse myself in Cormiers world. I admit I'm greedy when it comes to this type of authoring. This is my only shortfall for the book.
Even though I disagreed with the way the characters were initially laid out, I found that story itself was fast paced and enthralling. I was constantly fighting back the urge to skip a page and find out what was going to happen next. It was a difficult thing to do. The sheer number of individual characters that show up within the first book change the story and send it into more twists and turns than I thought could possibly happen in a first book. While he travels all over Nadae, Ilien finds out very little of himself until towards the end, still not knowing for sure where his path lies. It leaves you begging for more of Ilien and his compatriots.
It's a good thing I bought the second book, too.

Great first book.......2005-11-14

Nomadin is Mr Cormier's first published novel, which I could not quite believe when reading the book. The prose flows with an expert's hand and the pacing is excellent throughout. The characters are well rounded and not typical stereotypes of the genre, which would be an easy trap to fall into in a tome that sits comfortably with its peers in the YA market upwards. Mr Cormier scatters similes throughout his work to good effect, painting vivid pictures in the reader's mind, making the read thoroughly engrossing.

A liberal amount of humour is written into the book which serves to entertain the reader in this 'young boy coming to power' novel. It is this and the storytelling ability of the writer that keeps the reader wanting to read on. And, when the end is reached, wanting to read book two, which the author informs us is on its way.

The book ends with a few tangled webs still left to resolve. Usually, this would disappoint me, but Mr Cormier manages to end on a feel good note with all the major plot lines addressed while opening new ones for book two.

Nomadin is well worth a read and I would recommend it to all those that enjoy feel-good books. It is well written, holds a good plot and has enough hooks and twists to keep the most critical reader happy. Shawn Cormier is a welcome new talent in fantasy.

Absolutely fantastic!.......2005-11-14

I absolutely loved this book! I am an avid reader of both adult and children's books and I could not put it down. I nearly missed my stop on the tube(metro) several times because I was so engrossed!! And all my friends who have read it really enjoyed it too.

Mr Cormier does brilliantly for a first time writer and I still find it hard to believe that he is. The characters are well rounded and not so perfect that one cannot connect with them. In addition he never complicates the story to the extent that younger children (or some of us older ones!) get confused and can't follow it. The ending also leaves you intrigued and desperate to read the next one.(which is also really good!!)

I hardly noticed any similarities between this and other writers and if there are a few: WHO CARES???!!! All fantasy writers have a lot in commmon: Terry Brooks, David Eddings, David Gemmell etc all follow the same pattern, which is basically taken from Tolkien anyway. I mean look at Stan Nicholls: he wrote a whole trilogy on Orcs?! Plus I feel this is aimed at slightly younger authors than the possibly referenced books(and I emphasise the 'possibly' here) so it really doesn't matter at the end of the day.

Overall this is a fantastic book, well written, easy to understand and would be appropriate for any age range. I would highly reccommend it to parents wanting to give their child a fun book for Christmas, to a child to put on their list for Santa Claus, or even us big kids who need some escapism every now and again. I'm 22 and I loved it!

Enjoy!!!!!!!

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Leni, Nomadin 3878778341
Renato Jordan Pierre Imhasly
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 3222700028

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