Hamish Macbeth

Hamish Macbeth is the police constable of the fictional Scottish Highland town of Lochdubh, in a series of murder mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney). Considered by many to be a useless, lazy moocher, Macbeth is very well informed about his community's activities and often overlooks minor transgressions in the interests of the public weal. In time, it emerges that, following Highland tradition as the eldest child, he remains single because he is supporting his crofter parents and six much younger siblings by sending them most of his salary, and finding various ways to supplement his income. Having created a niche for himself in the community and on the police force, he uses his intelligence and skills to solve murder cases – while evading all efforts to transfer, promote, and/or fire him out of it. There were 33 novels, one novella, and one short story published in the UK by Constable & Robinson before the author's death in 2019. A subsequent short story and several novels, begun as collaborative works with the original author and finished after her death by R. W. Green, were published starting in 2022.