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Content snapshot
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Violence
Barely any
A murder; the victim used his position to extort the community
Language
None
No strong language
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
Mild content
Emotional Intensity
Barely any
The specific leverage that comes from knowing what people throw away; the community's complicated relationship with a man they needed but hated
What this book is about
Fergus Macleod, the local refuse collector in Lochdubh, uses his access to people's rubbish to know their secrets — and uses those secrets as leverage. He is widely hated. When he is found dead, Constable Hamish Macbeth investigates in a community that barely conceals its relief. M.C. Beaton's sixteenth Hamish Macbeth novel uses the dustman's specific knowledge (what you throw away tells everything about you) to examine the particular cruelty of small-community extortion and the way that essential workers can weaponize their access.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
sixteenth Hamish Macbeth novel by M.C. Beaton
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