In bestseller Beatons devilishly droll 24th mystery to feature police constable Hamish Macbeth (after 2008s Death of a Gentle Lady), the Scottish Highlands most stubborn (and romantically challenged) bachelor returns to his home village of Lochdubh from a disappointing vacation to discover a witch stirring up trouble. To Macbeths annoyance, the sex-starved local men have fallen under the spell of Catriona Beldame, who turns out to be a runaway bride with a shady past. Macbeth longs to prove shes selling illegal (and bogus) remedies for sexual dysfunction, and warns her to stop if she is. Macbeth gets a shock when someone murders Beldame and sets her house on firesoon after Macbeth is overheard to say hed like to kill her. Three more murders of other women quickly follow. Could a serial killer be loose in sleepy Lochdubh? As usual, Beatons crisp plotting and effervescent humor complement Macbeths deft crime solving.