Death of an Addict

Are drugs responsible for a sighting of Nessie''s long lost relative?

Recovering addict Tommy Jarret has just rented a chalet to check out reports of a sea monster near the village of Drim. But when he turns up dead, apparently from a drug overdose, Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth finds the lad''s demise to be particularly fishy . . . and not of the local salmon variety.

Deciding to go undercover, Hamish infiltrates the illicit drug trade in nearby Strathbane. But his scheme springs a leak when he''s teamed up with a tough Glaswegian detective inspector named Olivia Chater, aka Concrete Knickers. For the lanky lawman investigating drugs and sea monsters it''s time to sink or swim - and it would be equally dangerous to flounder . . . or fall in love.

Praise for M.C. Beaton:

''The books are a delight: clever, intricate, sardonic and amazingly true to the real Highlands'' Kerry Greenwood

''It''s always a special treat to return to Lochdubh'' New York Times