Death of a Bore — M.C. Beaton

THE INK IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD

Famous writer John Heppel is a bitter, self-important man who cruelly belittles the scribblings of the locals signed up for his writing course. So when Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth finds Heppel murdered, his mouth filled with ink, it seems like a fitting fate. Suddenly, Macbeth's idyllic life of walks with his dog, Lugs, and afternoon tea disappears as the media descend on the village--along with Detective Chief Inspector Heather Meikle, a man-eater with a taste for bachelor constables. Desperate to escape her clutches, Macbeth rekindles dangerous passions of auld lang syne with his former girlfriend Elspeth. Now with Heather's hot breath on his neck, he must draft a plan to capture a mad, mad killer--one crazy enough to strike again.