Death of an Outsider — M.C. Beaton

IT'S A WONDER SOMEONE DIDN'T MURDER WILLIAM MAINWARING LONG AGO.

Nobody in the Scottish town of Cnothan had liked the abrasive Englishman, and now that he has been murdered--in a most original fashion--nobody much minds. Constable Hamish Macbeth's hard luck is that he happens to be on temporary duty in this cloistered Highlands village when the killer strikes. And he has his work cut out for him, dragging from Mainwaring's close-mouthed neighbors enough facts to start solving this peculiar case.

But Hamish is crafty, and with practiced aplomb he slowly extracts from the locals a scandalous tale of illicit romance, secret vices, real-estate wheeling and dealing, even witchcraft-all so unbelievable that it can only be true.