A Cold Highland Wind

A Lady Emily Mystery, Book 17

By: Tasha Alexander

Narrated by: Bianca Amato

"The entwined stories and Amato's passionate narration will remain in listeners' minds long after the mysteries are solved."—AudioFile on In the Shadow of Vesuvius

In this new installment of Tasha Alexander’s acclaimed Lady Emily series set in the wild Scottish highlands, an ancient story of witchcraft may hold the key to solving a murder centuries later.

Lady Emily, husband Colin Hargreaves, and their three sons eagerly embark on a family vacation at Cairnfarn Castle, the Scottish estate of their dear friend Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge. But a high-spirited celebration at the beginning of their stay comes to a grisly end when the duke’s gamekeeper is found murdered on the banks of the loch. Handsome Angus Sinclair had a host of enemies: the fiancée he abandoned in Edinburgh, the young woman who had fallen hopelessly in love with him, and the rough farmer who saw him as a rival for her affections. But what is the meaning of the curious runic stone left on Sinclair’s forehead?

Clues may be found in the story of Lady MacAllister, wife of the Laird of Cairnfarn Castle, who in 1676 suddenly found herself widowed and thrown out of her home. Her sole companion was a Moorish slave girl who helped her secretly spirit her most prized possessions—a collection of strange books—out of the castle. When her neighbors, wary of a woman living on her own, found a poppet—a doll used to cast spells—and a daisy wheel in her isolated cottage, Lady MacAllister was accused of witchcraft, a crime punishable by death.

Hundreds of years later, Lady Emily searches for the link between Lady MacAllister’s harrowing witchcraft trial and the brutal death of Sinclair. She must follow a trail of hidden motives, an illicit affair, and a mysterious stranger to reveal the dark side of a seemingly idyllic Highland village.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

©2023 Tasha Alexander (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Witches or honesty

Fears of witches from 26th century and 29th century probed wrong. Great mystery and reasons for deceate

Jumping back and forth in time

I am not a fan of jumping back and for in time to tell a story.
I find it, in fact, annoying .
I plan to avoid listening to such books in the future .

Mystery Maven

Another marvelous entry in this series. Well written parallel stories and outstanding narration. I highly recommend the entire series.

Mixed feelings

Supremely written, as Tasha always does, and tremendously read, as Bianca always does. I just found the story a little heavier and sadder. Not a criticism, just an observation.

LOVE Tasha Alexander

The narrator's accent was not easy for me to listen to. But then, I'm an American from California., so what would I know about accents?

Interesting but not my favorite

I typically devour Lady Emily mysteries, but this one took longer to get in to. Perseverance matters though. I pushed through and by halfway, I was captivated by the storyline. Happy for the happy-ish endings.

Hard to Rate This One as High as the Others

I love Tasha Alexander’s books and this one was ok, just not the caliber of the previous ones. There was no discernible connection to the parallel stories - it was two separate books, really. The 1905 mystery was kind of contrived. I guessed who the killer was very early on. And the last minute reveal felt forced as well. I’d still recommend reading it though.

Not up to her usual

Just not very interesting. As another reviewer remarked, the second story adds little and it was easy to guess the person responsible for the death in the main story. Hopefully the next book is better