A COLD HIGHLAND WIND
Lady Emily #17
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.
"It is hard to imagine a better opening line for a Scotland-set mystery novel than that of Tasha Alexander's latest...
As is always the case with the Lady Emily series, there is suspense galore, a colorful cast of characters, spot on period research and whimsical humor throughout...You might well ask just how two such disparate Scottish plots could possibly resolve, and in response to this I will simply paraphrase the Bard: “Read on, MacDuff.”-BookPage, Starred Review
"Simply delicious...These are intelligent and captivating books which compel the reader’s attention. Alexander has such a light hand and facility with plot and character that she makes the whole enterprise look easy, even though you know it’s anything but. Both plot lines are wrapped up with satisfying resolutions, and I am still not weary, seventeen books in, of Lady Emily and her charming family." -Deadly Pleasures Magazine
"A good entry in the series for fans of Lady Emily or Tasha Alexander, it continues a number of the delightful trends for the series. Multiple points of view, interview-based investigation, and a care for the situations of those often forgotten or oppressed are major elements of the story." -Mystery & Suspense
"There are plenty of interesting characters in both the 1905 and 1676 sections, strong plot lines, lots of red herrings, and even some well-played touches of humor...the twists and turns of the two plots mixed with believable psychological motivations and interesting interactions all work to keep interest high and pages turning." -Reviewing the Evidence