I enjoy this series. I love the characters. They've become good friends and people I'd like to know. The mystery kept me guessing.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another intriguing mystery in the Lady Emily series.
The setting in in the Scottish Highlands where Lady Emily is on vacation with her family.
When a murder occurs, Lady Emily has to follow a trail of hidden motives trying to figure out what happened.
Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I'm a big fan of the Lady Emily series and was really excited to see this story is set in Scotland. I wish there had been more "Scottish" stuff as it read like it could have been set anywhere. If It wasn't for the narration, I would have forgotten it was set in Scotland. I continue to dislike the secondary storylines that are happening in the series currently. They don't add much, if anything, to the main storyline and only serve to slow the pace of the book. I find myself skipping these parts entirely.

I listened on audio, which had the PERFECT narrator with her British and Scottish accents contributing to the beauty of the story. I enjoyed this cozy mystery, and I always appreciate a book set in Scotland.

This is a mystery series to which I have not read any of the previous books, but I thought that this was a very fun story. I think that the characters were a little lack luster but I thought that the plot of this was very interesting. I think that this could be a fun series to go back to the beginning on or to just continue on from here.
I thought that the murder mystery element was the best thing about this book and I was excited about a husband and wife duo working on the mystery together, but it did really happen the way that I thought it would.
Overall I think that the writing was solid and if you already like this series I think you will enjoy this book, if you haven't started this series and you are looking for a murder mystery that still has cozy vibes I think this is a fun one to pick up

This historical mystery actually contains two parallel mysteries and the chapters alternate between the two. The Scotland setting adds to the brooding nature of the storyline. During a visit, Lady Emily,her husband Colin, and their sons become embroiled in helping to investigate the death of a gamekeeper. However, this man is not who he claimed to be, which complicates their investigations. Now they are not only seeking to uncover his killer, but also to find out his true identity. The best part of the story for me was the antics and comments of her three sons. The book includes author notes and a bibliography at the end.

I have read many of the Lady Emily mysteries, and I did not like this one as well as some of the previous offerings. I found the alternating narratives to be confusing, even though they were tied together at the end of the novel. I would have preferred to read these as two separate stories, as I felt the alternating viewpoints detracted from the overall storyline. There was just too much going on.

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

A Cold Highland Wind, at #17 in the series, is only my second read of the Lady Emily series. Someday when I catch up on all my reading, I am interested enough to go back and read from the beginning of this series because I really enjoy it.

This installment takes Lady Emily, her husband Colin, and three boys to the Scottish estate of their dear friend Jeremy, Duke of Bainridge. This brings to mind the first thing I enjoyed about this book. I really enjoy the dialogue. The conversations between Emily, Colin, and Jeremy were very witty, sometimes laugh out loud chuckles, and that always adds to my enjoyment.

Just as in installment #16, there were two storylines. One set in the era around 1905, Lady Emily's era. There is a murder on the estate, and she and her husband are asked to become involved to solve the mystery. The other storyline was around the late 1600's, when Scotland (as well as British and what would become the United States), were burning innocent women as riches. There was a slight connection between the two storylines, and I would say the Lady Emily story is definitely the main one, but I also enjoyed the storyline from the past.

I think these are well written with good dialogue, descriptive settings, and good storylines. I look forward to seeing where Lady Emily's adventures take her next!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Tasha Alexander, and St Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A tale told in two time periods: 1905 and 1676 by Emily and Tansy. Lady Emily has a killing to solve. While Tansy is involved tiwh witchcraft. Not an easy time for either woman in the village of Cairnfarn, Scotland. Lady Emily has the stoning death of the gamekeeper. Whereas, Tansy [a captured woman from Tunisia] has the problem of living with the former lady of the castle in a small cottage. This is a period of witches and witchcraft.
An intriquing story of two time periods in Scotland. Has much changed in local people's perception fo witches, fairies?

I am clearly reading out of order if this is book #17 of the series.

This book is an enjoyable mystery set in the Scottish Highlands covering two time periods. The first is 1905, and the other is 1676 a time when Scotland accused 5x more women of witchcraft than the rest of Europe. The story finds Lady Emily Ashton, and her husband, Colin Hargreaves, our resident super sleuths, solving the murder of the mysterious groundskeeper at a friends castle.

Alexander's storytelling makes this a wonderful edition to the cozy mystery genre. It is suspenseful, scenic and perfect for mystery enthusiasts.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the complimentary copy.

This is an entertaining mystery set in the Scottish Highlands. Although it is the 17th book in a series, it can be read as a standalone. There is a dual timeline flashing back and forth between 1905, where Colin and Emily are investigating the death of the Duke's gamekeeper, and 1676, where Lady McCallister is widowed, loses her home, and is ultimately accused of witchcraft. Both timelines are intriguing, but were not as tightly woven together as I would have liked. Overall, this is a compelling mystery that readers of this series will enjoy.

I received a free copy of this book from Minotaur Books via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

A “Read Now” book on NetGalley often has me downloading it before even going through the summary about the book. This one, I wish I had read a bit about it prior to downloading. I will admit I went from confused to not so delighted to read it to wondering the point of the time settings as it didn’t quite tie together as well as other books I’ve read.

There are two time periods in this historical fiction book, one in the 1600s and one in the early 1900s. With so much emphasis about Tansy being stolen from Tunis and sold as a slave in England in the 1600s, I expected a bigger impact about how her life affected the people in the future. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as dramatic as I had hoped.

In the 1900s, there’s much emphasis on a gamekeeper being murdered and detectives trying to solve the mystery as to who the suspect is. All the locals point in different directions, which is not helpful in solving this mystery. When other deaths transpire, it confuses the detectives further.

The back and forth between time periods is confusing and made me feel like I was reading two books at the same time. The way the two were brought together at the end was insufficient to be one story. I can see the idea behind it, but there’s got to be a better way to bring it all together.

I give this book 3 out of 5 tiaras because while each time period had a good story, they didn’t come together as I had hoped. Thankful for NetGalley and Minotaur Books for access to this work.

Love this series and this was a great addition to it! I always feel I learn something new with Tasha Alexander's books. Highly recommended!

Tasha Alexander’s latest Lady Emily novel takes the Hargreaves family to Cairnfarn Castle to visit her old friend Jeremy, the current duke. At a celebration to welcome the village’s new doctor, Emily and Colin witness an argument between Jeremy’s gameskeeper and one of the guests. The next morning the body of Angus Sinclair, the gameskeeper, is discovered by Emily’s children. He has been bludgeoned, stabbed and a stone with runes has been placed on his forehead. Angus was well liked by everyone, but he was new to the village. When his death is revealed the new doctor steps forward, claiming that he was a fraud. She had been engaged to Angus until he disappeared shortly before the wedding. She took the position in the village because he had lived there as a boy and hoped to find him, but this murder victim is not Angus. No strangers to murder investigations, Emily and Colin begin a search for answers until the police can be called to the village. There are rumors that he was involved with someone, but no one knows her identity. With the help of the police they learn the gameskeeper’s true identity which could finally solve Angus’ disappearance.

From 1905 and Emiy’s investigation, Alexander takes you to the 1600s where Rossalyn, the former Lady of Cairnfarn Castle lives with Tasnim, her freed slave. It is a time of witch hunts and Rossalyn is the object of vengeful accusations. It explains the use of the rune stones that can still be found near the castle. While this story held my interest, it was Emily’s family that made this a joy to read. The boys are fascinated by the animals on the state. One of them adopts a crocodile as a pet and insists on taking him for walks on a leash, much to his mother’s dismay. I have been a fan of this series from the beginning. With an interesting witch trial and a solid mystery Alexander does not disappoint her fans. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press - Minotaur for providing this book or my review.

I love stories that revolve around the highlands, I mean let's blame it on another popular book series that has me enchanted. However, this book really stood out and defined it's own story within the enchanting highlands. Would definitely read more by this author.

“A Cold Highland Wind” the 17th instalment in the A Lady Emily Mysteries by Tasha Alexander. This is the third book I have read by Tasha Alexander and won’t be my last. 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.

I found it to be a quick easy read and finished in two days, I really enjoyed the dual narratives telling us the story of Lady MacAllister, wife of the Laird of Cairnfarn Castle 1676 and the witch hunts to lady Emily in the early 20th century in the seemingly idyllic Highland village.

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and I loved the characters of Lady Emily and Colin.
I kept guessing and second-guessing myself on whodunnit right to the very end. I recommend this book to all my mystery lover friends.

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Minotaur Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Cold Highland Wind is #17 in the Lady Emily series. This was my first to read in the series and I was worried I may miss some details because I haven’t read the others. I did not find this to be true- I feel like the story is a stand alone, which is great.
Lady Emily and her husband are teaming up to find a murderer while vacationing at a Scottish castle. The story has a dual timeline that brings together the victim of a witch trial hundreds of years ago with the murder in current times.
I enjoy dual time lines and feel the author did a great job with it.
This was a great read!

First of all, these boys are never gonna get the little sister they need to keep them in line if they keep cock-blocking poor Colin! Every time I was about to get a little romance with my mystery - Henry struck.

Secondly, a crocodile as a PET? Have Emily & Colin LOST THEIR MINDS?! You can't give your kids everything they want just because they want it, especially a man-eating CROCODILE! This is another reason they need a daughter.

Thirdly, I'm going to need Tasha to take a break from mysteries and write me the steamy Duke Jeremy historical romance I've always wanted. I SO cannot wait for him to meet his match and get his HEA. He's quickly become my favorite character and doesn't get NEAR enough word count in this book. May I suggest his love interest be named Deidre? **batting my eyelashes and fanning myself***

Overall, I liked this installment better than its predecessors. I think it's because the setting (a castle in Scotland with Jeremy's kooky aunts) and subject matter (death by a loch) where a little gothic and witchy and I'm down for that. I was able to hang in there with the secondary story too, unlike in previous books where I've abandoned it altogether and just read Emily's chapters.

I still need more Colin & Emily romance though! Can't get enough of that. Glad the boys are getting into the family business as well in this one and that was fun. The Aunts need their own spin off series for sure. They are definitely up to something, and I need to know what. They'd be a great addition to Jeremy's steamy historical romance too! The perfect instigators for all kinds of hijinks.

A Cold Highland Wind is the 17th (!) installment of the Lady Emily Mystery series by Tasha Alexander. If you missed any - or all - of the previous books in this entertaining historical mystery series, never fear. The mysteries in each book totally stand alone. I read books 14 and 15 and thoroughly enjoyed each. The three books I read had dual timelines that were connected, but it wasn't confusing at all. This time Lady Emily and family find death in the beautiful Scottish Highlands.

Lady Emily, her husband Colin Hargreaves and their three boys are visiting their dear friend Jeremy Sheffield, Duke of Bainbridge, at his estate Cairnfarn Castle in the Scottish Highlands in 1905. A boisterous party at the beginning of their vacation ends in bloodshed when the duke’s gamekeeper is found murdered on the banks of the loch. Angus Sinclair had a number of people who might like to see him dead. And just what did the runic symbol on a stone that was left on his forehead (the part that wasn't bashed in by a rock) signify? Meanwhile, in 1676, Lady Rossalyn MacAllister, widowed wife of the Laird of Cairnfarn Castle, is thrown out of her home by the new laird. Her only companion is Tansy, a young Moorish slave who helps her secretly retrieve her prized, strange books from the castle. After a poppet and daisy wheel are discovered at their cottage, Lady McAllister is accused of witchcraft. What is the link between Lady McAllister's books and the murder of Angus Sinclair? Lady Emily must follow the trail of secret motives, a hidden affair and a mysterious stranger to find justice for the murdered gamekeeper.

The dual timeline at Cairnfarn Castle is told from two different viewpoints: Tansy, the Moorish companion of Lady McAllister, and of course Lady Emily. Both timelines seemed to be unrelated at first except for the location, but the author manages to bring them together for a satisfying conclusion. Tansy was stolen from Tunisia and sold as a slave; she eventually ends up as Lady McAllister's companion, which really wasn't much different than slavery. Rossalyn was pretty much useless without Tansy, who did her best to keep everything going for the two of them when they were kicked out of the castle. This was a time in Scotland when many people were accused of witchcraft and put to death. When Rossalyn is accused of witchcraft, Tansy must make the decision of helping the clueless woman or just keeping her mouth shut. Though that timeline was riveting, I especially enjoyed that of Lady Emily and her lovely family. As Jeremy pointed out to Colin and Emily, they are the only two he knows who have people dropping dead wherever they go! Emily and Colin still have that "spark" even with three precocious, whipsmart boys and always dealing with murder wherever they go. The spotlight is on Emily, of course. She's a modern woman...she doesn't prescribe to the 1905 notion that men make the rules and speak for their wives. She's an excellent interrogator and has a quick mind. I enjoy the little bits of intimacy between Emily and Colin, though they are usually interrupted by children! My favorite supporting characters are the boys Richard, Henry and Tom, His Grace Jeremy and Jeremy's great-aunts, who are referred to by everyone as The Greats. All are good for sometimes needed comic relief; The Greats are especially hysterical. Oh, and I musn't forget Cedric the Crocodile, who is the pet of one.of the children and is led about on a leash! The mystery was a great one, though I pretty much guessed the killer after reading one-third of the book. It was still highly entertaining, and all of the suspects were fully fleshed out and had a good motive to kill Angus, who had quite the secret of his own. Though this is the 17th book in the series, it is in no way stale. I'll be reading the further adventures of Lady Emily and Company as long as Tasha Alexander keeps writing them!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for my complimentary copy of A Cold Highland Wind. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoy a good mystery and I adore these Lady Emily Mysteries. Tasha Alexander writes with the same twists and turns as Agatha Christie. This story is told from 2 POV, the current time, 1905 via Emily’s voice and 1676 via Tansy’s voice. Both stories are connected through witchcraft and suspicion.
As always, I was surprised when the murderer was revealed.

When a young Gamekeeper is murdered, everyone in the small town of Cairnfarn is under suspicion. Lady Emily and her husband Colin, work diligently to solve the mystery despite having to also keep their 3 sons safe. I love how they brought their pet crocodile with them to the Scottish Highlands. The boys offer up many laughs throughout the story.

I enjoyed the authors note and her thoughts on freedom. I wholeheartedly agree, how can someone actually be free when they so far from home with no means to return.

This was not my favorite Tasha Alexander book. As with other of the author’s books, this one has a story told in each of two timelines while sharing the same location. Emily, our hero, is visiting Cairnfarn Scotland in 1905 just in time for the community’s ceilidh, a festive party of dancing, drinking, and socializing. The next day, however, Emily learned that one of the partiers was found dead: the Laird’s gamekeeper.

In order for Emily to get to the bottom of the murder, she had to unwrap a mystery inside a conundrum. First off, the deceased was believed to have been a man who grew up in Cairnfarn and moved to Edinburgh many years ago. During the course of the investigation it was revealed that the deceased was not who he had claimed to be. A woman who knew the young man before he left town spoke authoritatively that this was not the man who had been her fiancé. In spite of that, a number of young women in town were smitten by the man, now known as a Mr. Gordon, and were vying for his attention

The second story focuses on Lady Rossalyn, the young widow of old Laird and her companion and former slave, a Moorish woman named Tasnim (but whom those of Cairnfern called Tansy. At the seath of her husband, Rossalyn and Tansy were kicked out of the estate house by the Laird’s son by his first wife. Rossalyn was left impoverished and struggling to survive. On top of pervading basic necessities, the two women were shunned by most of the villagers. Their plight takes up most of the focus of the second storyline.

My problem with the book was that the connection between the two story threads was not apparent for most of the book. Emily’s investigation of the murder captured my interest while the plight of Rossalyn and Tansy did not.

Eventually, of course, the connection between the two stories becomes clear, but by that time the samage had been done. My lack of interest in the ancient story detracted so much from my enjoyment of the book as a whole that it seemed anticlimactic.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this book. Tasha Alexander is a very talented writer who can craft sentences, paragraphs, and chapters that are a joy to read. It was simply that in this case the story arc of the ancient tale did not capture my interest until it was too late.