I have been reading Anne Perry's Christmas Stories for many years now and this one is not one of my favorites. While it was a quick and easy read, the whole plot felt far-fetched and I saw the reveal coming a mile off.

Ann Perry is a long-standing and time proven author. She writes more than one series, and they are all good. Would read anything she writes.

I love reading Anne Perry's books. She writes with so much description that you can almost see the picture in you mind. The story has lots of twists and turns and you will think you are on a mountain road. I just know you will love it so hurry and get it so you can enjoy the movie in your mind too! Thanks for the great book Anne!

The characters in Anne Perry's Thomas Pitt series are so well developed and interesting that I am glad of the chance to follow the stories of Victor Narraway and Lady Vespasia. In A Christmas Gathering, former head of Special Branch Narraway and Lady Vespasia are married and invited to a country house for Christmas.

Lady Vespasia would prefer to spend the holidays with Narraway but is gracious about their social obligations. She manages well despite her husband's attention to the beautiful Iris Watson-Watt. Though Narraway follows Iris Watson-Watt in order to execute a mission, there are expectations and a glimpse into a past mission that haunts him.

In A Christmas Gathering we get a further glimpse into the lives and stories of Lady Vespasia and Narraway - I can't wait until the next story!

A short and pithy review for the latest Christmas story written by Anne Perry. The newest installment is entitled “A Christmas Gathering” focuses on a working vacation for Lady Vespasian and her husband, Lord Victor Narraway, formerly the head of London’s Special Branch. This novella has its requisite number of characters to choose from as the “bad guy.” Enjoy the treasure of opening the first page of this story and settle in for a great read with at least two cups of warm cocoa.

I enjoyed this book. However It did feel like part of a series where i had missed a previous book and sometimes i would wonder if I HAD missed part of the story but overall this was a good little mystery.
I especially liked the dynamics between the characters.
I received an ARC of this book from netgalley for my review

It's always a treat to read Anne Perry's Christmas installment; I enjoy the fact that characters from her popular novels show up in these novellas. Starring in this one are Lady Vespasia, who figures more or less prominently in several Thomas and Charlotte Pitt mysteries, and her husband Victor Narraway. The Narraways are spending Christmas at a country estate, but there's more to the holiday sojourn than first meets the eye. Action is fast-paced but the characters and their relationship is fully developed.

Anne Perry's annual Christmas novella every year. This year was particularly delightful as it featured Lady Vespasia, an aunt of sorts to the Pitts. She is married to Pitts former boss, Narraway. They have traveled to an English estate to spend Christmas but it turns out Narraway has an ulterior motive, which comes to light when there is an attempted murder of one of their fellow guests. This installment has all the ingredients of the English house party cozy mystery -- (attempted) murder, deceit, misunderstandings, past mistakes -- and with Narraway and (of course) Lady Vespasia on the case the action becomes fast-paced. It's an appropriate addition to Perry's holiday series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy; this represents my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this Christmas Book. It is a short country house mystery set during the Holidays. Lady Vespasia and her husband Victor are joining a group of people at Cavendish for the Holidays. For Victor the stay is also a chance to do some work for the Special Branch. The book moves along quickly and ends rather quickly. The mystery was OK but I was able to figure it out easily. I enjoyed the characters and the country house setting. The end of the book offers an inspirational message. Overall this was a nice quick read for the season. Enjoy

I love the short Christmas collection stories where minor minor characters are showcased in a Christmas setting, giving me a peek into their lives that in the normal MONK/PITT series you do not see. This time we see Lady Vespasia and her husband Lord VIctor Narraday at a Christmas house party held by Lord and Lady Cavendish. But it's not an ordinary house party. Victor, the former head of Special Branch has been enlisted to meet a courier and retrieve a package which will then be passed on and hopefully identify the person who is engaged in treason. The host and hostess appear to severely dislike Victor and Vespasia and when the courier, a young woman is found unconscious after an apparent attack, Victor and his wife must protect the package, the young girl, and figure out who is responsible all before the end of the house party.

Seeing Vespasia interacting with Victor and the two working together to solve the mystery with the Christmas party in the background was fun. Hope these special Christmas books continue for many years to come!

It has become an annual tradition to read Anne Perry at Christmas! I have to admit, the first 15% I was struggling to get into it, because there were so many characters and a lot of inner monologue. But once I got my bearings, I devoured this in a night. I thought the main characters were sweet, but not cloying. I thought they had a unique relationship, and I liked how they related to one another in mutual love and respect.

First Sentence: It was not the Christmas Vespasia had planned.

Vespasia and Narraway had hoped for a quiet Christmas at home. Instead, they are obligated to attend the country estate gathering of Max and Lady Amelia Cavendish. More than a holiday celebration for Narraway, former head of Special Branch, he is there to uncover a traitor.

Perry does an excellent job of introducing one to the characters, as well as providing background on Vespasia's history and relationship with Narraway.

Perry's observations often cause one to pause—"But this visit was duty, and he learned long ago that no happiness was untarnished for long if you had shirked duty in order to take it." A nicely done recounting of Narraway's history reveals the significance of this visit. Most authors would be inclined to depict Narraway as a classic strong male. Perry skillfully avoids that trope and gives us a man with faults and insecurities, and we like him all the more for it.

The relationship between the two principal characters is an interesting one and Perry captures the nuances of it perfectly. The sharpness repartee between Vespasia and Amelia is perfect and reflects Perry's skill with dialogue. She also captures the audacity of status; how those who are "higher" believe it gives them privileges simply because of their rank.

One can't help but love Vespasia as she begins to conduct her own investigation and demands that Victor let her help, and for snapping at him when he dismisses her idea—"But with a woman, it is not the words, it is the message that matters." For those readers who have followed Perry's series for years, this Vespasia seems much sharper in tone. It is rather gratifying.

"A Christmas Gathering" is a good addition to the series of novellas. It's always nice to see her normally secondary characters move into the limelight. The story has a subtle building of tension and while the suspense is well done, it is truly the characters who bring make this book work.

A CHRISTMAS GATHERING – Good
Hist Novella-Vespasia/Narraway-England-early 1900s
Perry, Anne – 17th in series
Ballentine Books – Nov 2019

As usual, the devil is in the details. In this story, the author takes us to a gorgeous, stately home in the English countryside, filled with secrets, soul-searching and nostalgia amid the holiday celebrations. Though Lady Vespasia would prefer to spend the holiday at home with her new husband, Victor Narraway, she has agreed to go to a friend’s country house. Victor is the former head of the London Special Branch and apparently has had dealings with some of the other guests who are sharing the county home. Her youth and beauty make one of the guests, Iris Watson-Watt, particularly interesting to the men assembled. Unknown to most, Iris carries a sensitive package with information on a traitor which she must somehow pass on to Victor, who can then unmask the and deal with a British traitor. As the story progresses, Victor is reminded of an earlier case where a young woman, also with a secret message, came to her death in a still unsolved murder case, which Victor regrets he failed to prevent. However, Lady Vespasia is not aware of all this, and thus feels alone in this country house filled with other guests. Somehow, Victor knows he must achieve his goal while still managing to keep the spirit of the holiday alive within his marriage and with his lovely wife.

This is an interesting look at Lady Vespasia’s and Victor’s marriage. The book is too short to really develop this interesting couple and their marriage/personal dynamics fully, compounded by the outside, intruding factors to boot. The couple claim to love and trust one another completely, but never manage to fully show that love or trust, and, as I said, the book is too short to develop anything along these lines. Still, the story is short, bittersweet, and interesting. I definitely found it a good holiday read. I do wish there had been more of it, so the author could have delved into things more fully to help me get a better understand and appreciation of the story, the plot and the characters. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

Every year the author delivers up to fans an engaging and heartwarming side story to one of her series with a Christmas holiday setting for one of her minor characters to shine and solve their own mystery. This year, the author returns to Victor and Vespasia from the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt historical mystery series and couldn’t have chosen better in my book. I chose to go back and forth between print and audio versions of the book.

A Christmas Gathering is the seventeenth of the Christmas stories. The story is standalone, but the characters are from one of the author’s Victorian era mystery series where they are introduced as well as their meeting, courtship and marriage.

Lady Vespasia is a woman in the winter of her life. An earl’s daughter and the most beautiful and striking woman from her early years even to now, she has stunned her family and circle of acquaintance by falling in love with and marrying ruthless and darkly secretive much younger Victor Narraway once the head of Britain’s Special Branch. Now, they are suddenly accepting an invitation to a house party after she thought they would spend a quiet Christmas at home together. She doesn’t ask what his going on when she sees the hidden expression on Victor’s face that tells of a top secret mission that he won’t tell her about. But, the house party is made up of mostly people she is acquainted with and soon she notices the tension and feels the atmosphere of what would otherwise be a lavish and traditional English country Christmas.

Victor still can’t believe his good fortune that Vespasia didn’t spurn his love and married out of her sphere and decidedly beneath her. This makes him feel more vulnerable than he ever has in his life so he won’t tell her about the huge deadly mistake he made many years ago and how this mission he is on will be his vindication of the past and maybe give him some answers. Only, someone at this house party seems to know about the new mission and maybe the past is about to repeat itself.

The author couldn’t have pleased me more than during the series when she brought these two favorite characters into a Winter romance and now gives them their own mystery to solve together during the Christmas season. This is novella-length so it does move along though it was highly developed and full of much introspection on the part of both characters. I enjoyed contemplating what an older pair would feel marrying late in an age and class difference situation, but it was also fun to see Vespasia using her rapier wit on a bitter woman who took shots at her and when the woman’s husband took shots at Victor. The Christmas setting was there, but the focus was on the characters and the mystery.

This was my first time experiencing Jenny Sterlin’s narration work and I was impressed by her ability to do older and younger characters, genders, classes, and even match the tone and pace that was just right for this novella. I will definitely be looking for more of her work.

Another lovely historical holiday mystery from a favorite author. I definitely recommend all her series for those who adore historical mysteries and this one in particular for those looking for a historical mystery set during the holidays.

Anne Perry, bestselling author of several historical series, releases a new Christmas novel annually. The Christmas novels generally include some of the minor characters from her series, and A Christmas Gathering is no exception. A favorite character in Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, Aunt Vespasia, who is not only a classic beauty, but also a well respected player in the highest social circles, and a very savvy help when it comes to solving murders with Charlotte. Vespasia has recently married Victor Narraway, who was previously head of London Special Branch, and they reluctantly agree to spend Christmas with a group of acquaintances who are high up on the social ladder. Vespasia assumes that Victor is involved in something with Special Branch and hence, the invitation. Victor is doing one last mission for Special Branch and must accept a package from another guest to unmask a British traitor, and doesn’t want to involve his wife to keep her out of danger. Unfortunately, Victor had a similar mission 20 years prior, and the agent handing over the package was murdered. Since the murder was never solved, Victor is uncomfortable, and when the agent handing over the package is almost murdered, Vespasia inserts herself into the investigation.

Perry is absolutely the queen of historical fiction. She has done her research, and while her characters are fictional, the settings and scenarios are true to historical facts. Perry has developed her characters so the main ones are not only beloved, but seem real. She proves that evil people existed at the turn of the century, no different than in our modern times. Perry’s knowledge and excellent writing skills make readers feel like they are living through the novel.

This novel is a fast read, and can be enjoyed by even by readers who are busy during the holiday season.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I love mysteries set at Christmas, and I was very intrigued by the premise of this book, with its promise of a spy element, a cold case element, and a potential murder. However, it just didn't come together for me. The Christmas didn't really figure into the ambiance of the story, and neither the spy element or the cold case gelled for me. The spy element reduced to essentially 'who's the person this plan is meant to catch', and the cold case element was really more of case gone wrong that haunted one of the protagonists--it never really felt like a mystery that needed solving. When the end came, it all felt a bit anti-climactic for me. I think possibly for people who aren't looking for a traditional sort of murder mystery, this might work well, but it wasn't my kind of story.

Even though this is part of a series, I feel this book can be read as a stand alone. There is a lot of repetition going on throughout the story which I wasn’t expecting.
This is a very short historical mystery that is perfect to read if you are in the mood for a fast, quick read.
Thank you to NetGallery, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book. This is my honest review.

This was a very quick read involving a cold case and espianoge! Vespasia and Victor Narraway are headed to a house party over Cheistmas but Victor has kept a secret from Vespasia and this meeting is more than just holiday cheer. Victor has a mission from Secret Branch to meet and acquire a package from another guest Iris.

Victor's past comes barreling towards him when Iris is found injured near death. Will history repeat itself?

I had no experience with the characters and did feel a bit disconnected at the beginning. About 3/4 of the way through the book I started to put the pieces together and click with the characters. I found Vespasia fascinating.

This is the first book I have read from this author and it will be the last. The only saving grace is that it’s not a full length book and can be read in an hour or so especially if you skip the endless descriptions of nature and colors of the dresses worn by the women.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at https://www.NerdGirlLovesBooks.com.

This was an entertaining Christmas novella that I enjoyed reading. It only has 208 pages, so it's a quick, easy read. I was pleased to see the author go back to the storylines and characters that I enjoy reading from her. I didn't really care for her last book, Death in Focus, or her new lead character, so it was nice to read a book with familiar characters, even if they are more background characters than the leads.

In this book, Lady Vespasia and her new husband, Victor Narraway, are invited to spend Christmas at a friends' country home. Neither want to go, however Victor has to conduct business with one of the guests also attending the gathering. Victor's current business is similar to something that happened years ago when a young girl under his care was murdered. The murderer was never caught, and the situation still haunts him. When current events begin to take an eerily similar turn, Victor must ensure that this time events have a better result. As circumstances become more and more difficult, Victor discovers forgiving himself may be the only way he can move forward.

This was a fun book to read if you're looking for a satisfying book you can read in a few hours. I recommend you read it.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I do so love an English turn of the century murder mystery. Max and Lady Amelia Cavendish are hosting a small Christmas gathering at Cavendish Hall. Lady Vespasia and Lord Victor Narraway have been invited and there are misgivings by all. Lots of polite remarks, little meaning behind them, these people have all the social graces and know how to employ them. Tea is a formality embraced by all, dinner is dress, conversation is stilted and often the underlying meaning and tone is venomous. Jolly good show, what?

An ugly past mistake is constantly on Lord Narraway’s mind and he is becoming undone. “As head of Special Branch he knew too much about too many people to be liked.” Lady Vespasia is aware something is amiss but is afraid to confront the man she adores. Treason, diabolical plots, nasty attacks, failure of a mission, a hand-off of military information - jolly good show, what?

There might have been just a little too much past and present mental gyration. Still it was a quick, entertaining bit of that “upstairs, downstairs” drama. A mind and force to be reckoned with, underestimate Lady Vespasia at your own peril. Anne Perry knows how to construct a good mystery and rarely disappoints.

Thank you Net Galley and Random House- Ballantine for a copy.