Book Title: A Cold Highland Wind
Author: Tasha Alexander
Series: A Lady Emily Ashton Mystery #17
Publisher: Saint Martin’s Press ~ Minotaur Book
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: October 3, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages 304

Story is told from the POV of Lady Emily in 1905 and Tansy in 1676.

1905: Investigators Lady Emily Hargreaves and her husband Colin along with their three sons – twins Richard/ Tom and Henry are planning a Holiday by visiting Cairnfarn Castle, the Scottish estate of their dear friend Jeremy Sheffeld, Duke of Bainbridge.

However, they find themselves in a murder investigation after the boys find the body of Duke’s gamekeeper, Angus Sinclair. It appears Angus Sinclair was engaged to marry Dr. Harris but had enemies as well as secrets. There is a curious runic stone left on Sinclair’s forehead?

1676: There is another story that took place also at Cairnfarn Castle.
Tansy a young girl from North Africa was taken from her family who were not servants but educated as well as cultured. She was forced into the life of slavery. Lady MacAllister, mistress of Castle Cairnfarn kidnapped Tansy and gave her as a wedding gift to Rossalyn who was actually horrified with such a gift. She feared what would happen to Tansy so had her stay with her and, of course, did not treat her as a servant.
In the late 1600s, when the fervor of the witch hunt was rampant A young Moorish woman kidnapped from her family and forced into a life of slavery Scotland,

This turned out to be a great read for me. In addition to Tansy’s story ~ witchcraft is always interesting.
This is Book #17 in the Lady Emily series so I am not sure if it is the first or if others included witchcraft.
I find witchcraft sooo bazar the fact that it not only but everywhere is unbelievable,
In [author: Tasha Alexander]’s ‘Author’s Notes’ she tells us that
Between 1563 and 1736 people in Scotland were accused of witchcraft at a rate of five times greater than the rest of Europe.
This thought just popped into my head ~
What if the Earth was invaded by aliens who were testing Earth’s inhabitants and threw us the idea of witchcraft? We certainly proved that most of Earth’s inhabitants were not all that intelligent thus the aliens knew we were a waste of their time. However, it seems they do stop by every once in a while to confirm what they already know.

I was going to delete my head popping idea but thought you might enjoy a laugh or yoou just might be thinking Hmmm!

About Author, Tasha Alexander. ~She is the daughter of two philosophy professors,
She goes on to say~ I grew up surrounded by books. I was convinced from an early age that I was
born in the wrong century and spent much of my childhood under the dining room table pretending it
was a covered wagon. Even there, I was never without a book in hand and loved reading and history
more than anything. I studied English Literature and Medieval History at the University of Notre Dame.
Writing is a natural offshoot of reading,

This is Book #17 in the Lady Emily Ashton and I am embarrassed to say my first but it won’t be my last. It was more enjoyable than I expected.

Want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for October 3, 2023.

I haven’t read any other novels by Tasha Alexander so came to this one completely fresh, without any idea of what to expect. I wasn’t disappointed! Set in the Scottish Highlands, we meet Lady Emily and her husband, Colin, and a mystery to be solved. Solid characters and an interesting storyline made this an entertaining and fun read. I can see why so many love this series! Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I read and loved the first several books of the Lady Emily series, but skipped quite a few to pick up this book. I’m glad I did, and will be going back to fill in those that I’ve missed. It was good to see Lady Emily and Colin, and her children now big boys of ten! The mystery was well done, but I really enjoyed the Scottish setting and the dual timeline tying in the witch trials of the 17th century. It was very enjoyable, and I look forward to gong back to complete the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

I enjoyed this latest addition to the Lady Emily historical mystery series. A large part of the appeal was the setting in the Scottish Highlands. I am a fan of this series and I believe that having read previous books and knowing Lady Emily’s backstory added to my enjoyment.

My slight criticisms of this book were that I wish there had been more of Lady Emily and her husband, Colin. There was also a second story in a different timeline in alternating chapters that I didn’t find necessary and only minimally related to the main story.

However, there is plenty of charm and I am already looking forward to future books in this series. I received an ARC from the publisher.

Another delightful addition to the Lady Emily mysteries! Emily, Colin, and their brood are off to Scotland but a midnight murder derails their vacation at longtime friend Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge's estate. Emily is witty, Colin is dreamy, Jeremy is droll, and the children are wonderfully fleshed out (which isn't always the case!).

This series by Tasha Alexander is a perfect winner. It hits all the right notes - period setting, heroic and feisty heroine, rich and often exotic settings, intelligent romance, and intriguing mysteries. The new story is set in the highlands of Scotland. Emily's friend Jeremy is hosting the family at his estate, but, of course, murder happens. Alexander weaves a complex and engaging mystery. Excellent entry!

The superior level of masterful suspense, and exotic locations combined with historical research and deep character development ensure that I will devour each Lady Emily mystery as soon as possible. Tasha Alexander is an exceptional master of her craft, bringing enjoyment plus lingering thoughts and emotions from each novel.

I received a complimentary copy of the book without obligation. This review is my opinion.

This is the first book in this series that I've read, and I don't feel like I've missed out on anything. I think this can be a stand-alone read. With that said, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and plan to read the other books in this series. I like the main characters, Lady Emily, and her husband. They were on vacation with their children at a friend's Scottish estate, and met some interesting characters after a murder had taken place nearby. I love the setting and the two time periods with witchcraft hysteria in 1676 and that knowledge assisting with the investigation in the current period in year 1905. I was engrossed throughout and enjoyed the sleuthing that took place. Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC.

A top hop novel taking place in Scotland. Current time there has been a murder of the estate’s Groundskeeper. so Colin and Lady Emily assist her cousin the Duke (Jeremy) in finding the murder. Very quickly they realize the Groundskeeper wasn’t who they thought he was. An impostor who took the identity of a local who had left many years earlier. There are many twists and turns that I found more frustrating that interesting. Years earlier, an ansestor of the current Duke threw his stepmother out after her husband died. She was given a pitiful allowance and left with her made; an enslaved African woman they named Tansey. Frankly this portion of the story focuses on the Witch hunts during this time. Which I found boring.

Loved this book! I’m a huge fan of Lady Emily and I’m glad we are getting to see her and Colin in the family life.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Cold Highland Wind by Tasha Alexander! The book is between 2 stories and 2 time periods. One is the Lady Emily who solves mysteries with her dreamy husband Colin in a small rainy town in Scotland. The other story is set in the late 1600’s and is the story about a young woman stolen from her family and the witch trials happening in Scotland at that time. Although both stories were quite entertaining my one complaint is that I don’t see how the 2 stories were supposed to connect… it was a stretch.

I was immediately drawn in to the setting and writing. If you like Outlander I believe you will be too! The book doesn’t read like a book in a huge murder mystery series. The book and the relationships within the book are wholesome, sweet and comical. I never saw the end coming! Great story.
#acoldhighlandwind #netgalley

Witty, mysterious, somewhat enlightening and very engaging, I thoroughly enjoyed #acoldhighlandwind by @tasha_alexander. Lady Emily is a terrific feminist, even if she doesn't consider herself one. Traveling with her husband and boys to her close friend Jeremy's estate in the Scottish highlands, Lady Emily finds (literally) herself involved in a murder that needs to solved. Alternating chapters tell the story of Tansy, sold into slavery from Tunisia. Having the privilege of speaking my mind since a young adult, it's hard to imagine how I would've survived during either of these generations, with the lack of rights women faced. Highly recommend.

P.S. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed following along with Lady Emily and her husband Colin as they solved another mystery, this time in the Highlands of Scotland while visiting the estate of Emily’s childhood friend Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge’s estate with their three boys and one crocodile. Emily and Colin do their best to investigate murders without involving the children, but this time the boys find the body, marking the beginning of a loss of innocence for them. While still bringing comedic relief to otherwise dark events, the personalities of the boys continue to unfold, and I look forward to them joining the investigations in future books.

This is a dual timeline novel, with another story based in the same setting but in the late 1600s unfolding in every other chapter. Tasnim, a Moor who had been trafficked, and Lady Rosslyn face the injustices society created for women of the time. In this plot line, the author carefully explores the complexities of the concept of freedom from bondage with a lack of ownership of one’s identity and freedom to return home. I only wish the link between the two plot lines had been less tenuous.

I admire and appreciate Tasha Alexander’s commitment to research and subsequent exploration of complex societal issues from both the historical and modern viewpoints in her writing. No easy task, and she does it well while serving to entertain those of us who love a good murder mystery.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, Netgalley, and the author Tasha Alexander for early access to this intriguing mystery.

It's refreshing to be able to jump into a series for the first time with the 17th installment and not feel like you've missed out. I've been wanting to read this series but didn't want to commit to going all the way back to the beginning so I just jumped in when I got an ARC and the water was totally fine. I really liked Lady Emily. She's smart, no-nonsense, and a little acerbic (Maisie's pout looked like it had been practiced in front of a mirror but wasn't as attractive as she imagined it was? No one would ever accuse Jeremy of being a competent duke? LOL). Emily's kids each had distinct personalities and were fun to get to know (though Henry sounds like quite a handful). The mystery was sharp and interesting and relatable and didn't have too many characters to keep track of.
The only thing I didn't care for was the parallel story of Tasnim, the Tunisian slave. That whole storyline was so grim (addressing slavery, racism/classism, and witch hunts) and cast a pall over the whole book for me. I really enjoyed all the Emily chapters and dreaded all the Tansy chapters. I thought maybe the stories would end up interweaving in a crucial way (was the carved box the same? would the books reappear as a key plot point? etc) but I don't think they did, at least in any significant way (maybe the runes? but that was almost tangential). If that whole storyline had been taken out, this review would have been 5 stars. As it is, though, I'm looking forward to going back and hitting up the first 16 books in the series. I love finding a great new author (new to me, that is) and knowing there's a whole series to explore!

My thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Nice easy read that tells two stories in one. The more current story is a classic whodunit in a small village and what goes on behind closed doors. The older story, set in the late 1600's, tells of a witch hunt and the troubles women suffered during that era. Great stories on their own but very entertaining all together. I'd never read a Lady Emily mystery but this made me go back and look into previous books.

As in prior books in the “Lady Emily” series, “A Cold Highland Wind” contains two interspersed stories. The first story, set in 1905, is the murder mystery that Lady Emily and her husband Colin are tasked with solving. In this case, the death of the gamekeeper for Lady Emily’s friend Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge. The gamekeeper was an impostor and multiple people on the estate and in the village of Cairnfarn have motives to want him dead. However, the identity of the killer will like surprise you.

The second story is set in 1676 and involves suspected witchcraft. This story is enjoyable. I think the author could develop it more and make it into a standalone novel if she wanted. There are some obvious connections between the two stories, including that both are set in Cairnfarn and that items that are central to the 1676 story make an appearance in the 1905 story.

However, I did not feel that the “old” story contributed anything of significance to the “new” story; if it was removed, the reader would not miss it and the quality of the modern mystery would not suffer. This is in contrast to previous books, where the two stories meshed well, and the “old” story enhanced the current story.

I started reading the Lady Emily mysteries at volume number 14 and have kept up with the series since. From Pompeii to Florence to Egypt and now the Scottish Highlands I’ve enjoyed Lady Emily solving murders in both present and ancient times. The nice thing with this series is that they read a bit like stand alones. All you need to know is Emily is an intelligent woman solving all manner of crimes in the 1900s. Each modern murder mirrors or connects with one in the past. Chapters alternate between her time and some time in history, in this case the 1760s at the height of witch hysteria.

I enjoyed both stories and liked how they each had a major unexpected betrayal. I felt though that we got a lot less of Emily than in previous novels but perhaps that’s just since there are so many in the series? Rural Scotland was a lovely place to experience in both time points, I can’t wait to see where she ends up next.

Thanks to Minotaur Books for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

A Cold Highland Wind by Tasha Alexander continues the story of Lady Emily and her family on a visit to the estate of their friend Jeremy. Although at first I had a bit of trouble with keeping all the characters in each timeline straight, after that it was interesting to hear each story from 1676 and 1905. Jeremy's Great Aunts were a wonderful addition to the story.

Lady Emily and her family are visiting the Scotland estate of her friend, the Duke of Bainbridge, when her three boys stumble upon a dead body. Of course Emily and Colin must figure out what happened. There is a second story line from the 1600s, involving witch trials. Though it was easy to miss if you did not pay attention, the two stories did intertwine. I was happy to see the boys were a part of the story, not just an afterthought. Hope to see more of them in future books. I also enjoyed the Duke’s aunts. Another solid entry in the Lady Emily series.

I had read another book before this in the Lady Emily series. A Cold Highland Wind is far better. The first sentence captured my attention immediately and made me want to read more. It let me know that a murder had just happened and where through the observation that it is difficult to see blood on a kilt. I also found this book more interesting because it followed two story plots: one about a slave girl from Africa and one about the murder of a mysterious gamekeeper and then ties them together in the end. The common threads between the two were a copy of Macbeth and the question of witchcraft.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I now think I need to read more books in the series.