A Cold Highland Wind by Tasha Alexander

A Cold Highland Wind
by Tasha Alexander

ISBN-13: 9781250872333
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Released: October 3, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
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 meaning of the curious runic stone left on Sinclair’s forehead?

Scotland, 1676. Lady MacAllister, wife of the Laird of Cairnfarn Castle, suddenly finds herself widowed and thrown out of her home. Her sole companion is a freed Moorish slave girl who helps her secretly spirit out her most prized possessions from the castle. A bitter ex-servant manipulates people into suspecting and then accusing Lady MacAllister of witchcraft, a crime punishable by death.


My Review:
A Cold Highland Wind is a mystery set in 1905 in Scotland. There's also a secondary story going on in 1676 that tells details of a past event referred to in the main story. This book is the 17th in a series. You can understand this book without reading the previous ones, and this story didn't spoil the mysteries or major events of the previous books.

Historical and setting details were woven into the story without slowing the pacing. The main characters were engaging and reacted realistically to events. Emily and Colin had to identify the victim, which wasn't as easy as it initially seemed. Emily asked good questions, followed up on clues, and considered possible scenarios until she figured out what was going on. I started suspecting whodunit only a little bit before Emily did, so whodunit was guessable from the clues.

There were no sex scenes, though married sex was implied. There were only a few uses of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.