Book Review 2023 #6 - Tasha Alexander's A Cold Highland Wind
A Cold Highland Wind by Tasha Alexander
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 3rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
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Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge, does like an excuse to dress up, and his dear friends coming to visit him en famille at his estate in Scotland means it's time to break out the Bainbridge tartan, a flamboyant concoction of bright turquoise, scarlet, and yellow designed by his late lamented Uncle whom he inherited Cairnfarn Castle from. Emily, Colin, and their three children are headed north to visit Jeremy because of one of their children. Henry is very persuasive and upon learning that Jeremy is in possession of a menagerie he demanded to inspect the living conditions of the animals. And yes, this would be the same Henry who walks around with his crocodile Cedric on a lead. He seems to think that animals should be free, but what's safest for the animals might not be safest for the residents of Cairnfarn. Luckily there is a new danger on the horizon, that of a murderer. On their second day at Cairnfarn the village hosted a ceilidh for their new doctor. A new doctor who happens to be a woman! There was dancing, drinking, storytelling, a punch that packed a punch, and Jeremy in Bainbridge tartan from tip to tail, and, before the night was out, murder. Only the body of Jeremy's gamekeeper, Mr. Sinclair, wasn't found until the next morning. By Emily's precocious children. His body was a bloody sight and on his forehead lay a single stone with a rune carved in it. One would think that such brutality couldn't exist there beside the loch in quiet splendor. But that's one thing Emily has learned over the years, death can happen to anyone at anytime. Now they just have to figure out the who and the why. And there are plenty of candidates, especially when you're victim is a handsome stranger in a new place who kept to himself. When Mr. Sinclair arrived in Cairnfarn he left behind a fiance in Edinburgh to steal the hearts of the local lassies. One lassie in particular loved him desperately but her affections were not returned. Could either of these spurned ladies have been the culprit? Or perhaps the young farmer in love with the girl Mr. Sinclair spurned? When love and lust is at play anyone could be capable of murder. And Cairnfarn has a dark history of witchcraft. And everyone knows though shalt not suffer a witch to live...
Having reached seventeen volumes and an ever expanding cast of beloved characters I'm always wondering who will be drawn into Lady Emily's current case. Will her mother-in-law deign to make an appearance? Will the ghost of Kristiana von Lange loom large? Will Cécile du Lac be lured away from Paris and yet another paramour? Could Emily's dear friend Ivy Brandon stop by? Or what about the formidably smart American Margaret Seward? Or could it be just Jeremy, the Duke of Bainbridge? While I love all these characters more than I can say I was not the least bit disappointed to see that just Jeremy was on board for the latest adventure. As much as I love every single entry in this series the two books that top my list are The Adventuress and A Terrible Beauty. And The Adventuress gives us so much wonderful Jeremy I could die happy, he wouldn't have died happy, but thankfully he got away from his fiance. His minute cameo at the end of the last adventure wasn't enough, I needed more and thankfully Tasha somehow knew. What's more, here we have Jeremy attempting to adult and being almost nearly useful. In a kilt. Sadly, there is no Colin in a kilt. Once you meet Jeremy's Greats you will hope that perhaps they will be able to force Colin into a kilt for their own amusement, because they know a fine specimen of a man when they see one, but sadly it was not to be. And I'm sorry for that slight kilt spoiler, but I think that it's important to make sure you don't suffer the same crushed dreams I did. But at least there's Jeremy, you think he's growing up, taking on responsibility, and then he has the vapors and has to go lie down for a bit, have a drink, and possibly a game of billiards. As Tasha said, "The Ducal Struggle® is real." Yet thankfully we are introduced to some of Jeremy's relatives who are very much wanting to get their fingers into all the pies versus keeping their hands as clean as possible with their nails as nice as the valet can make them. I'm talking about the aforementioned Greats. These are Jeremy's great-aunts, Miss Adeline and Miss Josephine. They have sequestered themselves in their own salon in Cairnfarn from which they know all and see all and desperately want to know about the murder. They are my new favorite characters and if they don't minimally get their own novella I shall have a fit of the vapors myself.
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