Finally, Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould gets her own story! This book takes place when Vespasia is 30 years old and is attending a house party just before Christmas. Of course there's a murder/suicide involved and Lady Vespasia gets to be right in the middle of it. I'd recommend this to readers who are familiar with the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series in which Lady Vespasia plays a lovable role.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story and enjoyed the narrator.

An interesting story. I was thrown off by a married woman CONSTANTLY remembering a previous romance and acting like her children and husband are after thoughts.

Narrator was fabulous!
Listened using chirbooks.com.

I don’t know, I just couldn’t get into this one. I was going to give it 2 stars, but the final few paragraphs were quite redeeming—like 4 star good, so...

Not really a mystery....and not very Christmasy..

A nice holiday novel.

2.5

I don't understand the premise of this book at all. So a high-society lady made a snarky comment, and everyone blames her, Isobel, for Gwendolen's suicide? Never mind that her so-called intended never went to check on Gwendolen or reassure her at all? Well, he has a penis so he must be blameless.

Then all the insufferable rich people at the pary hold a hearing and make a pact and force Lady Isobel to travel to the highlands of Scotland in the winter to deliver a letter to Gwendolen's mother, and she has to get the mother to travel back, from the highlands, in winter? Or they will ostracize her forever? And if they talk, they will be ostracized forever?

Anne Perry is a good writer, and the descriptions of the wintry setting and the journey were fine. I just don't understand the point of it all. Who acts like this? The whole idea of expatiation for a crime was bizarre, especially when the "crime" was so minor as to be something that every single woman at the party was probably guilty of. I mean, who hasn't made a nasty comment or insult that they immediately wished to take back? I'd be darned if my "friends" demanded I go on some dangerous pilgramage to right this so-called wrong. It's just bizarre.

Pointless and not very Christmassy either.

Really, truly awful. I had to give up, as it is just so tedious and boring.