A cold case adds an extra chill to the holiday season as bestselling author Anne Perry whisks readers to an elegant home in the English countryside for a Christmas of secrets, soul-searching, and forgiveness. As beautiful as it may be, their friends’ country house is not where Lady Vespasia wishes to spend Christmas with her new husband, Victor Narraway. She’d have preferred a relaxing holiday at … relaxing holiday at home with him—especially as Victor, former head of the London Special Branch, seems to be hiding undercover dealings with the other guests who have gathered at the spacious estate.
As tensions grow, the young and beautiful Iris Watson-Watt becomes the center of several men’s focus. Unbeknownst to Vespasia, Iris carries a sensitive package that she must pass to Victor in the hope of unmasking a British traitor. While Victor plots his moves, he is reminded of a similar case from twenty years before, when a young Frenchwoman also carried a clandestine message—one that resulted in her murder, unsolved to this day. Victor has always been tormented by his failure to protect her, and now, with all eyes on Iris, Victor must act fast before history repeats itself.
With the joy of Christmas at risk of being forgotten and Vespasia feeling alone with a distracted husband, Victor must ultimately learn to forgive himself in order to save both his country and the spirit of the holiday.
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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 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!
I love Anne Perry’s books!
I was disappointed in this book. Love Anne Perry books but I jus couldn’t get into this one. Definitely not her best.
British Country House Cozy Mystery
This is a novella-length cozy mystery. It takes place prior to WWI and has significant espionage that goes with the mystery. It is a wonderful story with a great plot and a satisfying ending. I would love to read more stories about this couple! I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
Vespasia and her husband Victor Narraway go to the country estate of Max and Lady Amelia Cavendish. Vespasia would have liked to stay home, but she knew there was some reason that Victor wished to go. There were three other couples there – Rafe and Rosalind Allenby, Iris and James Watson-Watt, and Georgiana and Dorian Brent.
Vespasia finally finds out that Victor’s reason for coming was to get some altered submarine plans from one of the guests (which on he doesn’t know until he is notified) to be passed on through the network. Hopefully they would show up a traitor in British Intelligence. Victor had done a similar task in Normandy, where he was supposed to be protecting Edith, the passer. However, Edith was killed and he never found the papers or her killer. This was a chance to redeem himself.
Tensions are high among the guests. Lady Amelia seems to have a dislike for Vespasia, and Iris seems to be attracting a lot of attention. The papers do get passed; someone gets hurt; and there is a very exciting end as we find that more than the two participants are aware of what was to happen at the party. There is a connection between Victor’s current task and his failure twenty years before.
Although I enjoyed this story, it referenced some things between our main characters, Lady Vespasia and her husband Victor, with no explanation. Such as their age gap and what transpired the previous Christmas. These things may have happened in previous books in the series, but there should have been a more in-depth explanation regarding these references in order to make it a true stand-alone story.
Although semi-retired, Victor works with the Foreign Office and has been tasked with accepting documents from another operative at a house party in the country. Victor does not share this reason with Vespasia, although she is aware there is more involved than Victor has admitted. She trusts him and feels he will share it when he can.
A young, beautiful woman named Iris is tasked with the transfer of the documents to Victor.
This situation brings up memories and guilt from 20 years before for Victor where he was tasked with protecting another young woman in similar circumstances that resulted in her death. He is adamant that he will not let history repeat itself.
The story follows the house party through the Christmas holiday where Victor and Vespasia rush to solve a mystery while at the same time keeping themselves safe from danger.
All in all this was an enjoyable story, but would recommend reading the previous stories in the series in order to fully enjoy it.
Finally, I would like to thank Ann Perry, Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Books and NetGalley for gifting me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
A unique gathering of individuals for Christmas, and an interesting relationship between the two main characters, this book kept me guessing until the end. I hope we see more of Lady Vespacia and Victor Narraway in the future. This book is definitely worth reading.
A Christmas Gathering by Anne Perry is a fabulous Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery, Christmas novel all rolled into one. It is the latest (the 17th) installment in the Christmas Stories series.
This is a great, quick read that leaves the reader guessing until the end.
I enjoyed the relationship between Lady Vespacia and Victor Narraway. I also enjoyed the full cast of characters and the one-liners and banter. I found the ending appropriate and satisfying.
I hope this series continues.
5/5 stars
In her own easy to read style Anne Perry has you turning the pages and feeling at home in Victorian England. Life in an elegant home in the English countryside during the Christmas season.
Not everything is what it seems to be. The acquaintances invited could hardly be called friends. More like a mild acceptance of each other and a lot of snippy remarks between some of the guest and their host. Everybody seems to have a secret. How will it end and why is it happening? Get yourself comfortable and start reading.
I haven’t read any of Anne Perry’s Christmas books, but I will be reading more. I love Charlotte and Thomas Pitt and Monk and Hester. This story centers around Vespasia, Charlotte’s relative. There are new characters and events since I last read a Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mystery. Vespasia and her husband are invited to a grand manor for Christmas. However, Vespasia knows that it is more than a holiday. Her husband, Lord Narraway, used to be head of Special Branch has other reasons. I enjoy these mysteries. This one has some twists in it and for Lord Narraway, it brings back bitter memories. It is always interesting to me to read about the British aristocracy and on the various expectations of this class. Great story and quite short. If you love Victorian mysteries, you will like this one.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and offer my honest opinion on this book.