A Christmas Gathering, Anne Perry
A Christmas Gathering, Anne Perry
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A Christmas Gathering

Author: Anne Perry

Narrator: Jenny Sterlin

Unabridged: 4 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 11/05/2019


Synopsis

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 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.

About Anne Perry

Sometimes the personal story of a particular author seems almost as intriguing as the books they write. Such is the life of British author Anne Perry (aka Juliet Marion Hulme). As a child Hulme was very ill with tuberculosis and ended up being fostered out by a family in the Caribbean. She did get better, and the family moved to a private island in New Zealand, where she describes her life as a Swiss family Robinson type existence. She became ill again and during her bouts of illness through her teen years, she missed most of her childhood education. However, her mother had prepared her by teaching her how to read and write by the time she was four. Her heart always seemed to be in writing.

At the age of 15, Juliet and her best friend plotted and killed her friend's mother. The three went for a walk in the park and Hulme dropped a stone, causing the mother to bend over to pick it up, and her friend hit her own mother on the head with a half brick. They had planned on the strike killing her, but they had to strike her 20 times before she was dead. The girls were put on trial and each served five years in prison. It is said that they never saw each other again after being released. For many years, nobody connected author Anne Perry as the teen murderer, Juliet Hulme. In 1994, the film Heavenly Creatures, portrayed Hulme and her friend Pauline Parker with characters being played by Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey respectively.

Perry's genre of writing covers Victorian Era Detective fiction for the most part. Her novels have been centered around two main characters, Thomas Pitt and William Monk. She has published 47 novels and several collections of stories.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Gloria on December 19, 2024

This a good historical mystery set in England during the Christmas season at an English countryside estate. it involves government agents and undercover work with interesting characters and some friction between certain characters and danger to others. This was my first of the series, but I was able......more

Goodreads review by Bam cooks the books on November 23, 2019

What could be more Christmasy than spending the holiday at an English country manor house? But it turns out it's a working vacation for Lady Vespasia's new husband, Lord Victor Narraway, former head of London's Special Branch. Secret plans have been made for the exchange of an important paper but Vi......more

Goodreads review by Tom on January 02, 2020

All I can say is the part of the story that bothered me the most is the hidey hole Victor chose to hide the package. As former head of Special Branch you would think he would have found one more secure and not so precarious. It just seemed such a poor choice for him to make.......more

Goodreads review by Lori on January 03, 2023

The best thing about this book is the very pretty cover art! I am likely the wrong reader for this genre, but I kept encouraging my self to finish since it's only 200 tiny pages long. It just kept slipping into boring.......more

Goodreads review by Randi Annie on November 09, 2019

A quick and easy read which is perfect when you want to take a break from your Christmas preparations. Lady Vespasia and Victor Narraway are invited to spend Christmas at a beautiful country estate in Kent. What seems on the outside to be a pleasant holiday with society acquaintances of Vespasia, end......more