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Lady Emily Ashton Mysteries #10.5
That Silent Night
'Tis the season for murder, mayhem, and mistletoe across the pond from New York Times bestselling author Tasha Alexander
In this new short story from Tasha Alexander, Lady Emily -- called "Victorian London's most colorful and delightfully eccentric sleuth"* -- and her dashing husband Colin are spending a few days in London, doing some last-minute Christmas shopping and making the most of the time alone, when they find themselves in the middle of an unexpected mystery. The couple is just getting cozy, not at all bothered by the storm outside. But when Lady Emily looks out the window to see a woman standing in the blowing snow, without a coat, an eerie feeling falls over her, and she rushes out to help, only to find that the woman has disappeared. Colin is convinced her eyes were playing tricks on her, but Emily is haunted by the woman's image. Clearly, there is something spooky afoot, and she is determined to get to the bottom of it. . . .
Complete with the vivid descriptions and period detail Lady Emily fans have come to expect from this series, That Silent Night is a delicious morsel of a mystery, with an irresistible ghost story at its heart.
*Jacqueline Winspear, New York Times bestselling author of the Maisie Dobbs series
In this new short story from Tasha Alexander, Lady Emily -- called "Victorian London's most colorful and delightfully eccentric sleuth"* -- and her dashing husband Colin are spending a few days in London, doing some last-minute Christmas shopping and making the most of the time alone, when they find themselves in the middle of an unexpected mystery. The couple is just getting cozy, not at all bothered by the storm outside. But when Lady Emily looks out the window to see a woman standing in the blowing snow, without a coat, an eerie feeling falls over her, and she rushes out to help, only to find that the woman has disappeared. Colin is convinced her eyes were playing tricks on her, but Emily is haunted by the woman's image. Clearly, there is something spooky afoot, and she is determined to get to the bottom of it. . . .
Complete with the vivid descriptions and period detail Lady Emily fans have come to expect from this series, That Silent Night is a delicious morsel of a mystery, with an irresistible ghost story at its heart.
*Jacqueline Winspear, New York Times bestselling author of the Maisie Dobbs series
63 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 20, 2015
111 people are currently reading
1297 people want to read
About the author
Tasha Alexander
31 books2,607 followersThe daughter of two philosophy professors, I grew up surrounded by books. I was convinced from an early age that I was born in the wrong century and spent much of my childhood under the dining room table pretending it was a covered wagon. Even there, I was never without a book in hand and loved reading and history more than anything. I studied English Literature and Medieval History at the University of Notre Dame. Writing is a natural offshoot of reading, and my first novel, And Only to Deceive, was published in 2005. I'm the author of the long-running Lady Emily Series as well as the novel Elizabeth: The Golden Age. One of the best parts of being an author is seeing your books translated, and I'm currently in love with the Japanese editions of the Emily books.
I played nomad for a long time, living in Indiana, Amsterdam, London, Wyoming, Vermont, Connecticut, and Tennessee before settling down. My husband, the brilliant British novelist Andrew Grant (I may be biased but that doesn't mean I'm wrong) and I live in southeastern Wyoming. I still don't have a covered wagon, but a log house goes a long way toward fulfilling my pioneer fantasies. Andrew makes sure I get my English characters right, and I make sure his American ones sound American.
I played nomad for a long time, living in Indiana, Amsterdam, London, Wyoming, Vermont, Connecticut, and Tennessee before settling down. My husband, the brilliant British novelist Andrew Grant (I may be biased but that doesn't mean I'm wrong) and I live in southeastern Wyoming. I still don't have a covered wagon, but a log house goes a long way toward fulfilling my pioneer fantasies. Andrew makes sure I get my English characters right, and I make sure his American ones sound American.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
December 2, 2015
4 stars...
Lovely Christmas novella with a ghost story intertwined. Not as deep or detailed as Lady Emily typically is, but that's to be expected in a short story. I thought it extremely well done for a novella. I also think most Lady Emily fans will enjoy spending a little time with her & Colin as well as meeting Penelope and helping to solve a mystery.
Lovely Christmas novella with a ghost story intertwined. Not as deep or detailed as Lady Emily typically is, but that's to be expected in a short story. I thought it extremely well done for a novella. I also think most Lady Emily fans will enjoy spending a little time with her & Colin as well as meeting Penelope and helping to solve a mystery.
December 23, 2024
This Christmas novella is a Victorian winter mystery that takes place in December. Lady Emily and Colin are staying without the children in their London home. Reminiscent of Dickens, Lady Emily sees a woman across the street in the park during a snowstorm late at night. She goes outside to assist the woman who is not dressed properly for the weather. When she gets there, the woman has vanished. This begins a series of events that leads to a mystery to be solved. Will there be good will and peace on earth this Christmas? A perfect read for a busy season that is sure to warm your heart.
October 22, 2015
This is a short story, not a novel, but it's a great Christmas/ghost story combo. It's very different from most Christmas stories and I really liked Lady Emily and how she tried to help the young woman who was definitely suffering from the "haunting".
Even though I suspected the resolution, it was worth the read.
Even though I suspected the resolution, it was worth the read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2015
Delightful Story!
Reading this fantastic story on a chilly late autumn morning was such a treat. I love Tasha Alexander's writing and her shorter works are no exception. After enjoying ten novels, I've grown wonderfully familiar with Emily's world and family, so a visit there through reading is a pure delight.
Reading this fantastic story on a chilly late autumn morning was such a treat. I love Tasha Alexander's writing and her shorter works are no exception. After enjoying ten novels, I've grown wonderfully familiar with Emily's world and family, so a visit there through reading is a pure delight.
November 20, 2018
*Special Content only on my blog, Strange and Random Happenstance during Alexander Autumn (October-November 2018)
Colin and Emily have fled to town to run a few last minute Christmas errands and to avoid their neighbors. It's not that they haven't enjoyed the festivities at Montague Manor, though Colin did refer to them as The Festival of Horror, there just comes a time when enough is enough. For Colin that point was reached at the proposed daylong charades tournament that would include the entire population of a neighboring village. Therefore they are ensconced in their Park Lane house while the snow blankets the city ignorant to the fact that a different set of neighbors is about to cause them a bit of a bother. While Colin finishes some work for the Palace Emily finishes a chapter in the newest Elizabeth Mary Braddon book and looks out the library window to see the most astonishing sight. A woman has appeared out of nowhere and all the warmth of Emily's cozy library has vanished. The woman's clothes are out of date but more disturbingly she had no coat. On such a cold night Emily knew she must help and rushed out into the swirling snow to find no trace of the woman. Not even a footprint. Colin claims that this is what happens from reading sensationalist literature but Emily is convinced otherwise. The next morning their new neighbors, the newly wed Leightons, ask if they can borrow some coal as the delivery vehicles can not come through. Emily and Colin gladly offer up the coal as well as an invitation to dinner. Mrs. Leighton shares a strong resemblance to the lady Emily saw in the street, but tries to brush it off. But when she finds out the young newlyweds have returned from Switzerland where Penelope was taking a cure for her nerves... could it be the young bride is connected to the disturbing sight that Emily saw? And can Emily help her before Penelope is beyond hope and committed?
As I sat down to read That Silent Night there was a bite in the air and the first hint of snow was forecast. In other words, I had circumstances align perfectly to read this tale. Unlike Tasha's previous holiday offering, Star of the East, which went for the more Agatha Christie tradition of all the suspects snowbound in a manor house, here she went for the more ghostly Christmas narrative. Because while Dickens popularized and in some ways standardized this tradition of ghostly tales told around the fire with A Christmas Carol, he didn't start this tradition which goes all the way back to Shakespeare. Just think of some of the most famous ghost stories of all from The Turn of the Screw to The Woman in Black. These stories are framed by people sitting around a fire and trying to scare each other with tales of the otherworldly and supernatural while Christmas Day draws ever nearer. In fact an article that resurfaced this past weekend from last year, "A Plea to Resurrect the Christmas Tradition of Telling Ghostly Tales," is something I couldn't agree with more after reading That Silent Night. Tasha taps into this tradition and delivers what I easily believe to be a true holiday classic deserving to be read on Christmas Eve that while a part of the overall series can easily be read by anyone unfamiliar with the exploits of Emily and her husband Colin. Over the course of her two Christmas novellas Tasha has written almost pastiches of Wilkie Collins's work, moving from The Moonstone to The Woman in White. But it's the atmosphere of Collins's The Woman in White that makes it a perfect augmentation to this tale. There's more ambiguity, more mystery, and definitely a supernatural bent. That in fact is why I love this tale so much. Tasha doesn't discount the supernatural. She leaves us with ambiguity.
Yet with all the Wilkie of this story in the end it comes down to the Dickens of it all. Not just because Colin is bemoaning Dickens and the pestilential carolers but because That Silent Night couples the ghostly Christmas tale with a social conscience. Dickens strongly believed in showing us the worst of humanity not just to make us feel better but in order to educate us so that we can help others. Christmas might be a time for spooky stories but it is also a time for giving. And not just giving thanks. Emily's social conscience has evolved over the course of the series with many worthy causes being taken up, from suffrage to the plight of the factory worker to female education reform to name a few. Here we see a world of suffering most strongly connected to Dickens, that of orphanages. Through the course of Emily and Colin's investigations into Penelope's past and the ghostly form appearing in Park Lane they end up at an orphanage that Emily says is bleaker than even Dickens could write. The reality of what an orphanage is like, especially during the Victorian era, is terrifying. While the man in charge of running the establishment admits it lacks a certain warmth and holiday cheer he says the sad truth, that at least it's better for the kids than being out on the streets. But it also shows how easy it was for someone to fall through the cracks. In the 1800s, in fact any time before people's identities were so closely monitored and enforced through identification cards and passports and online profiles, you could literally just disappear. You could be lost to this other world of poverty and despair. But in true Dickensian spirit, while we might wallow in misery for a short time, in the end we get our happily ever after. It wouldn't be Christmas if the cockles of our hearts weren't warmed in the end.
Colin and Emily have fled to town to run a few last minute Christmas errands and to avoid their neighbors. It's not that they haven't enjoyed the festivities at Montague Manor, though Colin did refer to them as The Festival of Horror, there just comes a time when enough is enough. For Colin that point was reached at the proposed daylong charades tournament that would include the entire population of a neighboring village. Therefore they are ensconced in their Park Lane house while the snow blankets the city ignorant to the fact that a different set of neighbors is about to cause them a bit of a bother. While Colin finishes some work for the Palace Emily finishes a chapter in the newest Elizabeth Mary Braddon book and looks out the library window to see the most astonishing sight. A woman has appeared out of nowhere and all the warmth of Emily's cozy library has vanished. The woman's clothes are out of date but more disturbingly she had no coat. On such a cold night Emily knew she must help and rushed out into the swirling snow to find no trace of the woman. Not even a footprint. Colin claims that this is what happens from reading sensationalist literature but Emily is convinced otherwise. The next morning their new neighbors, the newly wed Leightons, ask if they can borrow some coal as the delivery vehicles can not come through. Emily and Colin gladly offer up the coal as well as an invitation to dinner. Mrs. Leighton shares a strong resemblance to the lady Emily saw in the street, but tries to brush it off. But when she finds out the young newlyweds have returned from Switzerland where Penelope was taking a cure for her nerves... could it be the young bride is connected to the disturbing sight that Emily saw? And can Emily help her before Penelope is beyond hope and committed?
As I sat down to read That Silent Night there was a bite in the air and the first hint of snow was forecast. In other words, I had circumstances align perfectly to read this tale. Unlike Tasha's previous holiday offering, Star of the East, which went for the more Agatha Christie tradition of all the suspects snowbound in a manor house, here she went for the more ghostly Christmas narrative. Because while Dickens popularized and in some ways standardized this tradition of ghostly tales told around the fire with A Christmas Carol, he didn't start this tradition which goes all the way back to Shakespeare. Just think of some of the most famous ghost stories of all from The Turn of the Screw to The Woman in Black. These stories are framed by people sitting around a fire and trying to scare each other with tales of the otherworldly and supernatural while Christmas Day draws ever nearer. In fact an article that resurfaced this past weekend from last year, "A Plea to Resurrect the Christmas Tradition of Telling Ghostly Tales," is something I couldn't agree with more after reading That Silent Night. Tasha taps into this tradition and delivers what I easily believe to be a true holiday classic deserving to be read on Christmas Eve that while a part of the overall series can easily be read by anyone unfamiliar with the exploits of Emily and her husband Colin. Over the course of her two Christmas novellas Tasha has written almost pastiches of Wilkie Collins's work, moving from The Moonstone to The Woman in White. But it's the atmosphere of Collins's The Woman in White that makes it a perfect augmentation to this tale. There's more ambiguity, more mystery, and definitely a supernatural bent. That in fact is why I love this tale so much. Tasha doesn't discount the supernatural. She leaves us with ambiguity.
Yet with all the Wilkie of this story in the end it comes down to the Dickens of it all. Not just because Colin is bemoaning Dickens and the pestilential carolers but because That Silent Night couples the ghostly Christmas tale with a social conscience. Dickens strongly believed in showing us the worst of humanity not just to make us feel better but in order to educate us so that we can help others. Christmas might be a time for spooky stories but it is also a time for giving. And not just giving thanks. Emily's social conscience has evolved over the course of the series with many worthy causes being taken up, from suffrage to the plight of the factory worker to female education reform to name a few. Here we see a world of suffering most strongly connected to Dickens, that of orphanages. Through the course of Emily and Colin's investigations into Penelope's past and the ghostly form appearing in Park Lane they end up at an orphanage that Emily says is bleaker than even Dickens could write. The reality of what an orphanage is like, especially during the Victorian era, is terrifying. While the man in charge of running the establishment admits it lacks a certain warmth and holiday cheer he says the sad truth, that at least it's better for the kids than being out on the streets. But it also shows how easy it was for someone to fall through the cracks. In the 1800s, in fact any time before people's identities were so closely monitored and enforced through identification cards and passports and online profiles, you could literally just disappear. You could be lost to this other world of poverty and despair. But in true Dickensian spirit, while we might wallow in misery for a short time, in the end we get our happily ever after. It wouldn't be Christmas if the cockles of our hearts weren't warmed in the end.
May 28, 2017
Lady Emily, Book 10.5
February 15, 2018
Wow! Different and touching, and Lady Emily is as fun as ever!
August 5, 2025
Satisfying short story — love that it’s set in the Victorian tradition of Christmas ghost stories, love Emily’s pragmatic and stubborn response to mysterious circumstances. Very nice.
December 9, 2024
Just the time to read a Christmas short story
July 14, 2016
This ghostly mystery is very much a homage to Dickens. It had a good mystery, bit I find it less engaging than the previous Christmas novella.
January 4, 2025
This is a short in the Lady Emily series, set around Christmas time. There's a defininte mystery as well as an element of the tradition of Christmas ghost story.
Though the family is all at their country house, Colin and Emily pop down to London for some 'shopping'. Really, Colin mostly just wants relief from the endless games of charades! Recent new neighbors are also in town but not by choice: a heavy snow has prevented them traveling to a relative's home, and their home is not fully ready for residents.
Colin and Emily are happy to help them out, of course, and invite them to dinner as well, finding them pleasant enough but worried: He's worried for the health of his wife, and she seems reserved and troubled by some old sorrow and, apparently, seeing ghosts in the street. But Emily knows that's not just in Penelope's head as she's seen a woman's figure outside in the lane as well.
In the end, Penelope's history is resolved and, of course, the woman's identity is discovered. A perfect short read for the busy Christmas season.
Though the family is all at their country house, Colin and Emily pop down to London for some 'shopping'. Really, Colin mostly just wants relief from the endless games of charades! Recent new neighbors are also in town but not by choice: a heavy snow has prevented them traveling to a relative's home, and their home is not fully ready for residents.
Colin and Emily are happy to help them out, of course, and invite them to dinner as well, finding them pleasant enough but worried: He's worried for the health of his wife, and she seems reserved and troubled by some old sorrow and, apparently, seeing ghosts in the street. But Emily knows that's not just in Penelope's head as she's seen a woman's figure outside in the lane as well.
In the end, Penelope's history is resolved and, of course, the woman's identity is discovered. A perfect short read for the busy Christmas season.
November 12, 2022
I really like the 2 protagonists of this series, Lady Emily and her husband Colin, but unfortunately if you are looking for a story with a Christmas atmosphere, I warn you that you will not find it in this story.
Leaving aside Christmas and the desire to read something that helps me dive into the most beautiful time of the year, the story itself is not bad, but it is not as engaging as I expected, although I must say that I have this problem with all authors, even the most famous.
The only author who has been able to involve me also by reading novellas instead a book is Queen Agatha Christie.
I prefer definitely books than short stories.
So far , in Lady Emily series, I've read 3 books and 2 Christmas stories (both not very Christmas) and if the stories have not involved me (but I love being in Emily's company), the books have been exciting with a nice intertwining of secrets, clues, suspicions and everything that makes a mystery a good mystery.
Leaving aside Christmas and the desire to read something that helps me dive into the most beautiful time of the year, the story itself is not bad, but it is not as engaging as I expected, although I must say that I have this problem with all authors, even the most famous.
The only author who has been able to involve me also by reading novellas instead a book is Queen Agatha Christie.
I prefer definitely books than short stories.
So far , in Lady Emily series, I've read 3 books and 2 Christmas stories (both not very Christmas) and if the stories have not involved me (but I love being in Emily's company), the books have been exciting with a nice intertwining of secrets, clues, suspicions and everything that makes a mystery a good mystery.
September 1, 2020
Cute and sweet historical ghost story/mystery novella from the Lady Emily series. The latest book was really disappointing to me (#14, In the Shadow of Vesuvius) so it was a pleasant treat to revisit Colin and Emily in a more congenial way.
I love a good Christmas novella and adding in ghosts? Terrific. Very atmospheric and Dickens-y. Almost like a Halloween/Christmas mashup (a best-case scenario, tbh).
I love a good Christmas novella and adding in ghosts? Terrific. Very atmospheric and Dickens-y. Almost like a Halloween/Christmas mashup (a best-case scenario, tbh).
September 22, 2025
A Heartwarming Tale Well Told
Christmas in London conjures up images of holly trimmed houses and mulled wine by the fireside. A sudden snowstorm adds a final festive touch until a ghostly woman begins appearing in the park across the street. I won't spoil the story but encourage you to add it to your holiday warmth.
Christmas in London conjures up images of holly trimmed houses and mulled wine by the fireside. A sudden snowstorm adds a final festive touch until a ghostly woman begins appearing in the park across the street. I won't spoil the story but encourage you to add it to your holiday warmth.
January 23, 2020
This may be my favorite Lady Emily novella so far. The mixture of mystery and ghosts was pleasant, and the story itself was fast-paced and had a feel-good ending. I’ll definitely be revisiting this one around Christmas this year!
July 27, 2017
Extra star for Henry's 'MORBID. PROFANE.' outburst. Loved it.
July 28, 2017
Lovely story!
January 19, 2018
Another quick Emily short story. I think Star of the East had a better mystery, but I enjoyed the snowy setting. I always prefer when Emily and Colin are in London!
January 27, 2018
Delightful holiday short story.
February 26, 2018
Did not like this one as much as the other Christmas short story -- found it to be very 'Christmas Carol'-ly and I don't love that book either. A fun, short, casual read.
January 4, 2019
A lovely holiday story, if you enjoy the Emma (and Colin) Hargreaves series by Tasha Alexander.
February 15, 2019
I have so missed Lady Emily & Colin; this was the perfect taste to put me back into the frame of mind for her next book; an absolute delight.
May 25, 2019
I had tears in my eyes by the end of this one. I love the Christmas novellas. They are just as well done as the full length novels, and their stories are so heartwarming. This author is so fantastic!
June 6, 2019
Fun short story in the Lady Emily series.
July 26, 2020
Great little book
December 6, 2020
It is always fun to find out what this family is up to. There’s always a mystery, rarely ghosts, and a decadent British high society lifestyle.
December 13, 2020
My First Lady Emily story and I really enjoyed it. I found the time period and the characters to be very interesting.
December 23, 2020
A short little Christmas ghost story mystery solved by Lady Emily and her husband, Colin.
December 25, 2020
Enjoyable short Christmas read to get into the holiday spirit
January 29, 2021
A charming novella featuring Emily and Colin. Emily's intuition creates unexpected excitement during their Lindon get away.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews