The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan
“The Secret Christmas Library would be a welcome stocking stuffer for anyone who dreams of endless shelves filled with a tantalizingly marvelous miscellany of books.”
It’s no secret that this reviewer thoroughly enjoys the work of New York Times best-selling, prolific author and gifted storyteller Jenny Colgan, despite professing an aversion to romances. In addition to charmingly cozy novels, she has also written several scripts for television, children’s books, Doctor Who stories and other works of science fiction.
The Secret Christmas Library is a holiday gift to booklovers and treasure hunters that takes place in a remote, crumbling Scottish castle. The setting befits the author who lives with her husband and their children in a genuine castle in Scotland, albeit one with updated amenities including dependable hot water on tap!
A Woman Who Knows Books Better Than She Knows Herself
Mirren Sutherland was a quantity surveyor (QS) for a large London firm and as such, was a numbers cruncher; a construction professional office worker responsible for overseeing the financial and legal aspects of building and civil engineering details, including cost estimations, budgeting, contracts, and the management of change orders from project inception to completion. Although it was a job she did well, it provided scant satisfaction. She was passionate about books; a constant reader who took particular gratification in locating rare editions for library and museum collections.
The continuous holiday music and sparkling decorations throughout London depressed her and reminded her that this year she had turned down all invitations to festive celebrations. Last Christmas had been a happy time as she was accompanied by handsome antiquarian book dealer Theo Palliser while engrossed in tracking down a priceless original book handwritten by Robert Louis Stevenson and illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley. It was the dying wish of her Great-aunt Violet that she find this unique volume that actually belonged to said aunt’s childhood best friend.
After searching through every possible auction catalog, library and rare book shop, at length she located it in her late Great-uncle’s kit bag. Not only was this exciting, but after the book was donated by the owner to the British Museum, she received a finder’s fee sufficient for a deposit on a tiny studio flat. She was sorely disappointed not to have heard from Theo since those heady days.
When in need of a lift, she would walk to the museum on her lunch break to view “her book” on display in a temperature-controlled room in a place of honor near a 1623 First Folio of Shakespeare. As a point of pride, there was a tiny sign which read, “Kindly donated by June Wilson, great-niece of Aubrey Beardsley: found, Mirren Sutherland, London, 2024.”
On this fateful day, she bumped into an attractive, though slightly unkempt, tall and slender man in his early thirties who engaged her in a rather curious conversation about book-finding. Before departing, he handed her a card embossed with his name, Jamie McKinnon, and a telephone number and asked her to call him if she were interested in a job.
A Twist She Never Saw Coming …
Thus, The Secret Christmas Library begins with an astonishing great adventure for Mirren. When the mysterious Laird of a castle in northern Scotland phones her looking for a book finder, she declines the offer, citing work obligations. Consequently, she is astonished when her boss greets her with the news that train tickets have been sent for her to travel immediately to Scotland to assess the merits of demolishing versus adding an extension to an inherited property.
Packing lightly with the expectation of returning to London on the next train, Mirren then discovers the Caledonian Sleeper travels overnight from London to the remote Highlands of Scotland. On the way to the station, her phone, containing all of her contacts and other crucial information, is snatched from her hand. Sobbing, she files a police report before boarding the train.
The conductor escorts her on a long walk through all of the cars before stopping at the last carriage painted in dark, rich red, quite dissimilar to the standard British Railways blue. This was the McKinnon Carriage; one of the last vestiges of the family’s once enormous but now depleted wealth. Although the wallpaper and upholstery were faded, there were comfortable sofas, fully stocked bookcases and a barman proffering drinks and snacks. When her eyes fully adjusted, she realized the person who had just greeted her with enthusiasm was none other than the handsome bookseller Theo Palliser.
One Castle. Zero Clues. A Book Worth a Fortune.
The surprises were only beginning. Jamie’s grandfather had recently died and as the only male heir, he had become the Laird responsible for the decaying estate, which necessitated his returning home to Scotland. A well-educated botanist who loved his work at the London Botanical Gardens, he had been a contented denizen of London. With staggering death duties imminent, he was confronted with the issue of a nearly complete lack of funds. Jamie’s irresponsible mother had sold off crested silver, oil paintings and anything of significant value she could find to support her expensive tastes before absconding to a warmer climate with a new boyfriend.
To avoid forfeiting the family estate, the only option he is aware of is to solve a mystery to locate and sell for an incredible sum of money a supposedly rare book with title, author and publication date all unknown, the family estate would be forfeit. His depressed, uncommunicative and rather mysterious grandfather appreciated cryptography and puzzles and as a consequence, Jamie, Theo and Mirren were about to embark on a treasure hunt dependent on locating and deciphering clues. Grandfather had been purchasing entire estates of books, usually what was left after the most valuable items had been sold, and there were literally miles of books on shelves, in cabinets, airing cupboards, barns, sheds, and, of course, the massive library; all were unorganized, dusty and sans any sort of inventory.
The sprawling estate was massive and included barns, stables, cottages and a large maze. The brown and white castle with crenellated towers was vast with a stunning view of the sea and a winding back staircase that led down to caves at the water’s edge. Although appearing grand and romantic from a distance, closer inspection prompted Mirren, the surveyor, to question the structural integrity of the several hundred-year-old pile. The interior was in a sorry state of neglect, with dampness plainly visible and most rooms being closed off.
The structure boasted freezing cold, ice forming on the insides of windows, drafty bedrooms heated solely by large fireplaces and beds warmed only with piles of musty blankets. The electrical service was unreliable at best and both cell and WIFI service were only sporadically available. Bonnie, the only servant, is a lovely young woman who lives more comfortably than the McKinnon Family, as both she and her late grandmother had been bequeathed cozy, well-kept cottages on the land, complete with a trust fund to sustain them as well as pay her salary. She is a marvelous cook and maintains the cleaning as best she can. Roger, the black and white working sheepdog, is the only other inhabitant until Jamie’s grumbling sister Esme arrives.
Let the Hunt Begin
The suspense builds as the treasure hunt commences. Theo, using his antiquarian bookseller skills and contacts, is able to estimate the values of the books as they split up, search and create an inventory. The Secret Christmas Library is part fairy tale and part adventure with a little romance. This enchanting concoction delights the senses and fires the imagination.
Jenny Colgan, the unofficial Ambassador to Scotland’s Northern Isles, paints vivid atmospheric word pictures of the sometimes churning sea, oyster gray lit sky reflecting the changeable weather, rocky and gorse-covered, sheep-dotted terrain with colorful characters dwelling in quaint villages. The Secret Christmas Library would be a welcome stocking stuffer for anyone who dreams of endless shelves filled with a tantalizingly marvelous miscellany of books.
About Jenny Colgan:
Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling novels and has won various awards for her writing, including the Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance, the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award and the RNA Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year Award. Her books have sold more than fifteen million copies worldwide and have been published in 36 territories, and in 2015 she was inducted into the Love Stories Hall of Fame. Jenny is married with three children and lives in Scotland.
Publish Date: 10/14/2025
Genre: Fiction
Author: Jenny Colgan
Page Count: 320 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780063437371