The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan

#TheSecretChristmasLibrary #NetGalley

My thoughts:

This book was exactly the one that I was in need of. I was immediately drawn in by the appealing cover. I was looking for something escapist, fun and heartwarming. Check, check, check. The Christmas time background and trip to Scotland (oh, that train!) were also a plus.

As the story opens, Mirren is in a bit of a rut. Her one joy is visiting the British Museum to see the book that she found. It was by Robert Louis Stevenson with illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley. One day, while there, she gets into a conversation with someone who is looking at it and the story takes off. She has spoken to Jamie who is searching for a book and needs help. (Mirren finds out that both she and a past love will be looking for it.) Who will find it? What will happen?

This book has books (!), warmth, humor, a good plot and romance. It is perfect for a cozy night of reading. I recommend it.

Note: In the author’s comments, Colgan says that she used the British Museum, rather than the British Library, to showcase the book that Mirren had found. Good to know in case of travel to England.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 14 October 2025

About the book:

From the publisher:

A new holiday story set in the Scottish Highlands to warm booklovers’ hearts by Jenny Colgan, New York Times bestselling author of Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop.

Mirren Sutherland stumbled into a career as an antiquarian book hunter after finding a priceless antique book in her great aunt’s attic. Now, as Christmas approaches, she’s been hired by Jamie McKinnon, the surprisingly young and handsome laird of a Highland clan whose ancestral holdings include a vast crumbling castle. Family lore suggests that the McKinnon family’s collection includes a rare book so valuable that it could save the entire estate—if they only knew where it was. Jamie needs Mirren to help him track down this treasure, which he believes is hidden in his own home.

But on the train to the Highlands, Mirren runs into rival book hunter Theo Palliser, and instantly knows that it’s not a chance meeting. She’s all too familiar with Theo’s good looks and smooth talk, and his uncanny ability to appear whenever there’s a treasure that needs locating.

Almost as soon as Mirren and Theo arrive at the castle, a deep snow blankets the Highlands, cutting off the outside world. Stuck inside, the three of them plot their search as the wind whistles outside. Mirren knows that Jamie’s grandfather, the castle’s most recent laird, had been a book collector, a hoarder, and a great lover of treasure hunts. Now they must unpuzzle his clues, discovering the secrets of the house—forming and breaking alliances in a race against time.

A treat for booklovers and treasure hunters alike, The Secret Christmas Library serves up a delicious mystery with a hint of romance, and plenty of holiday spirit!

• A touching holiday read
• Perfect for fans of uplifting winter romances
• A delightful Christmas gift

From the Publisher