The Christmas Secret

By: Karen Swan

Narrated by: Laura Main

Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Set on the beautiful island of Islay, The Christmas Secret is a gripping story filled with emotion from Karen Swan, author of Christmas Under the Stars.

Alex Hyde is the leaders' leader. An executive coach par excellence, she's the person the great and the good turn to when the pressure gets too much; she can change the way they think, how they operate, she can turn around the very fortunes of their companies.

Her waiting list is months long, but even she can't turn down the unorthodox but highly lucrative crisis call that comes her way a few weeks before Christmas, regarding the troublesome - and troubled - head of an esteemed whisky company in Scotland: Lochlan Farquhar, CEO of Kentallen Distilleries, is a maverick, an enigma and a renegade, and Alex needs to get inside his head before he brings the company to its knees.

It should be business as usual. She can do this in her sleep. Only, when she gets to the remote island of Islay, with the winter snows falling, Alex finds herself out of her comfort zone. For once she's not in control - Lochlan, though darkly charismatic, is unpredictable and destructive, her usual methods gaining no traction with him - and with Christmas and her deadline fast approaching, she must win his trust and find a way to close on this deal.

But as she pulls ever closer to him, boundaries become blurred, loyalties loosen and Alex finds herself faced with an impossible choice as she realizes nothing and no-one is as they first seemed.

This audiobook contains an exclusive bonus feature with the author, Karen Swan, who shares some of the inspiration behind The Christmas Secret.

©2017 Karen Swan (P)2017 Macmillan Digital Audio

Laura Main - fabulous as always

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I loved it! Laura Main’s narration was what roped me in and it was even better than I anticipated! The story was entertaining, well thought out, and well described.

Entertaining

I really enjoyed the storyline. I think the main female character was smart but the feeling of a strong female character is diminished by her consistently jumping to the wrong conclusions. This behavior becomes a bit tiring after awhile.

Fabulous story from beginning to end

This book was wonderful. I loved every word from the first to the last. Some stories have lulls or are slow to start or get tidied up to quickly at the end. Not this one. Lovely, rich plots simultaneously pull you through twist after twist making you not want to stop listening. I stayed up late one to many nights!

The readers voice and accent only made the story more enjoyable.

Disappointing ending

I picked this is the next book by Karen Swan that I read. It left me underwhelmed. Here is a supposedly self assured woman who falls to pieces at the first challenge all for an angry arrogant ass. No thanks.

So Grateful for This Book!

I’m an American with nearly half Scottish ancestry, hailing from Islay. Until I can visit, I find myself scrounging for books, Facebook groups of current life or history, and the like, just for a sense of life there. There are books that are reference/informational that I’ve enjoyed, but it is rare to find a fictional book set on Islay. This book is wonderful and left me wanting to hear more about my ancestral home.

If you’re looking for a full-of-Christmas book, this isn’t it. Christmas is woven into the story, but is not the focal point. The characters and their stories are. That’s just the way I like it! I’m not one for Hallmark movie type books where there’s a Christmas event every day. I love Christmas, but I like it peppered into fictional tales.

Great book. One flaw :(

I always love Karen Swan’s books. They are smart, beautifully written and incredibly well and intricately researched on so many levels! My only criticism is that the ‘leading man’ is physically abusive. It is an issue so prevalent in our society and honestly, unnecessary in these beautiful stories. He could be as much of an arse without putting his hands on her.

Was the narrator Nurse Turner?

This was a great story that went between present day back to 1918. The setting in Scotland sounds magical! The character struggles are relatable. Loved the narrator!

Good for the Road

Enjoyed this one. Not one of this life altering books but good entertainment and found myself looking forward to listening! Reader is great!

Sooo good

The narrator was so good, the history so enthralling, never knowing what was next, thinking I had it figured out but definitely was wrong..sigh. Such a good listen.

The Christmas Secret

The Christmas Secret, I know other people are loving this book but I have only read a couple of chapters and finding it the most dull depressing book I have read of Karen Swans. I loved Christmas at Tiffanys, Summer at Tiffanys, The Summer Without You. They were all entertaining light hearted books with a twist. But this book is nothing like these.