THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

When the death of an old friend calls him back to Northern Ireland, Connor Fraser sees it as a way to distract himself from his growing troubles at home in Stirling. He’s estranged from his partner, Jen, and can’t seem to find a way to bridge the growing gap between them. Meanwhile, his beloved grandmother’s health is deteriorating, while all Connor can do is watch on helplessly.

But, after spotting three familiar faces at the funeral, faces with ties to Northern Ireland’s bloody past, Connor quickly learns that there’s a lot more to the death of his old friend than just a random traffic accident. But before he can properly investigate, he’s lured into a trap and attacked.

Pursued by ruthless professionals who don’t care if they bring Connor to their powerful masters alive or dead, he must go off grid and on the run. As he tries to untangle the web of deceit and lies that has ensnared him, Connor is faced with choices and losses that threaten to break him. With his back to the wall, can he unravel a mystery from the past that could shatter the peace of the future, before it’s too late?

The sea stole him from her. Could it bring him back?

Winter, 1900. A little boy washes up on the beach of a small fishing village in Scotland, barely alive. He bears an uncanny resemblance to teacher Dorothy’s son, lost to the sea many years before.

When the village is snowed in, Dorothy agrees to look after the child until he can be returned home. But, as the past rises to meet the present, long-buried secrets in this tight-knit community start to come to light. And Dorothy finds herself thrown together again with the reclusive fisherman Joseph, after years of keeping their distance.

Bursting with tension and tenderness, this is an exquisite love story that delves into the griefs and hopes that can lie behind village gossip.

1915, the Cabrach, Aberdeenshire. An isolated Scottish community is disturbed by a strange discovery: a body in a peat bog, perfectly preserved. Two people haul the body from the ground: Lizzie, the wife of a wealthy local landowner, and Johnny, a nomadic singer and farm hand. At hearthside and inn, people whisper: what have we unearthed?

One unveiling brings others. For Lizzie, tenacious but trapped, the discovery reveals unanswered questions about her past while for Johnny, it threatens to uncover a history he’s trying to outrun.

As their stories entwine, a series of unsettling events befalls the isolated community: ruinous weather, a damaged soldier, strange occurrences that cannot be explained. Against the echoes of distant war, and with the boundaries blurring between right and wrong, everyone is looking for someone to blame…

Nobody who meets Dr Jack Cuthbert forgets him. Tall, urbane, brilliant but damaged, this Scottish pathologist who works with Scotland Yard is the best the new DCI has seen. But Cuthbert is a man who lives with secrets, and he still battles demons brought back from the trenches.

When not one but two corpses are discovered in a London park in 1929, Cuthbert must use every tool at his disposal to solve the mystery of their deaths. In the end, the horrifying truth is more shocking than even he could have imagined.

As he works the case, Cuthbert realises that history rarely stays in the past. And even in the final moments, there is still one last revelation that leaves him reeling.

The first book in the Dr Jack Cuthbert series.

James Stuart, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, did not always love wisely, but he never failed to do so boldly. He fell in love three times – with a Scottish lord, a knight and George Villiers, ‘the handsomest man in the whole world’. He was infatuated three more times – with a Highland earl, a Welsh lord and an English spy.

We know so much about the six wives of Henry VIII, why not the six loves of James I?

This groundbreaking new book puts James – genius, liar, spendthrift, idealist, witch-hunter – and the men he loved at the centre of one of the most dramatic stories in British royal history.

Beginning with the brutal and mysterious murder of his father in 1567, James’s life encompassed kidnapping, witchcraft trials, torture, his mother’s beheading, poison, political radicalism, religious fundamentalism, a queen’s alleged abortion, passionate sex, strong love, stronger hate, espionage, brothels, and a decade-long love affair that ended in assassination.

It is unquestionably one of the most gripping stories in British history, retold in Gareth Russell’s Queen James with scholarship, biographical insight and wit

James VI & I, the only child of Mary, Queen of Scots, has often been overshadowed by the dramatic lives of his mother and son, Charles I. This book seeks to redress the balance by centering the first monarch to reign over both Scotland and England and uncovering the artistic treasures created during his extraordinary reign.

The cultural riches of James’s court are showcased, revealing his diverse roles as ruler, scholar, politician, father and patron of the arts. His court’s passion for jewellery and fine clothes is illustrated in the vivid portraits and miniatures by John de Critz and Nicholas Hilliard – just two of many artists and craftspeople who thrived in its artistic and intellectual climate.

Five richly illustrated chapters demonstrate James’s impact on early modern Britain, while reconsidering the reputation of a king traditionally presented as preferring hunting and drinking to the duties of daily governance. Packed with exquisite art works and sumptuous objects, this book brings James’s court vividly to life.

There is something special about the night. For many, just the idea of it conjures thoughts of starlit skies, romance, refuge, of being tucked up in bed. For some, the night means fear, vulnerability, danger, sleeplessness. At night things go bump, monsters hide under beds, owls take wing and foxes prowl. For others still, nightfall signals the start of work.

Overnight is a celebration of all things nocturnal, of those who labour while the rest of us sleep: the bakers, health workers, sailors, couriers, broadcasters, drivers, fishers, the emergency services and more. And it is also a hymn to nighttime wildlife, dreams and art. We’ll hang out with bats and look at the stars. We’ll learn what Moomintroll has to teach us. We’ll travel by ship, train, racing car and foot. There will be more than one surprise along the way.

Through a series of personal journeys Dan Richards explores what the night means to a fascinating array of people, taking us from night terrors to the glow of watching the dawn break on the summer solstice. Overnight will change the way you think about the hours after dark.

Ewan Morrison’s 9th book is a gripping, high-stakes, high concept thriller, which fuses futurism with a powerful emotional core.

Emma is a young genius Silicon Valley scientist who dies in a secret AI brain chip experiment. Her voice then haunts her father, helping him plan the killing of the Big Tech CEO who destroyed her.

For Emma is a ghost-in-the machine tale of bereavement and of a unique and conflicted love between a daughter and her father.

Since dropping out of school three years ago with no qualifications, no pals, and no ambition, Jamie Skelton spends most of his days asleep and most of his nights wanking, playing video games with his online friend, Lee, and occasionally making the journey downstairs to the kitchen for a microwave burger. He hasn’t left the house in months, and now he’s not sure he can.

Fiona, Jamie’s maw, is trying her best, but since finding the courage to kick out her abusive husband her confidence has never recovered. She goes to work every day, but otherwise she’s not that different from her son – withdrawn from life, without friends. She knows their lives can’t carry on like this, but she’s at a loss to know how to change things.

When Fiona tries to get Jamie to apply for a job, he sees her as the cause for all of his problems. Then Lee tells Jamie he’s realised there’s a name for what they are – incels – and that there’s a guy he’s met through the forums they can go stay with in London, to get away from their nagging mams.

But in running away from his problems at home, Jamie may actually be running towards something much worse.

“I must make it. I will make it. And I will tell their stories.”

Thirteen-year-old Samim is a loyal friend, a gifted chess player — and a refugee. After his family is killed in a bombing, Samim makes a long, dangerous journey from Afghanistan to the UK. But even then his safety isn’t guaranteed: Samim must tell his story to convince the authorities to let him stay for good.

Samim relives the perils he faced and remembers the many friends he made and lost — the intrepid girl who dressed as a boy for safety, the courageous grandmother seeking a new home for her nine grandchildren, and especially his funny, spirited best friend Zayn.

With his past never forgotten, Samim begins to build a new life in the UK: starting school and making new friends. But he also faces bigoted bullies and an uncertain future. Will Samim be granted asylum and allowed to stay in his new home?

My Name is Samim is a heartbreaking yet hopeful story of courage, resilience and friendship. Highlighting the experiences of young refugees and asylum-seekers, readers will empathise with Samim as he strives for a safe home and a better future. Fidan Meikle is a stunning new voice in middle-grade fiction. Her wry, heartfelt and immersive writing will draw readers into Samim’s world.

Teaching nine-year-olds on Zoom. A relationship interrupted by enforced distance. A teenaged son who cannot leave the house. Anna McCormick is already struggling to cope with the unwanted twists 2020 has served up. But when an unstamped envelope arrives overnight, her past begins to cast its own long shadow on the present.

With an uncaring government compounding her woes and a hostile threat drawing closer, Anna must dig deep to keep hope alive for herself and those around her.

This is a twisty, heart-racing page-turner and viscerally rendered portrayal of abuse of power by the state, by the police and by the villains much closer to home.

Nuala Watt’s poems lead us through the bureaucratic labyrinth of government assessment, the anxious joy of expecting a child and, with verve and originality, the realities of being a disabled parent. The book isn’t only about disability though. It’s about authenticity, justice, passion – life in dynamic fullness – conveyed in verse that is formally astute and spiritually attuned. It’s about anger, hope, frustration, love, and ‘how to take up a life and walk away.’

A revolutionary new history of the diffusion of Indian ideas, from the award-winning, bestselling author and co-host of the chart-topping Empire podcast.

India is the forgotten heart of the ancient world.

For a millennium and a half, India was a confident exporter of its diverse civilisation, creating around it a vast empire of ideas. Indian art, religions, technology, astronomy, music, dance, literature, mathematics and mythology blazed a trail across the world, along a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific.

William Dalrymple draws from a lifetime of scholarship to highlight India’s oft-forgotten position as the heart of ancient Eurasia. For the first time, he gives a name to this spread of Indian ideas that transformed the world. From the largest Hindu temple in the world at Angkor Wat to the Buddhism of China, from the trade that helped fund the Roman Empire to the creation of the numerals we use today (including zero), India transformed the culture and technology of its ancient world – and our world today as we know it.

Sir Chris Hoy knows better than most how life can change in the blink of an eye.

In elite sport, the margin between victory and defeat is miniscule, and the pressure is immense. Chris has built a glittering sporting career on understanding these moments: how to feel for them, how to cope with them, how to make them count.

Last year, he faced another life-changing moment. He found out that the ache in his shoulder was in fact a tumour, and that he had Stage 4 cancer.

He will be living with this disease for the rest of his life.

In this memoir, Chris shares the next phase of his extraordinary life with exceptional bravery. He looks over the challenges he has faced thus far, and the ways he has taken them on. With his wife Sarra and their young children by his side, he shares how he has used these experiences to find ways to focus on the moments that matter, showing us how to do the same.

From early childhood, we learn about the world and its possibilities through myths and fairy tales. The heroines, though, tend to be golden-haired princesses, and the evil-doers often older women.

But women today are searching for positive versions of themselves from midlife onwards, and this dazzling array of not-to-be-messed-with characters – from ungainly giantesses and sequin-strewn fairy godmothers to misunderstood witches and craggy crones – provides them. They outwit monsters, test and mentor younger heroines, embody the cycles and seasons of the earth, weave the world into being – and almost always have the last laugh.

These women manifest their wisdom in different ways, and so offer us inspiration for how we too can walk boldly and live authentically in the second half of life.

Meet Moira Coo, a highland cow with BIG dreams!

Moira lives in a field behind a fence, just like the other cows. She eats grass, just like the other cows. But Moira is no ordinary cow – she’s a cow who dares to dream!

One day she’s a zooming race car driver, the next she’s a graceful dancer . . . that is until all the other cows start to scoff and sneer, and Moira Coo is just a cow once more. But can one wee voice of encouragement ring loud enough for Moira to finally find her wings and soar?

A funny, empowering picture book written by Alastair Chisholm, winner of Blackwell’s Children’s Book of the Year, The Queen’s Knickers Award and Scottish Book Trust’s Bookbug Prize. Hilariously illustrated by Craig Shuttlewood.

The Fascinating World of Fungi introduces fungi and their importance in sustaining all life on Earth. People have had intimate associations with fungi for millennia. But most of us are unaware how heavily we rely on fungi in the form of countless everyday products that use them and the chemicals they produce. Fungi have a long history of association with death, decay and dark forces. But contrary to this negative image fungi are at the heart of crucial ‘life-support’ processes. For example, decomposition releases nutrients for reuse – fungi really are the ultimate recyclers. Filled with images of the extraordinary diversity and beauty of fungi, this revised and updated book provides a fascinating introduction to a group of organisms whose lifestyle means they remain largely out of sight, overlooked and forgotten. The reality is that there is much for which fungi should be thanked.

This book reappraises Scottish politics in the decades after 1945, augmenting existing accounts of this period by foregrounding the importance of ideology and language. Founded upon original archival research, the book recovers the central role played within modern Scottish politics by an individualist, anti-bureaucratic critique of central government. Deployed initially by those on the political right to attack the programme of nationalisation implemented by the post-war Labour government, by the 1960s this rhetoric was being exploited by advocates of constitutional change. As liberty came to be framed in constitutional rather than economic terms, understandings of political representation also changed: crucially, the arrival of the referendum in British politics granted credibility to the belief that there existed a distinctive Scottish tradition of popular sovereignty.

Life after crime from the International Booker-shortlisted author of Elena Knows

Fifteen years after killing her husband’s lover, Inés is fresh out of prison and trying to put together a new life. Her old friend Manca is out now too, and they’ve started a business – FFF, or Females, Fumigation, and Flies – dedicated to pest control and private investigation, by women, for women. But Señora Bonar, one of their clients, wants Inés to do more than kill bugs―she wants her expertise, and her criminal past, to help her kill her husband’s lover, too.

Crimes against women versus crimes by women; culpability, fallibility, and our responsibilities to each other―this is Piñeiro at her wry, earthy best, alive to all the ways we shape ourselves to be understandable, to be understood, by family and love and other hostile forces.

Olivia Bingham is unlucky in love…

She’s been ghosted more times than she can count, but this Christmas brings a glimmer of hope: Fraser Douglas, a Scottish chef working at an idyllic hotel in the Highlands. He’s sweet and sensitive, thoughtful and funny, not to mention incredibly good looking – but there’s a catch.

They’ve never actually met.

When Olivia tries to show her friends the hunky new man in her life, Fraser’s online dating profile has vanished, andOlivia fears the worst. Frustrated and wounded, she decides she’s going to confront Fraser – face to face, in Scotland.

But when she arrives, things don’t go exactly as planned. Worse still, Fraser doesn’t seem to have any idea who she is…