THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

The West Highland Way is Scotland’s most popular long-distance walk, running 96 miles (155 km) from Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, through its first National Park, across the western Highlands to the foot of its highest mountain, Ben Nevis. This sixth edition of the popular rucksack-friendly guidebook has been revised for 2024 with various updates. It contains all you need to plan and enjoy one of the world’s finest walks. It includes detailed route descriptions with altitude profiles; background on Loch Lomond, history and wildlife; detailed mapping of the entire route at 1:42,500; practical information about transport and travel; lavishly illustrated with 120 colour photos; and printed on rainproof paper.

Discover the new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Shrines of Gaiety and Life after Life.

Welcome to Rook Hall.

The stage is set. The players are ready. By night’s end, a murderer will be revealed.

Ex-detective Jackson Brodie is staving off a bad case of midlife malaise when he is called to a sleepy Yorkshire town, and the seemingly tedious matter of a stolen painting. But one theft leads to another, including the disappearance of a valuable Turner from Burton Makepeace, home to Lady Milton and her family. Once a magnificent country house, Burton Makepeace has now partially been converted into a hotel, hosting Murder Mystery weekends.

As paying guests, a vicar, an ex-army officer, impecunious aristocrats, and old friends converge, we are treated a fiendishly clever mystery; one that pays homage to the masters of the genre – from Agatha Christie to Dorothy Sayers.

Brilliantly inventive, with all of Atkinson’s signature wit, wordplay and narrative brio, Death at the Sign of the Rook may be Jackson Brodie’s most outrageous and memorable case yet.

The President is dead. Cal Drummond is hiding out deep in the woods of the American South when he hears the news. Once a famous talk show host, he is now a disgraced man living a solitary existence in a cabin, drinking Jack Daniels, enjoying the cover of the trees, and getting on with life as Hank MacPhearson. But this news – and the journalist who delivers it – will have consequences that reach far back into Cal’s past. They threaten his new life and identity, but they also throw him one final chance: it was an interview that brought about his downfall, but could it be another one, this time with him in the hotseat, that could bring him back to life? Taking the reader from Scotland to Mexico and from California to Georgia, The Interview is a novel not only about speaking truth to power, but also about speaking truth to oneself.

The Cateran Trail is one of Scotland’s Great Trails – a circuit of 64 miles (104 km) starting in Blairgowrie, near Perth, following in the footsteps of cattle-rustlers (caterans). This waymarked Trail follows ancient paths through glens, mountains and farmland of Highland Perthshire, with fine scenery, heritage and wildlife. The nearest village is never more than 7 miles (11 km) away, and gradients are easy to moderate. The Trail can be completed comfortably within 4-5 days, and several route variants are described, including the option for a weekend Minitrail.

Our updated third edition includes 35 fine images from professional photographer Mike Bell. Its detailed mapping is at 1:50,000 and has been updated for 2024, as have all route descriptions and other information.

A wronged woman’s voice is reclaimed in this gripping tale of revenge and romance – a medieval Gone Girl.

Highland Scotland was no place for a woman in the early 1500s. Life was turbulent and short, battles were waged, and sisters and daughters were traded as pawns in marriage. Catherine Campbell was one such young bride, betrothed to Lachlan Maclean and sent from her fine home to join him on the Isle of Mull, to bear his sons and heirs

.But Lachlan proved to be nothing like the man of Catherine’s dreams, and she was forced to resign herself to enduring life with him for the sake of duty. Until the day when he threatened to take away the one thing she couldn’t sacrifice: her daughter.

Casting a fascinating light on the ruthless Highlands, this sweeping drama by one of Scotland’s best-loved novelists explores love, ambition and betrayal and highlights the precarious position of 16th-century women

‘Top meals from the Michelin-starred chef who is also a champion athlete.’ – The Times

‘Alan’s culinary precision is matched only by his passion and ability as a sport professional.’ – Tom Kerridge

THIS IS PORTABLE, PRACTICAL, PERFORMANCE FOOD.

RECIPES AND EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP TIME-POOR CYCLISTS GET MOVING, STAY ENERGISED AND RECOVER WELL.

‘If you’re hungry, it’s too late’ is the cyclists’ mantra to avoid hitting the wall with an all-consuming loss of energy. To professional peloton, club riders and weekend peddlers alike, portable foods are as essential as a pump and a spare tube.

Armed with a host of simple-to-prepare, savoury and sweet recipes, Alan Murchison creates a range of on-the-go snacks, unique dishes and smoothies to enable riders to ditch the processed energy bars, sugary drinks and takeaways, and enjoy real food full of flavour.

On-the-go food must be appealing enough to encourage snacking when appetites are blunted and robust enough to withstand being grabbed from a musette. These energy-boosting recipes – including mouth-watering snacks such as Pressed Parmesan and Rosemary Polenta and Bakewell Balls – restore strength and are downright delicious. And instead of impatiently raiding the fridge after a hard day on the saddle, his post-ride refuelling suggestions offer irresistible protein-rich recovery alternatives.

As a respected cyclist and pro-cycling team nutritionist, Alan has road-tested his own recipes and cooked them for elite cyclists. This book of portable, practical, performance food means that whatever your level you will always have energy to the end.

Recipes include:

– ‘Full English’ frittatas
– Chocolatey cardamom protein muffins
– White chocolate miso blondies
– Frozen yoghurt protein berries bites
– Banana peanut popsicles
– ‘Full gas’ lassi
– Last legs espresso brownie
– Sweet potato ‘tattie scones’

Praise for Alan Murchison:

‘Alan’s food is simple, yet tasty and powerful. He’s been a key component for my training and racing.’ – Alex Dowsett, World Tour rider, former World Hour Record Holder and national champion

‘I can’t think of a finer chef to have written a book on nutrition and diet for athletes’ – Tom Kerridge

‘Alan’s commitment to the world of gastronomy and cycling is awe-inspiring’ – Sat Bains, two-star Michelin chef.

‘Alan has completely changed my perception of what an athlete’s diet can look like.’ – Elinor Barker, multiple world champion and Olympic gold medallist

‘His approach to nutritional cooking is nothing short of incredible.’ – Ashley Palmer-Watts, two-star Michelin chef

‘Alan’s knowledge as a world-class chef, as well as being a competitive athlete, gives him an extraordinary understanding in how to make healthy food taste great with a practical and unique approach to nutritional cooking.’ – Fred Sirieix

Tom Bradley is a young man in search of love when he joins the delightfully eccentric Exchequer and Audit Department unaware that his life is about to change forever.

Ultimately, three women will guide his fate. From Britain, Malta and China, they will lead him through heartbreak and joy, tragedy and happiness.

Based on the author’s personal experiences, this novel took two decades to complete. Part fiction, part memoir, it’s filled with the joy and struggle of the human condition.

Whether you weep at the scenes of unbearable sadness or laugh uncontrollably at unexpected humour, this is a book that will stay with you for a long time.

Following the success of Shiaba, this novel follows the lives of two crofters struggling to come to terms with the Highland clearances. While Catherine spreads her wings to find new talents for survival within herself, her husband, Callum, uses his stubborn loyalty to the land of his fathers to face down the increasing wrath of a political system weighted against them.

Willie Orr’s achingly beautiful detail describes the purity of the crofters’ lives and faith and their bone-deep love of the land, which makes its loss more biting. We see the accentuated contrast between the rich complacency of the landowners and the desperate suffering of the poor, when charity came on condition of proper gratitude, with the obdurate Factor, in his nastiness and venality, abusing his power to rob helpless crofters.

Catherine, though, is the heart of the book. Her beauty, patience, talent, and hard-working generosity shine through and make her strongest, link to the lost land of Shiaba itself.

On a tiny Greek island, a goatherd living a solitary existence receives an unexpected gift that changes his life. A priest rediscovers his true vocation. A former shopgirl flees the city to reinvent herself as a colourful and mysterious grande dame.

The Other Side of the Island uncovers a world that is mostly hidden from the gaze of summer visitors. It is a world of fishermen and farmers, shopkeepers and odd-job-men, expats and migrant workers, wives and husbands. Their stories are, by turns, poignant, funny, tragic and thought-provoking. The island is us.

David Frazer Wray brings his intimate knowledge of island life to the fore in this witty and seductive book.

The King’s Witches by Kate Foster is a compelling and beautiful historical novel that gives voices to the women at the heart of the real-life witch trials in sixteenth-century Scotland.

Women whisper secrets to each other; it is how we survive.

1589. Princess Anna of Denmark is betrothed to King James VI of Scotland. Before they can wed, Anna must pass the trial period: one year of marriage to prove herself worthy of being Scotland’s new Queen. Determined to fulfil her duties to King and country, Anna resolves to be the perfect royal bride. Until she meets Lord Henry . . .

By her side is Kirsten Sorenson, her loyal and pious lady-in-waiting. But, whilst tending to Anna’s every need, Kirsten has her own secret motives for the royal marriage to succeed . . .

Meanwhile, in North Berwick, young housemaid Jura practises the healing charms taught to her by her mother. When she realizes she is no longer safe, she escapes to Edinburgh, only to find herself caught up in the witchcraft mania that has gripped not just the capital, but the new queen . . .

In a small seaside town, autumn is edging into winter, gulls ride winds over the waves, and two women pass each other on the promenade, as yet unaware of each other’s existence.

In the nineties Lydia was a teen pop star, posed half naked on billboards everywhere with a lollipop between her lips and no idea how to live, letting the world happen to her. Now, three decades later, Lydia is less and less sure that what happened to her was in the least bit okay. The news cycle runs hot with #MeToo stories, and a famous former lover has emerged with a self-serving apology, asking her to forgive him. Suddenly, the past is full of trapdoors she is desperately trying not to fall through.

Joyce, in middle age, has never left home. She still lives with her mother Betty. With their matching dresses, identical hairdos and makeup, they are the local oddballs. Theirs is a life of unerring routine: the shops, biscuits served on bone china plates, dressing up for a gin and tonic on Saturday. Nice things. One misstep from Joyce can ruin Betty’s day; so Joyce treads carefully. She has never let herself think about a different kind of life. But recently, along with the hot flushes, something like anger is asserting itself, like a caged thing realising it should probably try and escape.

Amid the grey skies, amusement parks and beauty parlours of a gentrifying run-down seaside resort, these two women might never meet. But as they both try to untangle the damaging details of their past in the hope of a better future, their lives are set on an unlikely collision course.

With mordant wit and lyrical prose, Birding asks if we can ever see ourselves clearly or if we are always the unreliable narrators of our own experiences. It is a story about the difference between responsibility and obligation, unhealthy relationships and abusive ones, third acts and last chances, and two women trying to take flight on clipped wings.

Frank Kuppner’s new (eleventh) book consists of three long, hilarious, philosophical, existential sequences, ‘The Liberating Vertigo of a Final Passage of Meaning’, ‘Not Quite the Greatest Story Never Told’ and ‘Not Quite a False Fresh Start Either’. Those ‘not quites’ are a keynote – what might have been and what actually is, the gap between being the space of the poem, its ironies, humour and wry heartbreak. The poems in the sequences are short, reminding us of his first book, A Bad Day for the Sung Dynasty, where short ‘orientalising’ forms were first perfected. 216 poems through the second sequence, he interrupts himself with, ‘[I have almost said enough.]’ But that’s just short of the half of it.

‘Points weaved together / to make myself’ – these are the points of each poem, haiku or tanka or something else, the weave being uneven and richly suggestive. Words fill out unexpectedly, the ubiquitous Stars become Sta[i]rs. His subject matter is what lies beyond the window of his rented rooms. The world is an erotic and philosophical minefield. He is rather too fitful and feverish to relish it for what it is, what it might be or even what it might have been.

Yum is a delightful story aimed at young children with bright, simple, engaging illustrations. Wee Jenny is in the garden and as she sits down to have her lunch she’s joined by an hairy oobit, a craw and a mouse who all like the look of her sandwich. Jenny decides to share what she has with her new friends.

‘This isn’t just a great first novel; it’s a great novel. And Cora, the mad, chaotic, wise, funny narrator, is one of the great characters’
RODDY DOYLE

‘It’s not every day you read a modern classic. But this feels destined to become one. A thunderous achievement’
NATHAN FILER, author of The Shock of the Fall

‘Only Here, Only Now heralds the arrival of an urgent and unique new voice’
DAVID PEACE

‘A funny, truthful, heartbreaking yet hopeful read’
JENNIE GODFREY, author of The List of Suspicious Things

Fife, in the blazing hot summer of 1994. Cora Mowat’s mates don’t understand her, but then Cora Mowat doesn’t understand herself. She’s stuck on a seaside council estate full of dafties, old folk and seagulls, with a thousand dreams and a restless brain that won’t behave. She’s dying to escape but unsure of what the future holds – if it holds anything at all for a girl like her.

When her Mam’s new boyfriend moves in, tensions rise in their tiny house. Gunner means well, but he’s dodgy – a shaven-headed shoplifter with more than a few secrets stashed under the bed. As their attempts to forge a makeshift family unravel, Cora rails against her small-town existence in search of love, acceptance and a path to something good. But sometimes you can’t move forward until you find your way back . . .

In this extraordinary debut, drawn from life but written with riotous imagination, Tom Newlands explores what it means to come of age in a forgotten corner of Scotland and dream of a life that feels out of reach. Vibrant, lyrical and fiercely funny, Only Here, Only Now is a story about poverty, identity and family that shines with hope and resilience.

‘Tom Newlands is the real thing. His story will change you’
MICHAEL SHEEN

‘A tremendous act of empathy . . . heartbreaking and hilarious’
CATHI UNSWORTH, author of Weirdo

‘Tom Newlands’s Only Here, Only Now is a piercing howl of a novel, sharp, elegant and humane. I loved it’
KARL GEARY, author of Juno Loves Legs

Paris, 1919. Will the brittle pieces of Europe ever fit together again?

As the fragile negotiations of the international Peace Conference get underway, typist Stella Rutherford throws herself into her work and the mixture of glamour and devastation the City of Light reveals. Anything to escape the grief coming in waves for her beloved brother Jack.

Her sister Corran is about to put her academic career to use among the troops in France, a chance to see what the experience was like for countless men, including her fiancé Rob.

Rob Campbell, profoundly changed by his time as a surgeon on the front line, has had little chance to lift his head from the incessant grind of the injured, dying and dead. If he did the ghosts of his teammates, the Scottish rugby players who followed the same path into hell, would surely be waiting for him.

The Paris Peacemakers follows three Scots as they attempt to pick up the pieces of their lives while the fabric of Europe is stitched together for good or ill.

Climate catastrophe leaves the people of Earth fighting for oxygen in this gripping dystopian thriller from bestselling sci-fi author Alastair Chisholm.

Sparrow lives in the world after the Reek. The atmosphere is toxically polluted, and Axel Brodie, the tech billionaire behind Zephyr Industries, is cashing in as the only supplier of clean air. Sparrow is struggling to help her family survive until her brilliant inventor friend, Miriam Fenn, comes up with a new form of technology that could break Zephyr’s stranglehold on the air supply. But men like Brodie are hard to defeat, and he will do everything in his power to stop Miriam and Sparrow. Who will triumph in this battle to breathe?

First published in 1973, Haste Ye Back is a lively and intimate portrayal of Aberlour Orphanage in Banffshire, where Dorothy K. Haynes (1918–1987) spent four formative years in her childhood. Best known as a writer of gothic and supernatural fiction, here Haynes’s vivid imagination brings to life the residents, caretakers and stories of the institution that irrevocably shaped her.

In this new edition, the complete text of Haste Ye Back is reprinted alongside additional material by Haynes: three previously unpublished reminiscences on Aberlour Orphanage, and ‘The Head’, the winner of the 1947 Tom-Gallon Trust Award and a fine example of the author’s haunting short fiction. Opening with a fresh and considered look at Haynes’s life and work, this volume re-introduces a long-neglected writer of striking originality.

‘Hearing you say my name was a way of seeing myself as I had never seen myself … you gave my name new meaning, new weight.’

Nerdy and shy, scholarship student Daniel de La Luna arrives at college nervous to meet his golden-haired, athletic roommate, whose Facebook photos depict a boy just like those who made Daniel’s school years hell.

Sam Morris is not what he had imagined, though. As the two settle into college life they drink tequila under the stars, go on long runs through snow-covered hills, explore freshman nightlife, and inch closer until they find themselves in love.

But their blissful first year is over all too soon. Daniel’s summer in his ancestral homeland of México becomes a rollercoaster of revelations, before his life is brutally upended by the unimaginable.

How We Named the Stars is a tale of love, heartache and learning to honour the dead. Daniel and Sam will leave you forever changed.

‘Hold on to your chapeaux, because this story is a beezer! It’s a stoatir, so it is!’

Victor and Barry are the epitome of the expression ‘big in the 80s’. Annoyingly, they were also a little big in the first bit of the 90s too, so that phrase doesn’t really pan out very satisfactorily; much like Victor and Barry themselves, in fact, who completely disappeared from the face of the Scottish showbiz scene in 1994 and were rumoured to have actually died on stage. But apparently rumours of their deaths have been greatly exaggerated, and the two can still be spotted strolling the leafy suburban lanes near the home they have shared for many decades at 22B Lacrosse Terrace, Kelvinside, Glasgow G12. In Victor and Barry’s Kelvinside Compendium, Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson reminisce about their hectic years as Victor and Barry through both beloved and never-before-seen photos, songs and musings in a scrapbook style compendium, including a foreword from former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW
THIS IS NOT THAT CRIME NOVEL

You know Penny Coyne. The little old lady who has solved multiple murders in her otherwise sleepy village, despite bumbling local police. A razor-sharp mind in a twinset and tweed.

You know Johnny Hawke. Hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective. Always in trouble with his captain, always losing partners, but always battling for the truth, whatever it takes.

Against all the odds, against the usual story, their worlds are about to collide. It starts with a dead writer and a mysterious wedding invitation. It will end with a rabbit hole that goes so deep, Johnny and Penny might just come to question not just whodunnit, but whether they want to know the answer.