THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

On 9 July 1857, Angus MacPhee, a labourer from Liniclate on the island of Benbecula, murdered his father, mother and aunt. At trial in Inverness he was found to be criminally insane and confined in the Criminal Lunatic Department of Perth Prison.

Some years later, Angus’s older brother Malcolm recounts the events leading up to the murders while trying to keep a grip on his own sanity. Malcolm is living in isolation, ostracised by the community and haunted by this gruesome episode in his past.

From Graeme Macrae Burnet, the Booker-shortlisted author of His Bloody Project, comes a dark, psychological thriller, leavened by moments of black humour and absurdity.

Marc Burrows explores the peculiarly British cultural phenomenon of the Christmas No. 1.

The festive top spot in the Christmas chart was something that, prior to 1973, wasn’t particularly important but has since become a cornerstone of the December news cycle and, for years, an annual cultural moment … that may have reached the end of its life.

He traces the origins of the concept, through the Beatles and the-years-when-it-wasn’t-really-a-thing, the Glam rock boom, Band Aid, novelty records, the X-Factor years and the awful Sausage Roll charity records of the 2020s. This exploration is supported by interviews with figures involved in some of the most iconic hits and notable chart battles of the past half century and obsessive, in-depth research. He explores the sometimes fascinating and sometimes weird and unlikely stories behind some of the most beloved (and some of the most utterly loathed) songs in British musical history.

The Story of the Christmas No. 1 is more than just a nostalgic music book. It subtly explores pop culture and social history, examining our relationship with Christmas, how our national identity is reflected in the music we listen to together, and how the music industry has changed. It also reveals how the Christmas No. 1 reflects the current social reality of today and how technology and culture have reshaped the way music is consumed.

To celebrate Eid, Abdullah’s parents give him a cuddly teddy bear. The bear used to belong to Abdullah’s dad, his abba, and it has a name, but Abba won’t say what it is!

Abdullah and his new bear become inseparable, but he can’t guess what its name is. His siblings, friends and classmates all have suggestions — Bertie, Katie, Olivia, Edward — but none of them feels right. Then one night, when Abba tells a story from long ago in Pakistan, Abdullah remembers his family’s traditions and has an idea. What if the bear has a name like his name?

In this sweet but powerful story, children will learn to value their cultural heritage and about the special bonds between family generations.

Yasmin Hanif wrote Abdullah’s Bear Needs a Name! after working with schoolchildren on a project to tackle the lack of diversity in children’s books. The story was inspired by the real-life experience of children from South Asian backgrounds defaulting to traditionally European names for a teddy bear. Sophie Benmouyal’s bold and fun illustrations are full of character, texture and authentic details.

In the centuries which are the focus of this book, Scotland was going though a period of profound and often violent change.

With the Americas having been recently discovered in 1492, awareness of other continents’ cultures and natural wonders was fast increasing– though both cultures and wonders were often mistreated by colonialists and traders.

At the same time, the recently invented printing press allowed ideas and information to spread more quickly over long distances, thereby helping introduce an atmosphere of profound change.

In the sphere of politics, influential and seditious texts challenged the most powerful institutions which had ruled Europe during the preceding centuries – not least among them, the Catholic Church – and the feudal form of social control, under which a small class of hereditary aristocrats had ruled over the poor and powerless masses, was being called into question.

Politics and religion, especially forms of worship, were closely interwined in a way that is hard to fully grasp today and in each was to be found the cause for civil strife and appalling violence.

As in other countries, Scotland became gripped by the Protestant Reformation and saw new social groups with new worldviews rise into the ranks of the powerful. This involved not just a clash of ideas and of values, but also frequent episodes of prolonged war and often irreconcilable division.

In this book, Johnnie Gallacher zigzags his way through two frenetic centuries of Scottish history. Topics include – but are not limited to – the Rough Wooing, Mary Queen of Scots, John Knox, witch-hunts, Highland clan feuding, the Bishops’ Wars, Cromwell’s invasion of Scotland, MacColla, the Montrose Wars, Royalists and Covenanters, kings and queens, battles: Flodden, Dunbar, Bothwell Brigg, Killiecrankie, Dunkeld, Worcester, also Argyll’s uprising, the Williamite Revolution, the Glencoe Massacre, the Darien Scheme and the Union of the Crowns.

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife as she’s driving home to share some exciting news. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by a cliff edge, the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there . . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible: a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

Wives think their husbands will change, but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change, but they do.

Pop legend Lulu looks back over her astonishing life with fresh eyes, reflecting on all she has learnt.

From the tenements of Glasgow to the Royal Albert Hall and the glittering lights of Hollywood: Lulu’s journey to fame and fortune is like no other British pop star. When she was 14 years old, she was invited down to London to sing, and the rest is history. She stepped into a part she played for the next 60 years. A part she played so well that she gradually lost who she was, becoming the version of herself she thought others wanted to see.

The book charts the highs and the lows of one of the longest running shows in British rock and roll history. It is the story of one woman’s determination to stay real, relevant and happy, and one which ultimately reveals a woman who is far stronger and far braver than anyone knew.

This is a pop memoir like no other.

We can’t afford to delay climate action, but with all the shouting and disagreement it’s hard to know where to turn. In her new book, bestselling environmental star Hannah Ritchie answers 50 key climate questions once and for all, clearing the air so we can get on and fix things.

With so many conflicting headlines out there, it’s tough to sort fact from fiction when it comes to climate change and the solutions we need for a cleaner future.

The first piece of good news is that data scientist Hannah Ritchie is here with the answers and the steps we need to take now. Using simple, clear data, she tackles questions such as, ‘Is it too late?’, ‘Won’t we run out of minerals?’ and ‘Are we too polarised?’. The second piece of good news: the truth is way more hopeful than you might think.

We’re at a critical moment for our planet, and getting the facts straight is step one. But even more crucial is feeling hopeful about what we can do next. The third piece of good news? We already have many of the solutions we need to create a more sustainable planet for future generations.

Clearing the Air is your essential guide whenever you’re feeling lost or overwhelmed about climate change. Dive in, get informed and be part of building a better world for everyone.

Eve Muirhead got her fairy tale career conclusion – an Olympic gold medal to complete the set.

The Perthshire farmer’s daughter, multi-talented in sport, inherited her father’s love of, and talent for, the ‘roaring game’ of curling. The road from child prodigy to best in the world wasn’t a straight line, however. This is the story of hidden adversity, sporting escapism, inner doubt and external pressure.

Teammates and coaches changed but the resolve of Britain’s Ice Queen to fight for her golden ending at a fourth and final Winter Olympics refused to melt. Eve Muirhead changed her sport and will now change perceptions of what it took to become a leader, a role model and a national icon as one of Scotland’s most successful ever athletes.

The prehistoric sites of Britain and Ireland are places of wonder and wondering. Who made these structures? What did they mean to them? And what do they mean to us now?

Bestselling author Peter Ross journeys from midwinter at Stonehenge to midsummer at Sycamore Gap. Along the way he encounters bog bodies in Dublin, a wooden goddess in Edinburgh and a chalk giant in Dorset. He asks what it is like to live within the great stone circle at Avebury, what rituals occurred in an Anglesey tomb and what draws volunteers to care for the Uffington White Horse.

These objects and structures speak of the long human story. They offer the comfort of recognition and the pleasure of mystery. There is something about ancient places that fills a hollow in our souls.

Del Amitri frontman Justin Currie reflects on life as a touring musician in the shadow of his life changing Parkinson’s diagnosis.

It’s 2022 and we join Justin at the doctor’s office, looking down the barrel of a Parkinson’s diagnosis. After concerned fans noticed a tremor in his hand, Currie sought the medical advice which led him to the discovery that would throw his future into uncertainty.

The immediate fallout of his diagnosis is laid bare in Currie’s candid, stream of consciousness voice. A voice that is also by turns poetic, self-deprecating and darkly humorous across a series of diary entries that capture Justin’s innermost feelings ― part travelogue, part confessional.

Following a coming to terms with the situation whilst on tour in the U.S, the second half of the story joins Currie in 2024, supporting Simple Minds on tour with Del Amitri. Anger, heartbreak and a looming sense of finality concoct a terse relationship between what once was and what may never be. Yet, page after page, what prevails is the achingly perfect timing of his acerbic wit.

The Tremolo Diaries is a beautiful and unique meditation on illness and aging. It is a twilight years reflection on band life in the 21st Century. It’s a travelogue around the world’s art galleries, parks, bars and sites of natural beauty. And most importantly, it is about love and friendship, adversity and courage, life and loss.

In a first-of-its-kind exploration of Parkinson’s by a multi-platinum selling musician, The Tremolo Diaries looks the dramatic irony of Currie’s affliction in the eye, puts down the guitar, and returns the needle to the start of the song.

Step into the magical world of Hedgewitch, where the land of Faerie lies just beyond our own . . . The fourth book in the enchanting Hedgewitch series, perfect for children age 9+ and readers of Nevermoor and Michelle Harrison.

To complete the next step in her witch’s training, Cassie Morgan must invent a brand-new spell. However, she is struggling for inspiration – so she jumps at the chance to attend the Covenmoot.

Every five years, covens from all over Britain and Ireland meet to take part in a series of challenging games in the hopes of winning the Covenmoot Cauldron. Cassie and her friends travel to Glen Carlin, a remote valley in the Scottish Highlands, to take part. But menacing forces haunt the moors and rumours of the ancient Stonewitch swirl through the camp.

Cassie and her coven must work together to prove themselves in the Covenmoot, while long-hidden secrets come to light and the wicked Erl King’s power grows.

Witches aren’t born, they’re made …

The problem started, as problems often do, with a penguin.

From Kings and Emperors to Macaronis and Rockhoppers, penguins are one of the most immediately recognisable animals on Earth. Yet for all that familiarity, what do we really know about them? An Inconvenience of Penguins follows award-winning travel writer Jamie Lafferty as he visits all 18 species in a bid to understand the birds and their extraordinarily varied habitats a little better. On voyages to some of the world’s most inaccessible and challenging landscapes, he recounts the history of our unique relationship with the world’s most popular bird, telling stories of the penguins, but also the people and places around them.

From getting stranded in the Galapagos to marching through African guano fields, and leading photography groups in the Antarctic to taking psychedelics on the Falklands, this is a birding quest like no other. Along the way Lafferty relives the experiences of early polar explorers, for who penguins were perplexing mysteries, welcome companions and even occasional meals, and meets the modern penguin lovers trying to save their fragile environments.

Featuring cameos from a wide cast of characters including Ernest Shackleton, Charles Darwin, and Sir Francis Drake, as well as beautiful photographs of each penguin species, An Inconvenience of Penguins is part-love letter to and part-biography of these remarkable creatures.

Hamza has always loved the outdoors.

Hamza Yassin loves being outdoors in nature. As a child who struggled with dyslexia at school, he always longed to be in the world outside the classroom. Thankfully, due to a forward-thinking teacher who encouraged him to run outside before a lesson, Hamza embraced his love of nature from an early age. There he discovered that his dyslexia allowed him to see the world in a special way.

Homeward Bound tells the story of Hamza’s fascination with the outdoors. From learning to ring birds in Wales to chasing orca in Scotland – Hamza explores wildlife across the British Isles and delights in the hidden life that is found there. Throughout his journey, he shows us the wonder of wildlife and how mother nature is a home for us all.

Packed with charming personal stories, including life in the Scottish Highlands, and his adventures as a wildlife cameraman – Hamza shares the joy of nature and shows us how it has made him who he is today.

BRITAIN’S MOST BELOVED STORYTELLER RETURNS WITH A TWISTING ADVENTURE OF OBSESSIVE LOVE AND ELEGANT ESPIONAGE . . .

Gabriel Dax, travel writer and accidental spy, is back in the shadows. Unable to resist the allure of his MI6 handler, Faith Green, he has returned to a life of secrets and subterfuge. Dax is sent to Guatemala under the guise of covering a tinderbox presidential election, where the ruthless decisions of the Mafia provoke pitch-black warfare in collusion with the CIA.

As political turmoil erupts, Gabriel’s reluctant involvement deepens. His escape plan leads him to West Berlin, where he uncovers a chilling realisation: there is a plot to assassinate magnetic young President John F. Kennedy. In a race against time, Gabriel must navigate deceit and danger, knowing that the stakes have never been higher . . .

In The Predicament, the second novel starring accidental spy Gabriel Dax, William Boyd weaves yet another masterful tale of suspense, loyalty, love and the dark temptations of spy craft.

A gorgeous Edinburgh-set story about love: loving another, loving yourself and loving life.

Maggie should be living life to the full. She should be travelling the world, jumping out of planes, skiing in the mountains. Everything she dreamed of doing. But a year ago she fell ill and needed a heart transplant, losing all her confidence. This new heart is a gift, and Maggie believes that the best way to honour it is to be careful, cautious, safe.

Then something impossible happens. Maggie wakes up one morning in a flat that’s not her own, in pyjamas that aren’t her own and when she looks in the mirror – she sees another woman’s face looking back at her. Somehow, magically, Maggie has been given another chance at life, and another chance at love…

They promised to be best friends forever . . . but what if they could be more?

Of all of Gabby’s terrible mistakes, losing Austin may have been the worst one.

As children, they were inseparable best friends – until golden girl Gabby publicly broke Austin’s heart and set fire to their friendship. She hasn’t seen him since.

Now Gabby is a college drop-out with a crappy apartment, her promising future rapidly slipping through her fingers. In her own words, she’s nothing. So, she’s got nothing to lose when she sets out to fix her life and the many mistakes she’s left in her wake.

Austin is the one who got away, and she’s never forgiven herself for hurting him. But can he forgive her now?

From the award-winning author of A Kind of Spark comes a new heartfelt and timely novel for middle-grade and teen readers.

Aeriel Sharpe doesn’t want to be anyone’s role model. But, when her mother is elected to be the most important politician in the country (yes, that one), she is thrust into the spotlight. With the world’s eyes on her, friends don’t seem that friendly and she feels trapped by everyone’s expectations.

They want her to be the voice of every autistic teenager, but Aeriel must find a way to speak for herself…

It’s not easy being thirteen… and it’s even harder when you’re the most famous teenager in the country

Caithness, October 1871.

The Ordnance Survey are charting Scotland’s most remote north-easterly county, a bleak landscape of endless moorland and lonely crofts. When a strange vision leads cartographer Robert Sutherland out onto the moor, an accident leaves him inches from death. He is taken to Leask House, to recuperate under the care of Mrs Sinclair and her beautiful daughter Isabel.

At first, Robert thinks the dreadful visions that plague him at Leask House are the result of the laudanum he has been prescribed. But as events take ever stranger and more terrifying turns, Robert begins to wonder whether his presence at Leask House is really a coincidence at all.

Someone – or something – has summoned him here.

And they don’t intend for him to leave.

Three generations of women. Three life altering events. As they discover the truth of their heritage, they’ll discover what makes the pieces of us…

At fifty-eight Minnie McAllister isn’t an old woman. But as Alzheimer’s ravages her mind, her brain says otherwise.

Cat McAllister is tackling everything life can throw at her. And just when she thinks it can’t get any worse, she’s faced with the discovery that Minnie might not be the mother she once knew.

Meanwhile, Cat’s daughter, Ruby McAllister, who is staring at a two very blue lines, faces a decision that will change the course of her life.

As three generations of women are pulled in three different directions, each are forced to learn lessons about themselves that they never could have imagined.

From a critically acclaimed biographer, an engrossing narrative of Robert Louis Stevenson’s life, a story as romantic and adventurous as his fiction

‘This magnificent biography of Robert Louis Stevenson reveals much about a writer that we think we knew. . . . Dazzling.’–Kirkus Reviews

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) is famed for Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but he published many other novels and stories before his death at forty-four. Despite lifelong ill health, he had immense vitality; Mark Twain said his eyes burned with ‘smoldering rich fire.’

Born in Edinburgh to a family of lighthouse engineers, Stevenson set many stories in Scotland but sought travel and adventure in a life as romantic as his novels. ‘I loved a ship,’ he wrote, ‘as a man loves burgundy or daybreak.’ The adventures were shared with his free-spirited American wife, Fanny, with whom he moved to the South Pacific.   Samoan friends named Stevenson ‘Storyteller.’ Reading, he said, ‘should be absorbing and voluptuous; we should gloat over a book, be rapt clean out of ourselves.’ His own books have been translated into dozens of languages. Jorge Luis Borges called his stories ‘one of the forms of happiness,’ and other modernist masters as various as Proust, Nabokov, and Calvino have paid tribute to his greatness as a literary artist.   In Storyteller, Leo Damrosch brings to life an unforgettable personality, illuminated by many who knew Stevenson well and drawing from thousands of the writer’s letters in his many voices and moods–playful, imaginative, at times tragic.