THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

Scottish produce is celebrated the world over. The demand for game, for example, far exceeds what can be supplied, and Scottish cheeses surpass many from mainland Europe. In this book Claire Macdonald celebrates the very best of home-grown ingredients – from oatmeal, dairy produce, meat and fish, fruit and vegetables and even whisky – in 60 imaginative recipes for starters, main course and puddings, as well as for sauces, dressings, baking and other treats.

Recipes include: Grilled goat’s cheese on stir-fried beetroot with orange and Balsamic vinegar Chocolate oatmeal biscuits Iced honey and whisky creams Herb crepes with smoked salmon, creme fraiche and diced cucumber Steam-baked cod with lentils, coriander and lime Venison fillet with green peppercorn, ginger and port sauce

The 2014 Scottish independence debate and the re-ignition of the SNP’s call for a second vote in the wake of Brexit – and indeed Brexit itself – begs a reappraisal of what nationality and borderer identity actually mean in the twenty-first century and how the past affects this. As a borderer and historian John Sadler is uniquely qualified to examine the border from Roman times to today. He’s been in these Marches all his life, studied and read about their wild inhabitants, traversed every inch and studied every castle, bastle, tower and battlefield.

In July 2010 in Rothbury, a latter-day outlaw, Raoul Thomas Moat, a vicious petty criminal and murderer, holed up in Coquetdale as hundreds of police tried to flush him out. Nasty as he was, he became a kind of instant folk hero to some. Four centuries ago, Moat would barely have been noticed on the border – just another Reiver. From the Hammer of the Scots, William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and Mary, Queen of Scots, right through to today’s new nationalism, the story of the borderlands is tempestuous, bloody and fascinating. And a “Hot Trod”? If your cattle were stolen there was a legal requirement to pursue the rustlers within six days, otherwise you’re on a less enforceable Cold Trod.

THE 12 MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LEWIS TRILOGY AND THE CHINA THRILLERS

AWARD WINNING AUTHOR OF THE CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY 2021

‘Enzo MacLeod is one of the most unusual crime solvers I have ever met.’ BookBrowse

‘No one can create a more eloquently written suspense novel than Peter May.’ New York Journal of Books

In the gripping fourth book in the Enzo files, a promise made to a dead man proves Enzo’s toughest challenge yet…

ILE DE GROIX, FRANCE.

A Frozen Island.

This tiny isle off the coast of Brittany is the scene of a murder left shrouded in mystery and grief.

A Frozen Crime.

Adam Killian’s study has been left intact since his death – the perfect state for Enzo Macleod’s forensic investigation.

A Frozen Heart.

Killian’s daughter-in-law is still hoping; the first suspect is still hiding; and the treacherous island itself still has a revelation for Enzo.

LOVE PETER MAY? Order his new thriller, A Winter Grave

‘I was mesmerised’ LAURA SHEPPERSON, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Heroines

‘This gripping, vividly evoked novel takes the reader to the dark heart of the 16th century – unforgettable’ Tracy Borman, author of The King’s Witch

Nothing scares men like witchcraft…

1589. Scottish housemaid Geillis and Danish courtier Margareta lead opposite lives, but they both know one thing: when a man cries ‘witch’, no woman is safe.

Yet when the marriage of King James VI and Princess Anna of Denmark brings Geillis and Margareta together, everything they supposed about good, evil, men, and women, is cast in a strange and brilliant new light.

For the first time in history, could black magic – or rumours of it – be a very real tool for women’s political gain?

As the North Berwick witch trials whip Scotland – and her king – into a frenzy of paranoia, the clock is ticking. Can Margareta and Geillis keep each other safe? And once the burnings are over, in whose hands will power truly lie?

Inspired by the incredible true story that set 16th-century Scotland and Denmark alight, The Burnings is 2023’s most bewitching debut novel, by a multi-award winning new star of historical fiction.

‘A beautifully written re-imagining – clever and tantalising’ S.G. MacLean

READERS LOVE THE BURNINGS

‘I was blown away – so gripping, at times it was very hard to put down. I was pulled in emotionally – I do not have any negative comments about this story at all. Brilliantly put together’ Danielle Graham, (Dee, Goodreads)

‘I can’t recommend this highly enough. It is well written, well researched, and a totally enthralling read’

‘What stands out for me is the clear level of research that went into the writing, plot and characters’

Beautifully written, I was transported. The author has a talent for bringing historical figures and events to life. This reminded me of Tracy Borman’s The King’s Witch and I’d love to read more from this author’

‘What a great story’

‘This book is up there with the best of them’

Brought to you by Penguin.YOU CAN’T SAVE YOUR KIDS. BUT CAN YOU STOP THEM?’Twists you won’t see coming, nail-biting suspense…and at the heart of this book is a father battling to save his family. Unmissable’ Steve Cavanagh, bestselling author of THIRTEENIt’s a week before the presidential elections when a bomb goes off in an LA shopping mall.In London, armed police storm Heathrow Airport and arrest Sajid Khan. His daughter, Aliyah entered the USA with the suicide bomber, and now she’s missing, potentially plotting another attack on American soil.But then a woman called Carrie turns up at Sajid’s door after travelling halfway across the world. She claims Aliyah is with her son and she has a clue to their whereabouts. Carrie knows something isn’t adding up – and that she and Sajid are the only ones who can find their children and discover the truth.On the run from the authorities, the two parents are thrown together in a race against time to save their kids and stop a catastrophe that will derail the country’s future forever.For fans of Adrian McKinty’s The Chain and Clare Mackintosh’s Hostage, this blockbuster contemporary thriller will turn your world on its head.©2024 Abir Mukherjee (P)2024 Penguin Audio

No one wanted to hear Estie’s side of the story. Now she’s on a mission to make sure the truth is heard . . .

A page-turning mystery novel in verse about identity, friendship and learning to use your voice, with accessible text and beautiful illustrations throughout.

When twelve-year-old Estie is expelled from school, she’s sent to stay with her aunt in Scotland over the summer. Even though nobody, not even her mum, asked to hear her side of the story.

Estie’s determined to keep her barriers up and stick to herself until the holidays are over. But when she comes across an intricately folded paper castle with a secret message written inside – a message from someone desperate to tell their own unbelieved story – a chord is struck, and Estie can’t help but follow the clues to the next piece of artwork. Who are these messages from? And what will their secret reveal about the town?In helping to uncover the anonymous artist’s truth, Estie just might find the words to tell her own. . .

Tarn grapples with the loss of her brother at Dunkirk as she faces the threat of Nazi invasion in the Cumbrian countryside in this gripping wartime tale from Tom Palmer.

July 1940 – as Tarn struggles to come to terms with the loss of her beloved brother in the chaos of the British retreat at Dunkirk, she and her friends scour the hills around their Lake District home, watching for any signs of the long-dreaded Nazi invasion.

But as the war drags on, with little good news from the front, the locals become aware of someone carrying out anonymous acts of kindness, such as saving a flock of sheep from a snowdrift and getting help for an injured farmer who might other wise have died.

With no one claiming credit, they come to think of this unidentified stranger as a kind of guardian angel, but when his identity is finally revealed can Tarn come to terms with the truth?

‘A dramatic start to a gripping new series . . . meticulously researched and beautifully told by one of our most prolific and talented writers’ – Santa Montefiore on The Last Summer

A reluctant bride. A forbidden romance. An island full of secrets . . .

It’s the summer of 1929 and Mhairi MacKinnon is in need of a husband. As the eldest girl among nine children, her father has made it clear he can’t support her past the coming winter. On the small, Scottish island of St Kilda, her options are limited. But the MacKinnons’ neighbour, Donald, has a business acquaintance on distant Harris also in need of a spouse. A plan is hatched for Donald to chaperone Mhairi and make the introduction on his final crossing of the year, before the autumn seas close them off to the outside world.

Mhairi returns as an engaged woman who has lost her heart – but not to her fiancé. In love with the wrong man yet knowing he can never be hers, she awaits the spring with growing dread, for the onset of calm waters will see her sent from home to become a stranger’s wife. . .

When word comes that St Kilda is to be evacuated, the lovers are granted a few months’ reprieve, but will a summer of stolen hours together just lead to more heartbreak . . .

The Stolen Hours is Book Two in Karen Swan’s bestselling Wild Isle Series.

Praise for The Last Summer (Book One):

‘Powerful writing and a wonderful premise make this a novel you’ll simultaneously want to savour and race through. I loved it and can’t wait for the next in the series!’ – Jill Mansell, author of Promise Me

‘The most exciting, enchanting and evocative story of forbidden love I’ve ever read. I truly loved it and am waiting feverishly for the second installment.’ – Cathy Bramley, author of The Sunrise Sisterhood

The Isle of Mull, three days before Christmas, 1998. Sergeant Ivor Punch is contacted by a frantic caller, Maggie May, about a missing pilot and plane. Respected classical musician Xander Lowry has vanished without a trace after taking off, impromptu and alone, in a Cessna Needle from the airfield of a local hotel.

For Punch, this strange incident takes places on the tenth anniversary of the Lockerbie disaster, in which his brother was killed. Now aged 45, Punch is a loner who slaughters sheep to unwind and survives on a diet of whisky and The Faces vinyls, and the last thing he needs is to be reminded of the past.

Then Lowry’s body is found, propped up on a hillside – but no plane in sight. To make matters even more frustrating, Punch – more used to employing the amateur sleuth-like services of local accomplices Randy, a musician-come-forestry-worker, and the island’s gothic undertaker, Dave the Grave – must entertain an overly-keen and bureaucratic new deputy, PC Cluny, despatched from Head Office. A little girl, Iris, goes missing, and soon after another body is found.

And now effigies start appearing around the island – of Punch, Lowry, Iris, Charlie and others. A sinister plot is unfolding, holding the island in its grip, and all the evidence starts to point back to the start – to the elusive Maggie May and that first phone call to Sergeant Punch . . .

Every family has a secret.

The mega-rich Pallanders are used to luxury – a castle in the Scottish Highlands, a villa in Tuscany, a billion-dollar fortune and an island in the Caribbean – but their perfect life is about to be shattered.

Every father has a favourite.

Sebastian Pallander dies, leaving a pitiful amount of money to his wife and children. His family fight over the scraps as old rivalries and bitter jealousies come to the surface. And when Pallander’s son is killed in mysterious circumstances, everyone suspects foul play.

Every killer has a motive.

After a desperate race for survival, the relatives gather at their estate to weather the storm. They all begin to wonder: who will be next? Where has all their money gone? And will any of them get what they truly deserve?

When Delaney’s boss’s friend claims to have found something on her property, an estate in the village of Roslin, Edwin sends Delaney out to investigate. Could Jolie possibly have in her possession a priceless relic, a Crusader Sword? But when Delaney arrives at Jolie’s estate, she is greeted by a legal team with a vested interest in the property. Delaney and Jolie manage to remove the intruders, but as they’re examining the antique sword, they hear a scream, and meet a much less welcome discovery: a body.

As Delaney digs deeper, she discovers Jolie’s own fascinating history. Jolie’s mother had long claimed that her daughter was the rightful heir to the throne, not Elizabeth II, because of an affair she claimed to have with King Edward VIII. The only evidence, however, is in the form of a journal that one of Edward’s secretaries kept. The puzzles become more confusing when a connection is uncovered between this far-fetched story and the murdered man. And shortly thereafter, the journal goes missing. Delaney will have to read between the lines to put together the pieces… or become history herself.

THE CHAOTIC A.D. 69

When the obese and tyrannical Aulus Vitellius seizes the reins of power in Rome, the empire is the grip of a fierce civil war. But the new emperor’s first priority is both personal and deeply symbolic: he plans to crush the Green chariot racing faction – the mortal enemies of his beloved Blues – at the Plebeian Games in the Circus Maximus.

To save the Greens from certain destruction, two former charioteers – the stoical and determined Corax and the flamboyant and cocksure Alector (once the firmest of friends, now the bitterest of rivals) – have just twenty-six days to transport four champion chariot horses across the breadth of Europe to Rome. Braving blizzards, bandits, floods and wild storms at sea, theirs is an unforgettable odyssey and race-against-time adventure.

A.D. O’Neill steers a thundering epic around historical events and real-life characters to a breathtaking climax in the greatest sporting arena of all time – the Circus Maximus.

A whale. A poem. A painting.

Wexford County, 1891. The unlikely discovery of a beached blue whale sets in motion a series of events leading to the present-day re-installation of a fundamental piece of the Natural History Museum.

Amherst, circa. 1850. Margaret O’Brien, domestic help for the Dickinson family, finds a letter revealing an intimate secret between the reclusive Miss Emily and her brother’s fiancé Susan Huntington.

London, circa. 1880. A young working-class woman named Ada Alice Pullen meets the esteemed painter Frederic Leighton, beginning a relationship that will transform her and the world of art forever.

Three cultural objects of hope, their stories retold as you’ve never heard them before: in the voices of the model, the maid, and the coxswain’s girlfriend.

An immersive collection of poetry to open your world, curated by the host of Poetry Unbound

This inspiring collection, edited by Pádraig Ó Tuama, presents fifty poems about what it means to be alive in the world today. Each poem is paired with Pádraig’s illuminating commentary that offers personal anecdotes and generous insights into the content of the poem.

Engaging, accessible and inviting, Poetry Unbound is the perfect companion for everyone who loves poetry and for anyone who wants to go deeper into poetry but doesn’t necessarily know how to do so.

Poetry Unbound contains expanded reflections on poems as heard on the podcast, as well as exclusive new selections. Contributors include Hanif Abdurraqib, Patience Agbabi, Raymond Antrobus, Margaret Atwood, Ada Limón, Kei Miller, Roger Robinson, Lemn Sissay, Layli Long Soldier and more.

Hit Scotland’s can’t-miss sights, bites, and history in two weeks or less with Rick Steves Best of Scotland!

– Expert advice from Rick Steves on what’s worth your time and money

– Two-day itineraries covering Edinburgh, Glasgow, St. Andrews, the Highlands, and the Isle of Skye

– Rick’s tips for beating the crowds, skipping lines, and avoiding tourist traps

– The best of local culture, flavours, and haunts, including walks through the most interesting neighbourhoods and museum

– Trip planning strategies like how to link destinations and design your itinerary, what to pack, where to stay, and how to get around

– Over 80 full-colour maps and vibrant photos

Experience the magic of Scotland for yourself with Rick Steves Best of Scotland!

Planning a longer trip? Rick Steves Scotland is the classic, in-depth guide to spending more than two weeks exploring the country.

And I have done more than just simply get by

So much more than escape or survive

Through the galvanisation of love, time and patience

I’ll take hold of my story and thrive.

After life that was seldom what life ought to be

Through laughter and love I’ll be whole

This story is mine from the cover to spine

And the narrative I will control

Whether she’s writing letters to her younger self, advocating for women’s rights or adapting fairy tales to process an abusive relationship, Len’s voice is bold, unashamedly frank and unmistakably hers.

The poems in this collection, both funny and fiercely feminist, announce a formidable new talent. Moving deftly between English and Scots, poyums is as approachable as it is affecting.

‘Compelling’ IAN RANKIN

‘Stunning’ SUNDAY TIMES

The brilliant new novel from award-winning writer and rising star Claire Askew.

A city that’s no longer safe…

An anonymous vigilante stalks the streets of Edinburgh. As his behaviour escalates, the police are at a loss – they can find no clues to his identity, and no trace of his whereabouts.

A detective in the path of danger…

DI Helen Birch has been told to stay away from the case – but she’s never been one to play by the rules. When her colleague Amy comes to her asking for help, DI Birch finds it impossible to resist the challenge – and soon, her life is on the line.

Will she crack the case before it breaks her? Or has she finally met her match?

A gripping crime thriller for fans of Susie Steiner, Elly Griffiths and Val McDermid – guaranteed to keep you up all night…

PRAISE FOR CLAIRE ASKEW:

‘Thought-provoking’ Mail on Sunday

‘A crackerjack read’ Val McDermid

‘Meticulous and compelling’ Ian Rankin

‘Thoughtful and well-written’ Guardian

‘Compellingly written’ Daily Mail

‘Stunning’ Erin Kelly

‘Absorbing and thought-provoking’ The Times

Perestroika is a historical fiction novel that provides thrilling insights into the late Communist era. The book opens in 1978 and introduces citizens of Slavia like artist Ludwig Kirchner, struggling to survive in concentration camps, whilst the terrifying elites of the regime live in luxury and moral depravity. It all changes in 1989, with Perestroika. In the revolutionary turmoil, former crime boss Ivan Fiorov leads the newly formed “Freedom Party”, heralding a wave of insecurity that resembles the previous dictatorship.

Revenge, redemption and catharsis collide head on with recent European history. With Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, alongside a resurgence of populist leaders and neo-Nazi movements across the world, Perestroika is as much a lens into the present as an exciting epitome for the past.

A walking guidebook to 40 of the best small mountains in Scotland under 3000ft, with OS maps and routes described as day-walks with ascents accessible to non-climbers. The guidebook splits Scotland into seven areas – Sutherland and the far north, Torridon, Lochaber, the Great Glen, the Cairngorms, Glencoe, Arrochar, the Trossachs and the islands (Skye, Eigg, Mull, Arran).

With routes that range in length and difficulty and alternative options given there is something for walkers of all abilities. The guide also includes background information on the mountains and places of interest, practical advice on each route and how to prepare and make the most out of these small mountains and information on history, geology, flora and fauna.

The popularity of Munro-bagging – climbing all the mountains in Scotland over 3000ft – has left many of Scotland’s finest mountains overlooked by walkers. What they lack in stature, they often more than make up for in beauty, views and character. This book champions just some of Scotland’s best smaller mountains – from the surreal and striking landscape of The Storr in Skye, the pagan festivals of Ben Ledi in the Trossachs to the imposing and rugged ridges of Quinag in the Sutherland.

A walking guidebook to 40 of the best small mountains in Scotland under 3000ft, with OS maps and routes described as day-walks with ascents accessible to non-climbers. The guidebook splits Scotland into seven areas – Sutherland and the far north, Torridon, Lochaber, the Great Glen, the Cairngorms, Glencoe, Arrochar, the Trossachs and the islands (Skye, Eigg, Mull, Arran).

With routes that range in length and difficulty and alternative options given there is something for walkers of all abilities. The guide also includes background information on the mountains and places of interest, practical advice on each route and how to prepare and make the most out of these small mountains and information on history, geology, flora and fauna.

The popularity of Munro-bagging – climbing all the mountains in Scotland over 3000ft – has left many of Scotland’s finest mountains overlooked by walkers. What they lack in stature, they often more than make up for in beauty, views and character. This book champions just some of Scotland’s best smaller mountains – from the surreal and striking landscape of The Storr in Skye, the pagan festivals of Ben Ledi in the Trossachs to the imposing and rugged ridges of Quinag in the Sutherland.