THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

Description:
*LONGLISTED FOR THE SALTIRE BOOK AWARDS*

‘A moving exploration of family, migration, class, queerness and belonging… beautifully rendered’ JESSICA ANDREWS

‘A deeply observant, perceptive writer’ JOANNA CANNON

‘Masterful’ JJ BOLA

‘Evocative, layered and emotionally resonant… deserves to be on your reading list’ GLAMOUR

‘Love was a tightrope between freedom and control. He didn’t know how others seemed to walk it with ease’

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-

Elom can’t make sense of love. It’s like a language he can’t speak, though he’s heard the words before.

He wants to feel understood – by his well-meaning yet misapprehending family, his self-assured partner Ben, and his boisterous friends – but he never knows the right thing to say.

How can you know yourself, in a world that’s constantly changing?

Set across Ghana and Scotland, this is an intimate portrait of one man’s search for belonging, a family’s attempt to love, and the choices that make a life.

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ADULTS AND ANIMALS

‘Compulsive and hilarious, like a brilliant gossip with your best friend. Emma Jane Unsworth is my favourite’ Sara Pascoe

‘Her best yet – funny, gritty, delightfully feral and, as ever, painfully truthful’ DOLLY ALDERTON

‘An amazing writer’ MARGOT ROBBIE

Once a slag, always a slag?

It’s the 1990s. Sarah is 15, obsessed with sex, getting drunk on Malibu, and her teacher, Mr Keaveney.

Fast forward: Sarah is 41, the last of the party girls. But the mad nights out are losing their shine.

Craving adventure, she sets off with her sister Juliette on a whisky-fuelled campervan trip across Scotland.

They know all the dark corners of each other’s history – and it’s time to dig up some demons, kicking and screaming.

Because the things that once defined us shouldn’t define us forever… should they?

‘A riotous road trip… Thelma and Louise in a campervan’ GUARDIAN

**A touching and timeless follow-up to the much-loved No Matter What**

Come What May follows Debi Gliori’s much-loved foxes, Large and Small, as they head out on a picnic in the countryside to wind down after a rather trying afternoon attempting some baking. As their walk takes them across flower-strewn meadows, through cool woods and eventually up onto a gentle hill from which they can see their cosy home below, they reflect on all the moods a single day can hold. And as a squall of rain briefly threatens their picnic, they eventually decide that moods may change like the weather, but their love for each other will always remain constant.

A warm-hearted, uplifting story, told with genuine affection and flourishes of humour, perfect to read at bedtime – or any time!

‘Dh’òl mise bainne milis mo mhàthar – seòl glan, gun ghainne: dùthchas na Gàidhlig.’

Chan e fèin-fhiosrachaidhean Iain, no a bheachd air gràdh, Gàidhlig, slàinte, poilitigs is tachartasan an t-saoghail a-mhàin a tha clàraichte sa chruinneachadh seo. Chìte cuideachd buaidh ghinealaichean dhe a shinnsirean na chuspairean, na mhodhan-smaoineachaidh, na ruitheaman, na bhriathrachas agus na fhaireachdainnean làidir. Tha Gàidhlig is Gàidhealtachas na cheann, na chridhe, na fhuil, na smior, na spiorad, agus chanadh cuid, fiù ’s na anam.

For exasperated parents of sticky children comes a hilariously unexpected and surreal cautionary tale on cleanliness to get even the most reluctant kids excited about bath time.

Mildred Honeyfur LOVES being sticky and REFUSES to have a bath. She sets off to find the stickiest things in the world – doughnuts, pond slime, toffees and glue – until she becomes a ball of stickiness, rolling through the town sticking to everything … and everyone! Stuck in the ULTIMATE sticky situation, will Mildred ever be stopped?

Written by the winner of Blackwell’s Children’s Book of the Year and the Queen’s Knickers Award, Alastair Chisholm, with wildly imaginative pictures by Rikin Parekh, illustrator of Greg Jenner’s Totally Chaotic History series.

This concise biography offers a fresh portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson: frail Edinburgh child turned globe-trotting author of Treasure Island, Kidnapped and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It charts his remarkable literary range – from fiction and poetry to essays and letters – crafted across three continents, often in poor health. Stevenson’s adventurous life and memorable characters captured both popular imagination and critical praise. Drawing on new scholarship, the book explores his role as a literary innovator and cultural commentator, revealing how his work engaged with the anxieties of a rapidly changing world. At once celebrity, critic and colonial observer, Stevenson emerges as a truly modern writer, whose influence remains potent today. This is essential reading for lovers of literature, history and global storytelling.

‘Francis combines the precision of science with a profound insight into the human condition’ GUARDIAN

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ADVENTURES IN HUMAN BEING AND RECOVERY

Between a quarter and a fifth of young people in the UK now suffer a mental disorder. One in four adults are prescribed psychiatric medication. These numbers represent a huge and recent expansion in mental health labelling, but reveal nothing of the experience of those seeking help.

In The Unfragile Mind, Gavin draws on conversations with patients, colleagues, and his thirty years of practice to explore the chequered history of psychiatry, the nature of mental health and ill-health, and the problems – including mood disorders, trauma, anxiety and addiction – that he addresses daily.

The mind, he argues, is dynamic and adaptive – better addressed not with rigid labels and protocols, but with curiosity, kindness, humility and hope.

‘A serious and consequential analysis of a serious and consequential politician’ ALASTAIR CAMPBELL
‘Fascinating and well written’ MATTHEW PARRIS
‘Tells us more than we have ever known about this highly significant figure’ SHELAGH FOGARTY

A compelling new biography of former prime minister Gordon Brown, a dominant figure in the Labour Party for five decades.

More than fifteen years since he left Downing Street, Brown continues to wield significant influence among the current generation. Polls regularly suggest he is the most popular living former prime minister. Yet his short time in Number 10 ended in bitterness and election defeat.

In James Macintyre’s fascinating new biography, he provides a definitive portrait of a true political giant. Based on unique access to Brown’s personal archive and interviews with his family, friends, colleagues and political rivals – including Tony Blair, David Cameron and Alastair Campbell, among many others – Macintyre reveals the private man behind the public figure. We gain unprecedented insight into his family life, his faith and what it is that still motivates him.

From his political birth as a teenaged student at Edinburgh University to his ongoing efforts to improve children’s education around the world, Brown’s passionate engagement in politics remains undimmed. Macintyre takes the reader to the heart of the action, providing fresh perspectives on key events in Brown’s career, whether it’s the battle for the Labour leadership in 1994, the invasion of Iraq, the challenges of coping with the global financial crash in 2008 or the Scottish independence and Brexit referendums.

Gordon Brown: Power with Purpose not only outlines Brown’s formidable legacy but shows how, even as he reaches the age of seventy-five, there is still a powerful purpose in all he does that can inspire anyone who wants to create meaningful change.

Prepare to be hooked by the gripping thriller from an award winning Scottish author, a tale of obsession, power and control for fans of Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh and Dexter.

‘A gripping story by a true rising star. Deborah Masson, I’ll be watching you too…’ – Peter James, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Roy Grace series

‘Tense, twisted and visceral – a gut-punch of a thriller’ – Susi Holliday, bestselling author of The Hike

He sees everything.

As a CCTV operator, Casey can monitor the streets of Aberdeen and keep people safe, all from the comfort of his chair.

He knows your secrets.

You are one of his favourite people to follow. He keeps an eye on you even in your most private moments, when you think you’re alone.

But now he wants more.

There’s a reason he’s learnt your routine like the back of his hand. Casey wants revenge. And when you know as much as he does, it’s easy to take advantage…

From Stuart MacBride, the Sunday Times bestselling author of the smash-hit Logan McRae series.

Move Over Miss Marple . . .

The great and the not-so-good are gathered at Skirivour Castle Hotel, in the heart of the Highlands, for the wedding of the year – but they weren’t expecting Detective Sergeant Roberta Steel to crash their party. And get horribly, horribly drunk.

The whole valley’s been cut off by a massive thunderstorm and the phone lines are down, so when the father-of-the-bride’s body is discovered – decoratively impaled on a stag’s head in the hotel lobby – it’s up to DS Steel to find out whodunit. Which isn’t easy when you’ve got a monstrous hangover and only a world-weary sergeant and a halfwit police constable for backup.

With no witnesses and every wedding guest a suspect, Roberta will need to use every one of her little grey cells if she’s going to catch the killer and get out of there alive.

Praise for Stuart MacBride:

‘MacBride is a damned fine writer’ – Peter James, author of Picture You Dead

‘Dark and brilliantly written’ – Linwood Barclay, author of I Will Ruin You

‘Crime fiction of the highest order’ – Mark Billingham, author of The Last Dance

The true story of Daniel Defoe and the dirty tricks which helped bring Scotland into union with England.

In 1706, Edinburgh was on the brink of a popular uprising. Men and women took to the streets to protest the planned union with England, fearing the end of Scottish sovereignty. But unbeknownst to the mob, a spy was in their midst—the English writer Daniel Defoe, now bankrupt and thrice pilloried, had turned a government agent.

Marc Mierowsky tells the dramatic story of Defoe and his fellow spies as they sabotaged the Scottish independence movement from the inside. Together they disseminated propaganda and built a network of operatives from London to the upper Highlands, providing the English government with up-to-the-minute intelligence and monitoring its adversaries’ every move.

Through the lives of Defoe and his ring, their handlers, and opponents, Mierowsky guides us through this shadowy underworld of espionage and propaganda—revealing a disturbing and distinctly modern political campaign.

From the bestselling author of The Bookseller of Inverness comes the unforgettable story of a Scottish town on the cusp of change and the group of townspeople whose lives will be irrevocably altered over the course of one tumultuous year.

‘Shona MacLean’s novels are smart, soulful and deeply engrossing. An exceptional, wise and compassionate storyteller, she can make any ‘historical period sing with life’ Antonia Hodgson

‘Superbly researched, entirely convincing, very clever and at times unbearably poignant. I loved it.’ Andrew Taylor

Cromarty, The Black Isle, 1831.

As seagulls shriek and rise on the coastal winds, a circulating library in the bustling port town of Cromarty is meeting for the first time.

Ostensibly united by a love of books, the demands of social convention have brought together a disparate group of people. Charlotte Mackenzie, the remote and fragile wife of the local laird, seeks an escape from a loveless marriage; her best friend, Rachel Mackay, a former governess who is ardently in love with her own older husband, the town’s minister; the young schoolmaster, John Learmonth, newly arrived from Edinburgh with secrets in tow; and the gentle bank clerk, Ludovic Cameron who dreams of a new life across the ocean, far from his erstwhile schoolmate, the malevolent Farquhar Hossack. When the laird befriends a wounded officer, a chain of events is set into motion that threatens to upset the delicate equilibrium of the community.

Against the backdrop of mass emigrations, an encroaching cholera epidemic, political unrest and the campaign to abolish chattel slavery in the British Caribbean, the people of Cromarty must negotiate their new world and each other, flitting in and out of each other’s lives through one extraordinary year.

The Cromarty Library Circle is a richly woven and immersive portrait of connected lives, changing fortunes and the often-unseen forces that shape our destinies.

In This City, Where it Rains is a gothic horror novella set in an alternative version of Edinburgh.

Maggie is haunted by ghosts that only appear in the rain – and it always rains in this city.

At the edge of town, stands Tair House – a house that remembers, in a city that forgets. The mansion is so damned, it scares the clouds themselves from breaking, and the man of the house, Xavier Logan, and his wife Lucia, are harbouring a dark secret there – something that connects to Maggie and her ghosts.

Soon all roads lead to Tair House, where Maggie hopes only to uncover more about her family’s past and her muddled memories.

But the house is hungry, and something is waking deep within its roots…something that has been waiting a long time for Maggie.

 

Don’t miss this gripping atmospheric mystery set in the Scottish highlands

ON THE CURSED ROAD EVERY STEP COULD BE YOUR LAST

Deep in the Scottish Highlands, the body of a young woman is found on the cursed road, a narrow track with a bloody history.

It initially looks like an accident, but a name scratched on the dead woman’s arm links to an unsolved case from years ago.

Glaswegian detectives Georgina Lennox and Richard Stewart are sent north to investigate, and they discover a community riven by a centuries’ old blood feud and modern rivalries.

As George and Richie attempt to get to the truth behind the dark rumours, a killer is waiting, determined that some secrets are never uncovered.

 

 

From London to Los Angeles, Berlin and Tokyo, Nothing Good Happens After 2 a.m. is a story of friendship, ambition, passion – and something more.

London, 2005

Behind the unmarked door of Love and Death, a tiny speakeasy in East London, Robbie Saunders and El Tippett are cocktail-making stars on the rise.

Locked in a volatile dance of rivalry and chemistry, they can’t decide how they feel about each other. And, as the as the city transforms itself, and the bar’s legend grows, it all begins to unravel.

Yet something indefinable keeps drawing Robbie and El back together. Over the years that follow, one unexpected, ill-advised, and utterly glorious late night after another, can they put aside professional betrayals to build something brand new?

Your favourite authors have fallen in love with Nothing Good Happens After 2am…

 

‘Fans of Sarah Waters and Hilary Mantel will love this’ LAURA SHEPPERSON

‘Unsettling, claustrophobic and compelling’ KATE RIORDAN

‘Gripping frightening and wholly original’ JODIE MATTHEWS

‘A chillingly Gothic tale that is exquisitely written’ TOBI COVENTRY

The thrilling new historical mystery from the acclaimed, bestselling author of The Beholders.

Scotland, 1886. Lil, a keen archaeologist, has arrived at Pitcarden to lead a dig on a Bronze Age burial mound. Having escaped the clutches of her mother, a famous medium, and committed herself to a life of rational enquiry, she is determined to unearth the treasures buried deep, despite growing protests from the nearby villagers.

But Lil is also privately plagued by nightmares which haunt her sleep and by memories of her former life. Caught in a fight between science and superstition, Lil confides in a mysterious doctor who she hopes might cure her night terrors once and for all. But who exactly is this doctor that Lil has trusted with her most intimate fears? And what secrets from her past might she be digging up, along with a long-lost hoard?

From the bestselling author of The Beholders comes this unputdownable historical mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.

A dark mafia retelling of Snow White. Perfect for fans of H D Carlton, Emily McIntire and Penelope Douglas.

RED AS BLOOD

I never wanted to be part of his life. I am the law, and he is everything I’ve vowed against.

But every time I see him, I can’t help but imagine what I want him to do to me.

He has a reputation. A dark possessive side.

I know he’d hurt me. But maybe that’s what I want…

WHITE AS SNOW

I never wanted to hurt her. She should’ve known to stay away from me.

But there’s something about her innocence that I desire.

She’s everything my fiancée is not.

But my fiancée is a jealous woman. She’s also powerful.

I know where my loyalties should lie, but the taste of purity is too tempting. Just one drop and I promise, that’ll be enough…

 

Tropes:

• Age gap
• Best friend’s brother
• Slowburn
• Mafia
• Forbidden romance
• Possessive MMC

Meet Star the unicorn in this unique novelty shaped board book!

Star likes sparkling magic but does not like noisy dogs. Star likes tasty berries but does not like pouring rain. And Star LOVES rainbows!

Young ones will love spending time with Star the unicorn and friends in this colourful and sturdy board book, which is full of bright and dynamic illustrations and lots of fun details to spot.

A lyrical and personal account of Jim Crumley’s lifelong quest to find harmony in nature and to hold nature at the centre of his every thought and action as he celebrates our

A lyrical and personal account of Jim Crumley’s lifelong quest to find harmony in nature and to hold nature at the centre of his every thought and action as he celebrates our precious planet.

Renowned nature writer Jim Crumley draws on more than six decades of immersion in wild landscapes to explore the profound harmony at the heart of the natural world―and why it matters now more than ever.

With the lyrical clarity and passionate advocacy that have made him Scotland’s foremost nature commentator, Crumley weaves together close observation, personal encounters, and ecological insight to reveal nature as a vast, interconnected symphony. He argues that our survival depends on relearning how to listen to the land, to recognise our place within the great orchestration of life rather than apart from it. Through evocative prose built on his expertise and care, Crumley urges us to defend the beauty and balance of the living world, offering both a celebration and a clarion call.

Symphonic is a vital testament from a writer whose life’s work is a passionate defence and celebration of nature’s enduring―and endangered―harmony.

 

Giving them back their names is one thing; giving them justice is quite another.

A visit to Glasgow for a job interview in 1931 unexpectedly places Cuthbert at the centre of a devastating crime. Unwittingly, he finds himself working at the intersection between rising British fascism, anti-Semitism and the infamous Glasgow razor gangs. To solve the case, Cuthbert needs to rely on all the expertise he can gather from those around him. But who can he trust?