THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

None but the Dead is the thrilling eleventh book in Lin Anderson’s forensic crime series featuring Rhona MacLeod.

Sanday, one of Britain’s northernmost islands, inaccessible when the wind prevents the ferry crossing from the mainland, or fog grounds the tiny, island-hopping plane.

When human remains are discovered to the rear of an old primary school, forensic expert Dr Rhona MacLeod and her assistant arrive to excavate the grave. Approaching midwinter, they find daylight in short supply, the weather inhospitable and some of the island’s inhabitants less than co-operative. When the suspicious death of an old man in Glasgow appears to have links with the island, DS Michael McNab is dispatched to investigate. Desperately uncomfortable in such surroundings, he finds that none of the tools of detective work are there. No internet, no CCTV, and no police station.

As the weather closes in, the team – including criminal profiler and Orkney native Professor Magnus Pirie – are presented with a series of unexplained incidents, apparently linked to the discovery of thirteen magic flowers representing the souls of dead children who had attended the island school where the body was discovered. But how and in what circumstance did they die? And why are their long forgotten deaths significant to the current investigation?

As a major storm approaches, bringing gale-force winds and high seas, the islanders turn on one another, as past and present evil deeds collide, and long buried secrets break the surface, along with the exposed bones.

Follow Rhona MacLeod in more forensic thrillers with Follow the Dead, Sins of the Dead and Time for the Dead.

Paths of the Dead is the thrilling ninth book in Lin Anderson’s forensic crime series featuring Rhona MacLeod.

When Amy MacKenzie agrees to attend a meeting at a local spiritualist church, the last person she expects to hear calling to her from beyond the grave is her son. The son whom she’d only spoken to an hour before.

Then the body of a young man is found inside a Neolithic stone circle high above the city of Glasgow and forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is soon on the case. The hands have been severed and there is a stone in the victim’s mouth with the number five scratched on it. DI Michael McNab is certain it’s a gangland murder, but Rhona isn’t convinced.

When a second body is found in similar circumstances, a pattern begins to emerge, of a killer intent on masterminding a gruesome Druidic game that everyone will be forced to play . . .

Follow Rhona MacLeod in more forensic thrillers with The Special Dead, None but the Dead, Follow the Dead, Sins of the Dead and Time for the Dead.

Ever since the time of his early interpreters, beginning with David Hume, Adam Smith’s theory of value has been the subject of confusion and misunderstanding – including a controversy which still rages over whether Smith held a labour theory of value, and, if so, whether he held to it throughout Wealth of Nations, or if it was confined to the ‘Early and Rude State’?

This book provides a close reading of Smith’s key text, and also incorporates material from the other parts of Smith’s oeuvre, especially from The Theory of Moral Sentiments, to yield original and important insights into Smith’s theory of value. The book operates on the assumption that Smith is proposing relatively simple ideas about price and takes a conventional view that simple Supply and Demand models can illuminate, clearly and consistently with his text, his theory of price. Combining these elements, the book argues that, contra Marx, Smith does not have a labour theory of value at all, understood as a theory of the determination of the relative price structure. Instead, Smith is placed squarely in the supply and demand, general equilibrium framework and the claim that he is part of a ‘surplus tradition’, which receives its highest treatment in the work of Piero Sraffa, is refuted.

This book will be of particular interest to Adam Smith specialists, historians of economic thought, and research economists who have an interest in Smith.

Ever since the time of his early interpreters, beginning with David Hume, Adam Smith’s theory of value has been the subject of confusion and misunderstanding ? including a controversy which still rages over whether Smith held a labour theory of value, and, if so, whether he held to it throughout Wealth of Nations, or if it was confined to the ‘Early and Rude State’?This book provides a close reading of Smith’s key text, and also incorporates material from the other parts of Smith’s oeuvre, especially from The Theory of Moral Sentiments, to yield original and important insights into Smith’s theory of value. The book operates on the assumption that Smith is proposing relatively simple ideas about price and takes a conventional view that simple Supply and Demand models can illuminate, clearly and consistently with his text, his theory of price. Combining these elements, the book argues that, contra Marx, Smith does not have a labour theory of value at all, understood as a theory of the determination of the relative price structure. Instead, Smith is placed squarely in the supply and demand, general equilibrium framework and the claim that he is part of a ‘surplus tradition’, which receives its highest treatment in the work of Piero Sraffa, is refuted.

This book will be of particular interest to Adam Smith specialists, historians of economic thought, and research economists who have an interest in Smith.

A PhD student uncovers dark secrets in this ‘richly atmospheric and irresistibly readable’ (Joyce Carol Oates) Gothic mystery set in Scotland, Italy, and France. For fans of Donna Tartt and Elizabeth Kostova.

Fleeing a disastrous affair with a colleague, Isabel Henley leaves the US to begin a PhD in Scotland. There she reconnects with the charismatic scholar Rose Brewster, a former classmate, who becomes a much-needed friend. When Rose reveals she’s in trouble, Isabel decides to help her.

Then Rose vanishes.

At first it seems she has taken her own life, but then Isabel receives a coded message: Rose is alive but held captive by people who don’t want her to complete her research. Isabel realises she must finish it if she wants to save her friend’s life – and her own.

Isabel’s search takes her to Italy and France where she uncovers a chain of betrayal and treason lasting centuries. She must solve a 400-year-old mystery… or risk being claimed by it too.

For fans of The Cloisters, The Secret History and The Maidens, and combining epistolary elements, this is a gripping literary thriller set in the world of dark academia.

Reviews for The Bequest

‘A brilliant debut, as smart as it is compelling’ Tasha Alexander

‘A first rate mystery by a first time author. Intriguing plot and well drawn characters’ Martin Cruz Smith

The poetry of Helen Craik (1751-1825), Gothic novelist and friend of Robert Burns, was long thought lost. The rediscovery of her manuscript Poems of a Lady (1790), transcribed and annotated here for the first time, invites a fresh evaluation of her life and work. From short satires and verse-letters to longer dramatic monologues of psychological introspection, these thirty-nine poems offer an invaluable insight into her social circle in the Dumfries area and her wide literary interests, demonstrating the distinctive imagination later seen in Craik’s novels. The introduction discusses Craik’s biography and the major themes in her work, casting new light on why, two years after finishing these poems, she suddenly left home and family. With full notes on each poem’s background, and additional source material, this volume adds significantly to Craik scholarship and to the critical reassessment of poetry by Scottish women in the Romantic era.

Ann Cleeves Classic Crime – engaging mysteries to savour, beloved characters to meet again

Murder in Paradise is the third mystery novel featuring George and Molly Palmer-Jones by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope crime series.

Cheerful festivities take a dark turn when the groom’s sister slips and tumbles to the perilous rocks below . . .

Newlyweds Jim and Sarah are welcomed home from their honeymoon to the Scottish island of Kinness with a huge celebration, and the whole island is present to witness the bitter end. But did Jim’s younger sister Mary fall? Or was she pushed? George Palmer-Jones, retired birdwatcher and amateur detective, suspects the latter. But proving it will be difficult – no one wants to upset the balance of the island’s ancient relationships.

There are definitely secrets being hidden, and George, helped by Sarah, begin to piece together a tragic story he wishes he had never heard. Kinness is a paradise lost . . .

Graham Logie was brought up in Bruichladdich in the 1960s. This book tells how, as the Distillery Manager’s son, he saw village life, and the special access he had to the distillery.

The 1960s probably saw one of the biggest changes to island life when the constant stream of supplies provided by much-loved cargo boats, mailboats and puffers, was replaced by roll-on/roll-off ferries, virtually overnight. Many tales involve boats, lorries and the sea, and show how different a child’s upbringing was then, compared to today’s technological age.

Inspired one day, when asked what it was like to be brought up on a small island, Graham decided to record his thoughts and memories as they shouldn’t be lost to the island.

Many tales describe what he and his peers did in their childhood within the village, and periodically Graham digresses to explain how people, boats etc, turned up again later in his life.

Concluding the book by comparing life in a distillery in the 1960s, to life 35 years later when he returned to Islay in 2006, as a Distillery Manager himself (albeit on the ‘wrong’ side of the island); Graham has given a very personal account of island life through a boy’s eyes and his affection for Islay and Bruichladdich in particular are evident throughout.

Family always brings challenges and tribulations, but when there are 22 of you living in Picinisco, Italy, facing the repercussions of the Second World War, life spins in multiple directions.

As we are invited into Mamma Matilda’s household, we see the true conflict at heart. With another baby on the way, will the older siblings keep up the family responsibilities or follow their own dreams? With the growing issues surrounding Italian poverty, death and lack of opportunities, where will they turn to?

A fictional story inspired by a real gravestone marked ‘An Exemplary Mother of Nineteen Children’, this book documents not only the struggle of supporting a large family, but the harsh realities one must face when it comes to deciding to follow your own footsteps or continue down the path of tradition.

The Family will be of interest to any Scots-Italian readers, alongside fans of historical fiction. It was also provide a key title towards those who enjoy dramatic fiction.

This is a triumph. A love letter to the ghosts of Edinburgh. I feel its hand upon my shoulder. -Sara Sheridan

As a writer of fiction, I found myself itching to lift some of these characters from the page into the fertile fields of my own imagination. -Val McDermid

About the book

10 Scotland Street – the story of an Edinburgh home and its cast of booksellers, silk merchants, sailors, preachers, politicians, cholera and coincidence and its widespread connections over two centuries across the globe.

Following the first volume of Bill Hare’s exploration Scottish Artists, Scottish Artists in an Age of Radical Change, this new volume, Scottish Art and Artists in Historical and Contemporary Context will expand on the invaluable contribution to the cultural development of modern and contemporary Scotland.

Joan Eardley, Alan Davies, the Boyle Family, Ken Currie, Anthony Hatwell, Doug Crocker, Jack Knox, Lys Hansen, William Turnbull, Iain Robertson, Douglas Gordon and John Kennedy – are just some of the artists who Bill Hare explores in both their historical and contemporary contexts. From body politics to the Athenian way to Scottish artists in Venice, this book will reveal the importance and intellectual power this generation of Scottish artists have had over decades of time through a compilation of in-depth essays and interviews.

FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED

‘The finest Fergie book of them all’ – Tom English, BBC Sport

When Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2013 season he was the most successful football manager Britain had ever seen, having won twice as many trophies as his nearest rival. But that success had not come easily. Thirty-five years previously he had arrived at the rain-swept training ground at Aberdeen F.C. as the recently sacked manager of St Mirren. Already a divisive figure, this Alex Ferguson came with a reputation for trouble and a lot still to prove. Not for nothing, many thought he was a risky choice.

Fergie Rises returns to a time when Ferguson was lucky to get Aberdeen, not the other way around. It’s the story of an eight-year revolution that saw the Dons and their ambitious young manager knock the Old Firm off their perch, taste victory in Europe for the first time, and electrify Scottish football. When Ferguson finally left the club for Manchester United, in 1986, fans and rivals were unanimous in believing he had engineered one of the most astonishing upheavals in the game’s history.

The author also examines the personal tragedies Ferguson overcame – the deaths of his father and his mentor Jock Stein – and the rivalries, setbacks and triumphs that shaped a sporting genius.

‘A masterful retelling of how Ferguson was “made” at Aberdeen’ – Alan Pattullo, The Scotsman

‘Fascinating and original … will tell you things even the most ardent United fan will not know’ – Jim White, The TelegraphOn 26 May 1999, Manchester United sealed their historic Treble of league, FA Cup and Champions League in the most dramatic fashion imaginable, scoring twice in stoppage time to snatch an unthinkable victory from Bayern Munich at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.The story of what happened on the pitch is well known, enshrined in the annals of football history. But less in known about how this rollercoaster campaign played out behind the scenes. Thanks to unparalleled insight gleaned from hundreds of exclusive interviews, with United players, coaches, opponents, backroom personnel, club staff, journalists and commentators, They Always Score: The Unforgettable, Improbable, Iconic Story of Manchester United?s Treble Winners peels back the curtain to give readers the most comprehensive, illuminating and entertaining picture ever painted of one of the all-time great sports teams.

When Akuany and her brother are orphaned in a village raid, they’re taken in by a young merchant Yaseen who promises to care for them, a vow that tethers him to Akuany through their adulthood. As revolution begins to brew, led by the self-proclaimed Mahdi, Sudan begins to prise itself from Ottoman rule, and everyone must choose a side.

Yaseen feels beholden to stand against this false Mahdi, a decision that threatens to splinter his family. Meanwhile, Akuany moves through her young adulthood and across the country alone, sold and traded from house to house, with only Yaseen as her intermittent lifeline. Their struggle mirrors the increasingly bloody struggle for Sudan itself – for freedom, safety and the possibility of love.

River Spirit illuminates a fraught and bloody reckoning with the history of a people caught in the crosshairs of imperialism. This is a powerful tale of corruption, coming of age and unshakeable devotion – to a cause, to one’s faith and to the people who become family.

With a foreword by Alexander McCall Smith

‘That which is uncooked is destined to be cooked, if has been prepared with cooking in mind’ – The Enigma of Garlic

Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street novels are loved and enjoyed by readers throughout the world. In each book there are countless scenes involving conversations around the table, in the kitchen, or in a cafe – friendship and food go well together. With this delightful cookbook readers can immerse themselves in the world of Edinburgh’s New Town and recreate some of their favourite characters’ signature dishes: enjoy Bertie’s much-loved Panforte di Sienna, Angus Lordie’s famous cheese scones, or host your own Scotland Street supper.

Liz Lochhead is one of the leading poets writing in Britain today. Her debut collection, Memo for Spring (1972), was a landmark publication. Writing at a time when the landscape of Scottish poetry was male dominated, hers was a fresh, new voice, tackling subjects that resonated with readers – as it still does. Her poetry paved the way, and inspired, countless new voices including Ali Smith, Kathleen Jamie, Jackie Kay and Carol Ann Duffy.

Still writing and performing today, more than fifty years on from her first book of poetry, Liz Lochhead has been awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry and was Scotland’s second modern Makar, succeeding Edwin Morgan.

How far would you go to save yourself when the truth can’t set you free?

Scotland, 1589.

Besse Craw is a young mother whose husband has mysteriously vanished. And in a time when women were powerless, she is accused of witchcraft, abused by her employer, and destined to lose her daughter, her freedom and her life.

Set during the infamous North Berwick Witch Trials, that saw many persecuted, tortured and killed, Besse uncovers long-held secrets as she fights for justice and truth in a world of suspicion and lies.

In 1918 Lord Leverhulme bought the island of Lewis with ambitious plans to massively expand its fishing industry and increase its population.

In 1923, when his plans had failed, he offered it free of charge to the islanders in two parts. One part, which included impoverished rural areas, was economically unviable. But the other, based around the busy fishing port and administrative centre of Stornoway, was a different matter. In accepting Leverhulme’s offer, the hardheaded, churchgoing business class of Stornoway took on the responsibility of making the radical slogan ‘Land for the People’ a reality. It was an unlikely coupling, but it worked to perfection.

The 20th century was a tumultuous time for Lewis. Migration and depopulation were exacerbated by two world wars. Such problems could not be addressed in the lottery of private landownership, but in the stable, democratic government of the Stornoway Trust, town and country alike would weather the storms.Roger Hutchinson tells the story of those storms, and of the people who guided their pioneering estate into the relative security and prosperity of the 21st century. In doing so he paints a vivid portrait of a unique landholding experiment, of Highland land struggle and of the island of Lewis itself.

Doug Scott was a legend among mountaineers. His expeditions, undertaken over a period of five decades, are unparalleled achievements. This book describes the extraordinary drama of them all, from the Himalaya to New Zealand, Patagonia, Yosemite and Alaska. It includes his famous ‘epic’ on The Ogre, one of the hardest peaks in the world to climb, his ascent of Kangchenjunga without supplementary oxygen and his ascent, with Dougal Haston, of Everest in 1975.

Catherine Moorehead also uncovers the elusive man behind the obsessive mountaineer. From his rumbustious youth in Nottingham through two tempestuous marriages to a secure third marriage, she shows how Scott matured in thought and action as his formidable global reputation increased. In doing so she reveals him to be a clash of opposites, an infuriating monomaniac who took extraordinary risks yet who developed a deep interest in Buddhism and inspired widespread affection.

Scott spent almost as long as his climbing career in founding and developing Community Action Nepal, providing schools and health posts in remote parts of Nepal, where he is still much revered. Doug Scott died in 2020.

Reassesses Scottish textual practice in the context of the natural and post-natural landscapes

Covers a range of the relationships between landscape, literature, and culture

Explores the lived relationship between form, content, and consciousness

Provides a phenomenological study of the intertwining of self and world, subject and landscape

Landscape Poetics is an interdisciplinary study that seeks to place Scottish writers in relation to their landscape, by investigating how the self is entwined in place. By examinining the writing and practice of particular modern and contemporary authors in the light of environmental thought, the study explores their lived, organic connection to the landscape. Landscape Poetics presents an argument that the relationship between author and world is expressed through the language of vibrant and engaged experience. Shepherd, MacCaig, Jamie, Clark and Finlay are seen as reinventing the perception of the landscape by proposing that the subject is no longer involved in the act of objectification, but is instead an embodied self that enters place, perceiving it more fully.