THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

When Jem and his family move to the countryside, he doesn’t like his new home one bit. It’s an old cottage on the side of a hill, where strange things keep happening: shoes are filled up with conkers, the stairs become tangled in a woollen maze. Jem’s sister Verity is certain it is the work of a “nouka”, an ancient creature from local folklore that lives deep down inside the hill. Jem, however, is adamant that there is no such thing.

But this small mythical creature, so attuned to the hearts and minds of others, does exist. And, what’s more, it is determined, through mischief and mayhem, to help Jem reignite the spark within himself once more.

As the Order of the Phoenix keeps watch over Harry Potter, troubled times have come to Hogwarts in a year filled with secrets, subterfuge and suspicion. The deliciously dark fifth instalment of Jim Kay’s inspired reimagining of J.K. Rowling’s classic series is an epic artistic achievement, featuring over 160 illustrations in an astonishing range of visual styles.

Now an exciting new collaboration brings together two virtuoso artistic talents, as Kate Greenaway Medal winner Jim Kay is joined by acclaimed guest illustrator Neil Packer, winner of the 2021 BolognaRagazzi Award for non-fiction. Prepare to be enchanted once again as Jim Kay depicts J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world with the dazzling artistic alchemy fans around the globe have come to know and love, perfectly complemented by Neil Packer’s own unique and eclectic illustrations, skilfully woven into the heart of the story.

This is a stunning visual feast of a book, filled with dark magical delights for both fans and new readers alike. Breathtaking scenes, iconic locations and unforgettable characters await inside – Luna Lovegood, Professor Umbridge, Grawp the giant, and many more – as Harry Potter and Dumbledore’s Army prepare for the coming battle against Lord Voldemort. Perfect for Potterheads of all ages!

Picture the Magic.

In this journey of self-discovery, Sam Heughan sets out along the West Highland Way to explore his heritage and reflect on the personal waypoints that define him. The result is a love letter to the wild Scottish landscape that means so much to Sam, and a charming, funny, wise and searching insight to the world through his eyes.

The walk itself is the backdrop for this narrative, which tells the story of Sam’s life while exploring his outlook, values and interests. Sam is a figure of fascinating contrasts, a Hollywood star with deep roots in rural Scotland, he’s both outgoing and content in his own company. He has strong connections with his fans while recognising the fragility and value of anonymity, and in My Peak Challenge he has created a network that brings people together as they chase individual goals. In his new book, while charting a path through a stunning wilderness, Sam maps out the moments that shaped his views on dreams and ambition, family, friendships, love and life.

In the midst of the woods stands a house called Lichen Hall.

This place is shrouded in folklore – old stories of ghosts, of witches, of a child who is not quite a child.

Now the woods are creeping closer, and something has been unleashed.

Pearl Gorham arrives in 1965, one of a string of young women sent to Lichen Hall to give birth. And she soon suspects the proprietors are hiding something.

Then she meets the mysterious mother and young boy who live in the grounds – and together they begin to unpick the secrets of this place.

As the truth comes to the surface and the darkness moves in, Pearl must rethink everything she knew – and risk what she holds most dear.

John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. Although it’s not the first time the legendary detective has taken the law into his own hands, it might be the last.

What drove a good man to cross the line? Or have times changed, and the rules with them?

Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke faces Edinburgh’s most explosive case in years, as a corrupt cop goes missing after claiming to harbour secrets that could sink the city’s police force.

But in this investigation, it seems all roads lead to Rebus – and Clarke’s twin loyalties to the public and the police will be tested to their limit.

A reckoning is coming – and John Rebus may be hearing the call for last orders…

In Catching Fire, the translation of Diamela Eltit’s Never Did the Fire unfolds in real time as a conversation between works of art, illuminating both in the process. The problems and pleasures of conveying literature into another language—what happens when you meet a pun? a double entendre?—are met by translator Daniel Hahn’s humour, deftness, and deep appreciation for what sets Eltit’s work apart, and his evolving understanding of what this particular novel is trying to do.

Walking the Antonine Wall charts a voyage on foot along one of Scotland’s most fascinating ancient monuments, a 38-mile rampart constructed in the second century AD by the Romans to mark what would briefly become the northernmost limit of their vast empire. It is a personal account of historian Dr Alan Montgomery’s encounters with the enigmatic remains of this Roman frontier which have inspired myths and legends and intrigued and baffled generations of chroniclers, antiquarians and archaeologists. Leading through wild open spaces and along city streets, past curiosities man-made and natural, ancient and modern, it records a journey across central Scotland and through 2,000 years of captivating Scottish history.

Supper is a show-stopping collection of Flora Shedden’s best-loved recipes for transforming the often-mundane dining-in experience into something worth staying in for.

For a super-easy mid-week dinner, why not try Ginger Noodles with Chili Oil, ready in just 30 minutes? Or for a wonderfully romantic Friday night feast for two, serve up her Spiced Lamb with Lemony Hummus. Or for a suitably sweet ending, Flora’s Brown Sugar Cheesecake is sure to be a hit.

Featuring over 100 delicious and doable recipes, alongside sample menu suggestions, drink ideas and guidance on how to make the most of your leftovers, this book will show home cooks how to elevate even the most ordinary dinners at home, into something joyful and celebratory.

Unthinkable: A Queer Gothic Anthology collects eighteen original Gothic tales primed to unsettle and entertain.

From a Southern Gothic tale of destruction and revenge, to haunted houses and cursed lovers, to an eco-Gothic saga, Unthinkable’s tales present undying themes of love and tragedy, life and death, all suffused with queerness.

Following on from the success of its predecessor Unspeakable: A Queer Gothic Anthology, Unthinkable features stories from a fresh batch of authors, showcasing the depth and breadth of queer Gothic literature.

Edited by Celine Frohn and featuring an introduction by S.T. Gibson, Unthinkable promises to haunt the reader long after the final page has been turned.

For the first time, a bilingual anthology of the poems and songs of the Gaelic poet Murdo MacFarlane from Lewis, the Melbost Bàrd, is available in one volume. In addition to his verse, which covers war, emigration, heritage, language and philosophy, a selection of MacFarlane’s other writings, in Gaelic and in English, is included. A CD featuring MacFarlane singing a selection of his Gaelic songs serves as a portal to the unique voice of the bàrd. The collection cements his standing as a celebrated Gaelic tradition bearer and language activist of the twentieth century and is a unique and valuable contribution to Gaelic literature.

Scotland’s Transnational Heritage draws on the expertise of academics, museum professionals and creative practitioners working together to re-think the way that the transnational histories of Scotland are being told today. The contributors emphasise Scotland’s role in networks of colonialism and outline new historical examples of how Scottish trades and institutions benefited from empire and slavery, providing examples of contemporary case studies and innovative practices in storytelling that engage and inform. The book will inspire heritage and museum staff and academics to create new approaches to these histories, both in Scotland and beyond. Within the current context of calls to decolonise both the museum and the academy, this is a timely snapshot of the exciting and diverse work taking place in the field in Scotland today.

The Banes o the Turas is a poetical translation (not a direct translation rather a poetical engagement) of Turas Viaggio, a book of poetry by Italian poet, scholar of folk traditions, composer and musician Pino Mereu. Pino’s poetry serves as an important cultural and historic connection with Hamish Henderson, portraying their close relations, Pino’s visits to Scotland, in particular to Blairgowrie, his meetings with Sheila Stewart (traditional storyteller, singer and writer), and Margaret Bennet (writer, folklorist, broadcaster and singer). His work deserves to be better known by a wider audience beyond its original Italian-speaking one, and it is entirely appropriate and in keeping with the traditions that Hamish Henderson championed, and indeed which Pino Mereu continues to champion, to have a poetical translation in Scots of Pino’s work.

Glasgow. 2007. Emo culture is thriving, but fifteen-year-old Cathy O’Kelly’s world couldn’t be more insular. It’s her first day at high school. Bullied out of primary, she’s got a new start after two years being taught at home by her Mammy. She’s dreaming of getting the marks she needs to be a proper Scots writer and avoiding getting on the wrong side of the neds. Again.

But her bully doesn’t wear a tracksuit. Mark’s a third year in an oversized hoodie and Converse. A poet. Or so he wants to be. When he learns of Cathy’s dream, he’s makes it his mission to tear it down ― and win her admiration.

Will a chance encounter with a punk band at Glasgow’s seminal underage club save her? Or will a different kind of bully push Cathy further into herself?

Based on a true story, Orpheus Builds a Girl is a novel of sisterly love, sinister obsession, and the battle for control of the story. A dark, chilling debut novel from award-winning writer Heather Parry. German doctor Wilhelm Von Tore shares with the reader the story of his one true love; a love written in the stars, decades in the making, a love so strong it transcended death itself. When Wilhelm emigrates to America he carries with him a vision of a dark-haired beauty, presented to him in his dreams by his beloved late Grandmother. In Key West, Florida, a beautiful young woman is taken to him in the grip of illness, and he recognises her immediately as his promised bride. Despite his efforts, the sickness takes hold and his beloved slips away from him. But Wilhelm will not be kept from his destiny, not even by death. Using research compiled over decades, he sets about attempting to restore his love to her body, so that they might be together forever. But there’s another voice in this story: Gabriela, and she will not let this version of events go unchallenged. From between the cracks in Wilhelm’s story Gabriela recounts her own memory of her sister Luciana, a fiery and difficult young woman, and the madman who robbed her from her grave.

Set in the 19th century, the novel follows the roller-coaster fortunes of a man as he tries to negotiate the random stages, adventures and vicissitudes of his life. He is variously a soldier, a lover, a husband, a father, a friend of famous poets, a writer, a bankrupt, a jailbird, a farmer, an African explorer – and many other manifestations – before, finally, he becomes a minor diplomat, a consul based in Trieste (then in Austria-Hungary) where he thinks he will see out the end of his days in well-deserved tranquillity. This will not come to pass…

The author of Any Human Heart guides readers expertly through the richly imagined life of a fictional nineteenth century figure, tracing his passage from adventurer and bankrupt to African explorer and minor diplomat in perfectly crafted, immersive prose.

From the author of the prize-winning As the Women Lay Dreaming comes a remarkable ‘unreliable biography’ of Karl Kjerúlf Einarsson: an artist and an adventurer, a charlatan and a swindler, forever in search of Atlantis.

As a child in the windswept, fog-bound Faroe Islands in the late nineteenth century, Karl Einarsson believes he is special, destined for a life of art and adventure. As soon as he can, he sets out for Copenhagen and beyond, styling himself as the Count of St. Kilda. He’s an observer and citizen of nowhere, a serial swindler of aristocrats and Nazis, fishermen and fops.

But when his adventures find him in 1930s Berlin, he is forced for the first time to reckon with something much bigger than himself. As the Nazis rise to power around him, his wilful ignorance becomes unwitting complicity, even betrayal.

Based on a true story, this is a fantastical tale of island life, of those who leave and those who stay behind, and the many dangers of delusions and false identities.

Footsteps in the Snow recounts a life shaped and dominated by Antarctica, a multi-facetted account of a life dedicated to Antarctic science, policy and governance. It is also the story of growth from callow youth to Antarctic professional in the most challenging of environments.Joining the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) straight from university in 1966 meant two years as a scientist at an isolated British research station with all the challenges of wintering in the hostile environment half a century ago. After just two years he became one of the youngest men to be made a base commander, and as Sir Vivian Fuchs (then Director of BAS) recounts ‘proved himself one of the best we ever had under the most testing conditions’. The story recounts the many challenges of those testing conditions, while developing scientific ideas and accomplishing engineering feats with his team and on occasion looking death in the face and surviving. There were new developments in building research stations on the ice shelf, and the discovery of the ozone hole that gripped the world.Then followed the transition from research scientist to policy maker and diplomat when he became Deputy Director of BAS and advisor to the British delegation at the Antarctic Treaty. Tragedy struck at a base resulting in the author leading the first ever British midwinter flight into Antarctica.Since retiral, the author has become a polar historian “of repute”, and his efforts have been directed to writing and being a guide for Antarctic tourism. This book allows the reader to feel the wonder, awe, excitement and passion for Antarctica which drove John Dudeney throughout his career, and which is as fresh today as it was on first encounter half a century ago.

A macabre massacre of a wealthy family brings DCI Christine Caplan to the Highlands in her first thriller in a new series!In the small Highland village of Cronchie, a wealthy family are found brutally murdered in a satanic ritual and their heirloom, ‘the devil stone’, is the only thing stolen. The key suspects are known satanists – case closed? But when the investigating officer disappears after leaving the crime scene, DCI Christine Caplan is pulled in to investigate from Glasgow in a case that could restore her reputation.Caplan knows she is being punished for a minor misdemeanour when she is seconded to the Highlands, but ever the professional, she’s confident she can quickly solve the murders, and return home to her fractious family. But experience soon tells her that this is no open and shut case.She suspects the murder scene was staged, and with the youngest heir to the family missing, there is something more at play than a mythical devil stone. As she closes in on the truth, it is suddenly her life, not her reputation that is danger! Will Caplan’s first Highland murder case be her last?

In this darkly funny mystery Lexy Campbell’s first love turns up dead at the Last Ditch Motel on Thanksgiving . . . and she becomes the prime suspect!A mysterious object the size of a suitcase, all wrapped in bacon and smelling of syrup, can mean only one thing: Thanksgiving at the Last Ditch Motel. This year the motel residents are in extra-celebratory mood as the holiday brings a new arrival to the group – a bouncing baby girl.But as one life enters the Ditch, another leaves it. Menzies Lassiter has only just checked in. When resident counsellor Lexy Campbell tries to deliver his breakfast the next day, she finds him checked out. Permanently. Shocking enough if he was a stranger, but Lexy recognises that face. Menzies was her first love until he broke her heart many years ago.What’s he doing at the Last Ditch? What’s he doing dead? And how can Lexy escape the fact that she alone had the means, the opportunity – and certainly the motive – to kill him?