Reviews
A crime thriller that ticks all the right boxes
Brooke Magnanti’s first stab at a crime thriller hits all the must-haves of the genre – secrets, lies… and dead bodies. Protagonist Erykah Macdonald had little to call her own growing up, but she turned things around and has a ‘nice’ life now – the kind of life you’re meant to want; pleasant house, good…
Read MoreGripping thriller will keep you glued into the night
Fans of the Inspector McLean crime novels will not be disappointed by this instalment, The Damage Done, with Oswald delivering another gritty page-turner that will keep you reading late into the night. When an Edinburgh Police vice squad raid goes embarrassingly awry, Inspector Tony McLean finds himself haunted by echoes of his first case. With…
Read MoreTrue events inspired this werewolf trial novel
Inspired by true events, The Wolf Trial is a historical epic telling the horrifying tale of a man whose crimes were thought so great, locals wanted to try him as a werewolf. Fictionalising the first documented case of a convicted serial killer, the Herald writer tells the story of Peter Stumpf, a 16th-century German landowner…
Read MoreA satirical look at what we value in modern culture
The Brilliant & Forever is an unusual novel draws the reader through its satirical looking glass into a recognisable but not-quite-familiar world. On a small island populated entirely by writers, the annual Brilliant and Forever Festival is a focal point in the calendar. Its stakes are glory or ignominy. Who will be chosen by the…
Read MoreFrom a lover of royalty to a French Revolution prisoner
One-time mistress of the Prince of Wales, who later became George IV, career courtesan Grace Dalrymple Elliott led a fascinating life. This major new biography, written by two Dalrymple Elliot enthusiasts who met online through their love of history, explores the life, loves and family of the celebrated personality who ended up as a prisoner…
Read MoreA mystery as a dead man returns full of life
The first in a new series from The Legend of Barney Thomson writer Douglas Lindsay, this chilling crime novel follows ex-spy turned detective Ben Westphall, who has retreated to the north of Scotland to live a quiet life. But the reawakening of a cold case quickly draws him into the sinister world of international organ…
Read MoreA complete guide to discovering the true Scotland
Scotland the Best is described as the ‘true insider’s guide to Scotland’. Author Peter Irvine has composed everything that a Scots traveller ought to know, from the best artisan cafes and restaurants to hidden gems, secret waterfalls and country walks. This is the perfect guide to Scotland for tourists planning a trip to the country…
Read MoreYour chance to add some colour to Scottish icons
Exploding onto the hobby and leisure scene recently, the popularity of adult colouring shows no sign of abating. Here, illustrator Laura Henderson, a graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, takes us on a colouring journey across Scotland. Covering the country’s most iconic subjects, from castles and stately homes to feats of engineering, myths and…
Read MoreLook to the skies in a striking art collection
Scott Naismith believes that the primary purpose of an artist is to encourage others to look at the world differently. This is something he certainly achieves with Scottish Skies, a striking collection of work which depicts the colourful, atmospheric and ever-changing skies over Scotland’s coastlines, lowlands, highlands and islands. With notes divulging the thought process…
Read MoreA nuclear-charged thriller set in the Highlands
Conspiracies surrounding illegal radioactive convoys heading for the nuclear plant at Dounreay in the Highlands leads to tense relations between Westminster and Holyrood, in Deadly Secrecy, by Andrew Scott. After the death of anti-nuclear activist Angus McBain, journalist Willie Morton investigates as suspicions rise that campaigner McBain’s death was no accident. Scott cleverly weaves this…
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