Thicker Than Water by Ken Lussey (15 September 2024). (Amazon paid link.)
A compelling murder mystery set in northern Scotland. Callum Anderson and Jenny Mackay are spending Hogmanay at Sarclet Castle in Caithness
when they are asked to investigate the brutal murder of a young woman at nearby Sarclet Broch in 1943, a woman whose ghost is believed to haunt
the castle. What seems the coldest of cold cases is not the first murder of a young woman at the broch. Nor is it the last.
On the day that Callum and Jenny arrive, there is a third fatal stabbing there.
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The Highlands and Islands of Scotland: A New History by Alistair Moffat (6 June 2024). (Amazon paid link.)
From dramatic geological events that formed the awe-inspiring yet beloved landscapes, via hunter gatherers and the monumental achievements
of prehistoric peoples in places like Skara Brae in Orkney. The story continues with the mysterious Picts; the arrival of the Romans; the
coming of Christianity and the Gaelic language from Ireland; the Viking invasion and the establishment of the great Lordship of the Isles
and on to Jacobites, Clearances and more recent history.
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Not the End of the World by Talya Baldwin (4 July 2024). (Amazon paid link.)
This is a true story about a real place. A place hidden behind the waves. The Vikings saw it in their dreams, and sometimes sea birds call its name.
It’s a dot on a map. The blink of an eye. The beat of a wing. Storms and songs and stickleback stop by on their travels. This is St Kilda. A tiny
group of islands; an archipelago: Hirta, Boreray, Soay, Dùn. They call them The Islands at the End of the World. Come on an adventure, far away
across the sea to the mysterious St Kilda to discover its story.
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The Final Frontier: Scotland's Early Roman Landscape by Andrew Tibbs (15 February 2024). (Amazon paid link.)
In this revealing book, Roman historian and archaeologist Andrew Tibbs uncovers the earliest Roman fortifications in Scotland and
examines the landscape and context in which they were built. Although the most visible high-water marks of the Roman Empire in Britain
are Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall, less is known about the fortifications which marked the early Roman forays into Scotland
before the Romans decided that the land was ungovernable.
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The Days of Our Birth by Charlie Laidlaw (27 June 2024). (Amazon paid link.)
A book that delves into the intricate bond between Peter and Sarah as they navigate their formative years. Spanning from
their sixth birthday through two decades, the narrative unfolds against the backdrop of Sarah’s placement on the autism
spectrum. With a blend of humour and poignancy, the book intricately weaves together themes of love and friendship, unravelling
the tale of two individuals who grapple with their emotions for each other, even though they remain
unacknowledged.
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The Eye of Horus by Ken Lussey (18 June 2024).
An atmospheric World War Two thriller with settings that move from the Highlands of Scotland via Gibraltar to Malta. It's June
1943. Bob and Monique Sutherland are on honeymoon in Kyle of Lochalsh when an unexpected visitor arrives to spoil their idyll.
They agree to travel to Malta to search for two missing men, a young naval lieutenant and an MI6 officer who has disappeared
while looking for him. The aerial siege of the island is over and the tide of war has turned but, after three years of bombing,
Malta remains a shattered place.
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The Last Sunset in the West: Britain's Vanishing West Coast Orcas by Natalie Sanders (4 July 2024). (Amazon paid link.)
Fully revised edition with updated information. In 2014, marine biologist Dr Natalie Sanders joined the crew of the research vessel Silurian
to seek out Britain’s West Coast Community of orca and study them before we lose them forever. Though this orca pod has delighted scientists
and whale watchers for years, we still know relatively little about them, and what we do know comes mostly from citizen science and chance
encounters.
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Salt: Scotland’s Newest Oldest Industry by Christopher Whatley & Joanna Hambly (14 September 2023). (Amazon paid link.)
Sea-salt manufacturing is one of Scotland’s oldest industries, dating to the eleventh century if not earlier. Panhouses were once a common sight
along our coastline and are reflected in many placenames. This book celebrates both the history and the rebirth of the salt industry in Scotland.
Although salt manufacturing declined in the nineteenth century, in the second decade of the twenty-first century the
trade was revived.
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The Eagle and the Bear: A New History of Roman Scotland by John Reid (6 April 2023). (Amazon paid link.)
For over three centuries, the inhabitants of North Britain faced the might of Rome, resulting in some of the most extraordinary archaeology
of the ancient world. This book explores the interaction between the world’s first superpower and the peoples who would ultimately form the
country we now call Scotland and shows what it was like to be at the dark heart of imperialism and slavery, and to be on the receiving end
of Rome’s merciless killing machine.
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The Bone Cave: A Journey through Myth and Memory by Dougie Strang (5 October 2023). (Amazon paid link.)
A vivid account of a month-long journey in the Scottish Highlands. Walking and occasionally hitching, Dougie Strang follows a series of folktales
to the locations in which they’re set, encountering along the way a depth of meaning to them that allows him to engage with the landscape from
a different perspective – one where the distinction between history and legend is supple, and where his own
narrative becomes entangled with figures both real and mythic.
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The Hollow Mountain by Douglas Skelton (2 May 2024). (Amazon paid link.)
The Tunnel Tigers were an elite group of construction workers who specialised in blasting tunnels through mountains and under rivers,
in dangerous conditions few men could endure. Alice Larkin, the headstrong daughter of a millionaire and former news reporter, claims
her lover, a Tunnel Tiger, died in mysterious circumstances many years ago, and she wants journalist Rebecca Connolly to investigate.
Intrigued, Rebecca throws herself into investigating the story, but she soon comes face to face with an old adversary.
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Kilmarnock is the largest town in Ayrshire. Lost Kilmarnock by Frank Beattie (15 July 2024). (Amazon paid link.)
Lost Kilmarnock presents a portrait of this town in Ayrshire over the last century to recent decades that has radically changed or
disappeared today, showing not only industries and buildings that have gone but also people and street scenes, many popular places of
entertainment and much more. This fascinating photographic history of lost Kilmarnock will appeal to all those who live in the area or
know it well, as well as those who remember it from previous decades.
Read our full review.
Tipsy Lairds and Rumbledethumps: Scotland's Food and Drink by Gilly Pickup (15 June 2024). (Amazon paid link.)
A look at the foodstuffs, dishes and drinks that characterise Scotland picking out the many interesting stories that contribute to this
country’s food and drink narrative. Scotland has a diverse culinary heritage, each different area and region boasting its own local produce
and traditions, and today its food and drink businesses important to the Scottish economy. This bookwill appeal to all those who are interested
in the history of Scotland and its food and drink heritage.
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Eyes Turned Skywards by Ken Lussey (12 August 2024). (Amazon paid link.)
Wing Commander Robert Sutherland has left his days as a pre-war detective far behind him. Or so he thinks. On 25 August 1942 the Duke of Kent, brother
of King George VI, is killed in northern Scotland in an unexplained air crash; a second crash soon after suggests a shared, possibly sinister, cause.
Bob Sutherland is tasked with visiting the aircraft's base in Oban and the first crash site in Caithness to gather clues as to who might have had reason
to sabotage one, or both, of the aircraft.
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The Danger of Life by Ken Lussey (12 August 2024). (Amazon paid link.)
It’s October 1942. Group Captain Robert Sutherland's first week in charge of Military Intelligence 11's operations in Scotland is not going smoothly.
An investigation into a murder at the Commando Basic Training Centre in the Highlands take an even darker turn that draws Bob in personally. He is also trying
to discover who was behind an attempt to steal an advanced reconnaissance aircraft; and then Monique Dubois in MI5 asks for his help with an operation
of hers in Glasgow that has gone badly wrong.
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Kayaking the Sea Roads: Exploring the Scottish Highlands by Ed Ley-Wilson (29 September 2023). (Amazon paid link.)
Kayaking the Sea Roads is a personal journey by sea kayak into the heart of the sea roads that make up our Scottish Highlands and islands.
Blending the intensity of the journey with a careful observation of the natural world and first-hand knowledge of the challenges of
living and working in this place, the author reminds us that mother nature, vast and resilient, is still out there beyond our mobile
phones and urban lives.
Read our full review.