Live crime fiction festival returned to Scotland

The sixth outing of Granite Noir, Aberdeen’s International Crime Writing Festival, came to a close last night. Organisers were delighted with the success of the Festival, which returned to Aberdeen with a packed programme of sold‐out, live, in‐person events, workshops and performances. Granite Noir enjoyed an attendance of almost 7,000 together with an additional 3,000…

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A mystery with a hint of some Gothic romance

Author Gillian Galbraith is one of the gems of Tartan Noir. As a writer, her Alice Rice mystery series has been crtically acclaimed, and, during the first lockdown in 2020, her library eBook borrowings outstripped Hilary Mantel, Michelle Obama and Sally Rooney – in the top ten, the first novel in the series Blood in…

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The story of the man who hunted Nessie

The Man Who Filmed Nessie is as much the story of the Dinsdale family as it is a history of the legend of a monster in the waters of Loch Ness. The author’s father was Tim Dinsdale, an aeronautical engineer who, over the space of 27 years, undertook 57 expeditions in search of Nessie. Whether…

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A cookbook with Scottish-Italian heart

Carini Contini was born in Edinburgh. Her parents were Scottish and Italian. With her husband Victor, she currently runs two successful restaurants in the capital and lives and breathes food. This book is a cookbook and much more. It is the story of a family of foodies and the creation of the Contini’s kitchen garden…

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A trip doon the watter that may float your boat

The west of Scotland sense of humour is a creature in its own right. And if you’re a fan of the likes of Tony Roper and Dorothy Paul, the Kerryoans up the Clyde! is definitely the book for you. This book, illustrated by Bob Dewar, recounts the adventures of a vessel full of character with…

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A magical collection of 36 short stories

The garden is an oasis, a pocket of nature in our busy modern lives, full of plants, animals, insects – and a fair bit of magic. And it’s somewhere that, just behind that rock, or underneath a flower, there could be something magical or mystical: a fairy, an elf or a talking bee. Folk Tales…

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Why Scottish style is an international trendsetter

As a nation, Scotland has had an impeccable sense of haute couture through the ages. How Scotland Dressed The World is author Lynne Coleman’s love letter to the nation that gives us the blueprint for international style, as she explores the country’s rich cultural impact on the modern world. Lynne knows her stuff, as an…

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A gripping read will chill you to the bones

Just five pages in, writer Helen Grant’s prose sets the heart racing. She depicts a claustrophobic’s worst nightmare, fromwhich point the reader is constantly on edge. Protagonist Fen Munro has moved to erthshire with her fiancé to escape London’s rat-race, only to find they are being watched by a figure dressed in lavender. Barr Dubh,…

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The deserted streets of pandemic Edinburgh

The hour of exercise granted to us at the height of the pandemic was food for the soul. It inspired many things – not least this beautiful book, dedicated to Montgomery’s father, George. Taking to the capital’s deserted city streets, this is an amalgamation of eerie photographs, capturing everything from the iconic Dean Bridge to…

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An exposive thriller that’s close to the bone

You just know when a book has been penned by a knowledgeable hand. Simon Conway’s own experiences as a former British Army officer (clearing landmines and successfully campaigning to achieve an international ban on cluster bombs) ooze from these pages. The conviction with which he writes of terrorism is bonechilling. MI6 are on a mission…

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