The Stillman is a novel packed with dark humour

The Stillman is Tom McCulloch’s first novel and the characterisation of protagonist Jim Drever surely draws on the author’s upbringing in the Highlands. We’re in 2010, the worst winter in years, and Jim, stillman at a Highland distillery, has just turned 50. His obsessions are his comfortingly predictable job, and the movies, full of fictional…

Read More

A gripping mystery full of historical facts

Original Death is the third book in Eliot Pattison’s colonial mystery series – following on from Bone Rattler and Eye Of The Raven. It sees exiled Scottish clan chief Duncan McCallum attempting to solve the murder of an entire village of Native Americans during the pre-revolutionary era. Pattison’s writing incorporates historical fact and is all…

Read More

The perfect companion for salmon fishing lovers

Salmon Flies: Past and Present is a fascinating guide for salmon fishing enthusiasts. It contains detailed dressings for 28 flies, including fully dressed flies, hairwings, Spey flies and shrimp patterns. As well as instructions on how to create these beautiful flies, the author has included possible alternatives to any hard to find, illegal or expensive…

Read More

A fascinating look at Scotland’s eagles

Jim Crumley has been described as ‘the best nature writer working in Britain today,’ and this work on the return to Scotland of the magnificent white-tailed eagle – or sea eagle – certainly proves that point. Crumley’s beautiful, descriptive prose paints a magnificent picture of these most graceful and majestic creatures. Crumley has spent years…

Read More

The ‘forgotten’ daughter of Sir William Burrell

The Burrell Collection reopens next year, and houses over 8,000 objects in the south side of Glasgow. Collected by shipping magnate Sir William Burrell and his wife, Constance, this treasure trove was bequeathed to the city in 1944. The Burrells were a very private couple and many assumed that the collection had been left to…

Read More

Lost opportunities and a touching human story

From the very first page of this poetic novel, the reader can witness the story shimmer into life. Writing simultaneously in Gaelic and English, Campbell evokes the haunting beauty of the Western Highlands in this romantic tale of chance encounters and missed moments. When the narrator passes a girl on the staircase of a ferryboat,…

Read More

A refreshing fictional take on Robert the Bruce

This hefty novel gives voice to the five sisters of Robert the Bruce, highlighting the challenges they faced as sisters of Scotland’s great hero. It is certainly refreshing to hear the female voice within history’s discourse of wars and battles that is so often dominated by men. The story begins with Isa, the eldest sister…

Read More

A fascinating look into how the wealthy used to live

Country House Cameras is a stunning glimpse into how the other half used to live. This collection of photographs taken at some of Britain’s grandest houses provides a fascinating insight into the advent of family photography. With a Preface by Michael Pritchard, Director-General of the Royal Photographic Society, this includes previously unpublished photographs from the…

Read More

An uplifting warming read – perfect for autumn nights

Libby Page, the best selling author of The Lido and The 24 Hour Cafe brings us her third novel, The Island Home. Keeping with her theme of community, it follows the characters Lorna and Alice, who both have a unique but powerful connection to the unnamed island. This is a tale full of secrets, friendship…

Read More

When vampires came to Scotland in a great read

I have always been a fan of the vampire genre, but this is a first for me. This tale of blood sucking horror set in the Highlands of Scotland. Mark Campbell, historian and author, is desperate to finish his new book on the infamous Highland Clearances when his researcher mysteriously disappears. Abandoning his depressed wife…

Read More