I’ve always been a keen reader of crime fiction. A huge fan of both Agatha Christie and PD James in the Golden age of English crime fiction. I love American mystery writers too and have attended Bouchercon in New Orleans. Just after Driftnet was published and the Dr. Rhona MacLeod series launched, I was visiting a Crime Writers’ Association conference in Lincoln with my friend and fellow crime writer Alex Gray. That’s where the idea for a weekend promoting Scottish Crime writing began. When we launched it ten years ago, Ian Rankin said, "Scandinavia doesn’t have better crime writers than Scotland, it has better PR." That’s what we set out to change.
Ian is probably the most famous of all Tartan Noir writers. In fact the term Tartan Noir was coined when Ian met James Ellroy at a crime fiction event in Nottingham many years ago. Ian explained that he too was a crime writer and wrote about Edinburgh and the darker side of Scottish life. He said, you could call it Tartan Noir. Ellroy laughed and signed the book 'To the king of Tartan Noir'.
Black and Blue was Ian’s breakthrough novel and when you read it you can see why. Dark and compelling and complex, with perhaps greater depth than the ones that came before, this was my introduction to Rebus and remains a favourite still.
For anyone about to enter the world of Ian Rankin’s Rebus, Black and Blue is the ideal way in, with plenty more in store.
Special edition of the award-winning Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES - includes exclusive extra material.
'Britain's best crime novelist' DAILY EXPRESS
'Ian Rankin is a genius' Lee Child
In the 1960s, the infamous Bible John terrorised Scotland when he murdered three women, taking three souvenirs. Thirty years later, a copycat is at work, dubbed Johnny Bible.
DI John Rebus's unconventional methods have got him in trouble before - now he's taken away from the inquiry and sent to investigate the killing of an off-duty oilman. But when his case clashes head-on…
I’m passionate about dogs. Besides being a novelist, I write and blog about dogs for a living. Save a few grief-filled months here and there, there’s never been a time in my life when I didn’t have at least one dog, each one just as special and beloved as the last. My current special beloved is a German shepherd named Dixie, a big, goofy girl who loves belly rubs and tug-of-war almost as much as food and cuddles. Dogs also make the stakes feel higher when there’s an element of danger involved. Sure, go ahead, kill off the main character. Just don’t harm the dog and everything will be fine.
The fourth book of the series that spawned the hit TV show Outlander is notable for a number of things, not the least of which is the debut of Rollo, a wolf/Irish wolfhound hybrid who’s won in a game of dice by the Frazers’ nephew, Ian Murray.
Quickly becoming Ian’s shadow, Rollo goes on to be a constant presence throughout the series, sometimes intimidating, sometimes exasperating, and often comforting to those under his watch.
Rollo is a very good dog and a definite highlight of this dramatic series that’s a wild mash-up of historical and science fiction.
THE FOURTH NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING OUTLANDER SERIES.
How far will a woman travel to find a father, a lover a destiny? Across seas, across time - across the grave itself.
It began in Scotland, at an ancient stone circle. Claire Randall was swept through time into the arms of James Fraser whose love for her became legend - a tale of tragic passion that ended with her return to the present to bear his child. Two decades later, Claire travelled back again to reunite with Jamie, this time in frontier America. But Claire had left someone behind in her…
This book, by one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century, offers a personal insight into understanding and appreciating the vastness of the Cosmos. It’s a book that spans so much and paints the most accurate picture I’ve read of how we might fit into the Universe.
“Ann Druyan has unearthed a treasure. It is a treasure of reason, compassion, and scientific awe. It should be the next book you read.” —Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith
“A stunningly valuable legacy left to all of us by a great human being. I miss him so.” —Kurt Vonnegut
Carl Sagan's prophetic vision of the tragic resurgence of fundamentalism and the hope-filled potential of the next great development in human spirituality
The late great astronomer and astrophysicist describes his personal search to understand the nature of the sacred in the vastness of the cosmos. Exhibiting a breadth…
At twelve, my favorite thing to read were the tattered, dog-eared Ellery Queen, or Alfred Hitchcock Mystery magazines my aunt let me borrow. From there I read every Agatha Christie novel available, and so began a lifetime of reading British authors. I love suspense these days, and of course, every British detective series I can find to stream. To research my books I’ve traveled to Britain, and have visited with my cousins, my family never lost touch with, in Scotland and in Yorkshire. You’ve heard “write what you know”. I love to write what I love. That’s why I wrote Deadly Thyme set in Cornwall, England.
In A Litter of Bones, DCI Logan is sent to investigate a child’s disappearance and is suddenly thrown back to a previous case of a child disappearance and death he was involved in solving. The killer called Mr. Whispers is in prison, so why are children disappearing in the same manner as when he was out? Logan is perplexed. Can his small band of misfit detectives with Police Scotland handle the case? I haven’t read a suspenseful book that made me laugh out loud, and then cry a few pages later like this. The funny Scottish words, the author throws in occasionally like a wee delicious tidbit, were enough to set me laughing, too.
The series continues and still makes me laugh, while unable to turn pages fast enough to find out what happens next. Really, if you want a laugh while reading incredible suspense, you’re going to want…
A missing child. A tormented detective. A ticking clock.
Ten years ago, DCI Jack Logan stopped the serial child-killer dubbed 'Mister Whisper, ' earning himself a commendation, a drinking problem, and a broken marriage in the process.
Now, he spends his days working in Glasgow's Major Investigations Team, and his nights reliving the horrors of what he saw.
And what he did.
When another child disappears a hundred miles north in the Highlands, Jack is sent to lead the investigation and bring the boy home.
But as similarities between the two cases grow, could it be that Jack caught the…
Historical romance author Emmanuelle lives on the bonny banks of Loch Fyne with her husband and beloved haggis pudding Archie McFloof—connoisseur of bacon treats and squeaky toys. She’ll never tire of dreaming up handsome and mysterious strangers she’d love to be snowed in with.
Another gorgeous ‘second chance’ romance, also set in the wilds of Scotland. Here, both the hero and heroine believe themselves abandoned by the other, so there are huge walls to be overcome when fate throws them together once more. Caught out in a blizzard, Lady Leventon is rescued by our hero, waking to find him rubbing her frozen toes! With no choice but to remain under his roof, it’s not long before their passion revives… but can past hurts be forgiven?
A shunned lady determined to keep her secrets. A newly minted earl looking for a fresh start. A love gone wrong gains a second chance.
A shunned lady determined to keep her secrets. Lady Leventon had been shunned to the Scottish wilds of Badenoch for a reason. But she never thought it would be the death of her. That is until her maid and only friend in the world falls deathly ill just days before Christmastide and Karta is determined to make it through a snowstorm for help. She didn’t think it would cost her her life, but as her…
Primarily I’m a wife and mother, who loves holidays and writing about our experiences: from the many family holidays in a static caravan 90 minutes’ drive from our hometown in Scotland to the wonderful opportunities we’ve had to travel the world since, including through my work as a lecturer (when the family came too for a holiday while I worked!) or with friends. I like reading other authors’ personal experiences especially when I’m drawn into feeling I’m with the author during the travels, experiencing what’s not always included in travel guidebooks: the not-so-good as well as the good, the challenging as well as the amazing.
This third book written by the country doctor recounts tales from his working experience not only in the sleepy harbor town setting in Wigtonshire, Scotland but during his travels around the world.
I was astounded by the situations he found himself in: murders, near mayhem, a flying and sailing ‘Good Samaritan’ and mixed up in undercover police operations. Certainly not what I expected.
I loved reading the conversational, light style of writing which introduced me to entertaining characters I felt I’d got to know and would happily have learned more about. It is a light read, not full of medical jargon, and left me in feeling good when I finished reading.
The third book in the Seaside Practice Trilogy which started with A Seaside Practice and continued with Going Loco, we follow the further adventures of Dr Tom as he returns to his native Ayrshire to set up a business and take on Locums - as ever life is never simple, with murders, mayhem and colourful characters peppering his tales.
I’ve always been a keen reader of crime fiction. A huge fan of both Agatha Christie and PD James in the Golden age of English crime fiction. I love American mystery writers too and have attended Bouchercon in New Orleans. Just after Driftnet was published and the Dr. Rhona MacLeod series launched, I was visiting a Crime Writers’ Association conference in Lincoln with my friend and fellow crime writer Alex Gray. That’s where the idea for a weekend promoting Scottish Crime writing began. When we launched it ten years ago, Ian Rankin said, "Scandinavia doesn’t have better crime writers than Scotland, it has better PR." That’s what we set out to change.
I remember to the moment I opened this book. It was on a train to Inverness.
This was Chris’s first novel starring journalist Jack Parlabane and it had garnered great reviews. I couldn’t put it down, although I had to close it on occasions to recover myself from its hilarity and gruesomeness.
Dark irreverent Scottish humour, it began Chris’s fabulous career in crime and thriller writing which continues to this day.
Chris Brookmyer is a genius, and we at Bloody Scotland can all agree on that.
Yeah, yeah, the usual. A crime. A corpse. A killer. Heard it. Except this stiff happens to be a Ponsonby, scion of a venerable Edinburgh medical clan, and the manner of his death speaks of unspeakable things. Why is the body displayed like a slice of beef? How come his hands are digitally challenged? And if it's not the corpse, what is that awful smell? A post-Thatcherite nightmare of frightening plausibility, QUITE UGLY ONE MORNING is a wickedly entertaining and vivacious thriller, full of acerbic wit, cracking dialogue and villains both reputed and shell- suited.
As a child growing up in a rural community in the isle of Lewis, there were very few books I read which had any real connection with my local environment. This changed in my late teenage years when I encountered some of the books I mentioned here, together with some works about rural communities and islands in Ireland. I loved the way these books – including poetry, drama, non-fiction, short stories, and novels – opened my eyes and enabled me to see familiar surroundings in new and enlightening ways. The legacy of this still persists within me today.
There are many books that fostered my interest in Highland history. They include the work of John Prebble which I first encountered as a youngster.
As a crofter’s son, this was probably the most important, revealing the struggle for those living in the Highland to obtain and acquire their own land. It tells the story, too, of the effect of the Clearances throughout much of the north of Scotland.
This book has been seminal in bringing to the fore the injustices that have been inflicted on the Highlands in the name of government and landlord - injustices often lost in the name of dry statistics and academic balance.
Written by a man who has gone on to become both an award-winning historian of the Highlands and a leading figure in the public life of the region, The Making of the Crofting Community has attracted praise, inspired debate, and provoked outrage and controversy over the years. This book remains necessary to challenge standard academic interpretations of the Highland past. Having…
I grew up binge-reading murder mysteries and promised myself that some day, I would write one too. A Long Shadow is the first book in my Chief Inspector Shadow series set in York. Luckily, living in a city so full of history, dark corners, and hidden snickelways, I am never short of inspiration. When I’m not coming up with new ways to bump people off, I enjoy red wine, dark chocolate, and blue cheese—not necessarily together!
This is another murder mystery set in a quintessential English village and where we meet detective Adam Dalgleish for the first time. The day after the church fete, Sally Jupp is found dead in her bedroom, the door locked from the inside. I loved the way tension gradually builds through the story and how expertly each character is drawn. Nobody is who they seem, including the victim.
The first in the series of scintillating mysteries to feature cunning Scotland Yard detective, Adam Dalgliesh from P.D. James, the bestselling author hailed by People magazine as “the greatest living mystery writer.”
Sally Jupp was a sly and sensuous young woman who used her body and her brains to make her way up the social ladder. Now she lies across her bed with dark bruises from a strangler’s fingers forever marring her lily-white throat. Someone has decided that the wages of sin should be death...and it is up to Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh to find who that someone is.
I love second-chance romances and I am not in my twenties anymore; so I wrote what I wanted to read. Now, I've found other authors who write 35+, characters who have lived, been hurt, and moved on in life. I do read New Adult or younger than 35 characters and often, really smutty, erotic books as I need to get out of my head sometimes. I love Nora Roberts, Claudia Burgoa, Catharina Maura, Jolie Vines and I'll one-click quite a few indies.
This book is set in Cornwall, Nat's favourite county. She builds up such a strong world that's realistic. The characters deal with life, angst, fright, flight, and situations that are just horrible and real. This is the first of a three-part series and I devoured it all. Now, I want to visit that town (wish it were real) and just sit on that coastal path.
I remember like it was yesterday, how he promised he would find me if I ever tried to leave him... Lou has only one plan-run as far away as possible from her abusive boyfriend. She chooses the only place he wouldn't think to look. Seeking refuge with the only person who has ever made her feel safe. As Lou tries to put the broken pieces of herself back together, a need for her best friend reignites. Jay has loved Lou since they were building sandcastles on the beach. When fate throws them back together, he is determined not to let…
