The best books about the Scottish Highlands

Who picked these books? Meet our 57 experts.

57 authors created a book list connected to the Scottish Highlands, and here are their favorite Scottish Highlands books.
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Death of a Gossip

By M.C. Beaton,

Book cover of Death of a Gossip

Elizabeth Spann Craig Author Of Checked Out

From the list on enjoying the delicious coziness of murder.

Who am I?

Ever since I was a child, I loved stories where an element of danger is introduced into a peaceful setting. Armchair sleuths can solve crimes alongside the detectives and in the comfort and relative security of their own homes. I cut my teeth on Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and The Hardy Boys before moving on to Agatha Christie. It’s such an interactive experience when we get the same clues as the detectives and try to come to similar conclusions. These books all replicate the experience well and put the reader in the driver’s seat.

Elizabeth's book list on enjoying the delicious coziness of murder

Discover why each book is one of Elizabeth's favorite books.

Why did Elizabeth love this book?

The debut of the wonderful Hamish Macbeth, a charming but lazy police constable in the sleepy Scottish town of Lochdubh. When a gossip columnist ferrets out too many secrets, there are suspects aplenty following her murder. The balance between the murder investigation and life in Lochdubh is well-done and Hamish quickly starts feeling like a friend. Aside from suspects, the village is full of unusual characters you’ll want to visit in future books. And, if you enjoy series, this one has 33 books in it. 

By M.C. Beaton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Death of a Gossip as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The very first Hamish Macbeth crime mystery, from internationally bestselling author M.C.Beaton

When society widow and gossip columnist Lady Jane Winters joins the local fishing class she wastes no time in ruffling the feathers - or should that be fins? - of those around her.

Among the victims of her sharp tongue is Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth, yet not even Hamish thinks someone would seriously want to silence Lady Jane's shrill voice permanently - until her strangled body is fished out of the river.

Now with the help of the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, Hamish must steer a course through the…


The Hunting Party

By Lucy Foley,

Book cover of The Hunting Party

Claire Cooper Author Of The Elevator

From the list on locked room thrillers to get your heart pounding.

Who am I?

There’s nothing I love more than a good thriller, especially one with a locked room setting. I’m fascinated by how people react to psychological pressure, and what it would take for any of us to behave in extreme ways. With The Elevator, I wanted to push that locked room scenario to its limits: two characters, trapped together in a tiny space. This might also be the book that’s been gestating inside me for longest – my mum was trapped in a lift when she was pregnant with me! I hope some of the books on this list appeal to you, and that you enjoy them as much as I did.

Claire's book list on locked room thrillers to get your heart pounding

Discover why each book is one of Claire's favorite books.

Why did Claire love this book?

I read The Hunting Party on holiday – and was very glad I was on a beach, not in a remote lodge in the Scottish Highlands!

A group of old friends find themselves cut off by a violent blizzard, the perfect conditions for a locked room thriller. The atmosphere is deliciously creepy from the start, and the tension just keeps on building.

By Lucy Foley,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Hunting Party as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*The Sunday Times No.1 bestseller*

EVERYONE'S INVITED.
EVERYONE'S A SUSPECT.
AND EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT IT.

'Ripping, riveting' A. J. Finn
'Clever, twisty and sleek' Daily Mail
'Unputdownable' John Boyne
'Foley is superb' The Times
'Chilling' Adele Parks
'Terrific, riveting' Dinah Jefferies

In a remote hunting lodge, deep in the Scottish wilderness, old friends gather for New Year.

The beautiful one
The golden couple
The volatile one
The new parents
The quiet one
The city boy
The outsider

The victim.

Not an accident - a murder among friends.


The Laird

By Grace Burrowes,

Book cover of The Laird

Jayne Castel Author Of Highlander Deceived

From the list on historical romance set in Scotland.

Who am I?

I’ve always had a fascination with the past. After graduating with an Honors degree in English Literature, with a minor in History, I spent years working as an English Language Teacher, while I wrote stories in my free time. Writing is a compulsion for me. It’s my escape and entertainment – my solace in tough times. Now, as a full-time author, I’m lucky enough to get to spend my days in Ancient and Medieval Scotland. I write the kind of stories I love to read: with vibrant characters, richly researched settings, and action-packed adventure romance that transports readers to forgotten times and imaginary worlds.

Jayne's book list on historical romance set in Scotland

Discover why each book is one of Jayne's favorite books.

Why did Jayne love this book?

If you haven’t picked up a book by Grace Burrowes before, you’re in for a treat! The Laird is a tender, nuanced historical romance set in Scotland. But it’s also a confronting, and at times haunting, story that addresses some sensitive issues. The hero, Michael, returns home after nine years at war, to find his bride, Brenna, furious at his prolonged absence – and far more beautiful than he remembers. Both Michael and Brenna are strong, likable, characters, and their story is both heart-rending and beautiful…and, as always, Burrowes’s writing evokes strong emotion.

By Grace Burrowes,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Laird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Grace Burrowes delivers another passionate Regency romance…

He left his bride to go to war…

After years of soldiering, Michael Brodie returns to his Highland estate to find that the bride he left behind has become a stranger. Brenna is self-sufficient, competent, confident―and furious about Michael's prolonged absence.

Now his most important battle will be for her heart

Brenna is also hurt, bewildered, and tired of fighting for the respect of those around her. Michael left her when she needed him most, and then stayed away even after the war ended. Nonetheless,…


Rock Paper Scissors

By Alice Feeney,

Book cover of Rock Paper Scissors

Luke Dumas Author Of A History of Fear

From the list on Scottish-set thrillers to keep you up reading.

Who am I?

I’ve loved Scotland ever since I spent a year studying abroad at the University of Edinburgh. In fact, I loved it so much that I returned to the University a couple of years later to complete my master’s degree in creative writing. Between the rugged dramatic landscapes, the stunning Gothic architecture, and the dark cold weather, Scotland was the perfect place to inspire a young aspiring suspense author such as myself—and the ideal setting for a creepy, atmospheric thriller like my debut novel. Although I’ve since moved back to the U.S., I’m always on the lookout for a Scottish-set thriller to take me back to the country where I left my heart but—blissfully—found my husband.

Luke's book list on Scottish-set thrillers to keep you up reading

Discover why each book is one of Luke's favorite books.

Why did Luke love this book?

This book blindsided me in the best way possible. It is so brilliantly crafted.

If you're like me, you go into most domestic thrillers expecting an onslaught of "shocking" twists and turns; they're so fundamental to the genre, and often so overstated in the marketing copy, that I'd become somewhat jaded to them. But I was not ready for this one.

It was more than a plot twist; like the best of them, it fundamentally altered my perspective on the text and the characters I thought I knew. This book gave me a new storytelling device to try out and restored my faith in the domestic thriller genre.

By Alice Feeney,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Rock Paper Scissors as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Feeney lives up to her reputation as the “queen of the twist”…This page-turner will keep you guessing.” —Real Simple
Think you know the person you married? Think again…

Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife.

Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts--paper, cotton, pottery, tin--and each…


Under the Skin

By Michel Faber,

Book cover of Under the Skin

Heather Parry Author Of Orpheus Builds A Girl

From the list on compelling creepy.

Who am I?

I’m a fiction and nonfiction writer originally from Rotherham, South Yorkshire but I now live and work in Glasgow. I have always loved dark books, even when I was a kid; I was firmly on the Goosebumps-Point Horror-Stephen King pipeline, and ended up in dark literary fiction. I love work that challenges the reader, makes them complicit, forces them to keep going despite everything because the writing is just so good. Here are five books I come back to time and time again. 

Heather's book list on compelling creepy

Discover why each book is one of Heather's favorite books.

Why did Heather love this book?

Like all of Michel Faber’s work, Under the Skin sits between genres, carving its own path through a crowded literary landscape.

Set in the Scottish Highlands where the writer lived, and where I sit writing this for you now, this incredibly creepy novel explores the terror of isolation and of dark spaces, but more than this, it unfolds in a way that reveals a true horror at its heart – a horror in which its protagonist is complicit.

An avant-garde film version of the story by Jonathan Glazer is a perfect chaser for when you’ve finished the novel – but maybe have a breather in between.  

By Michel Faber,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Under the Skin as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With an introduction by David Mitchell

Isserley spends most of her time driving. But why is she so interested in picking up hitchhikers? And why are they always male, well-built and alone?

An utterly unpredictable and macabre mystery, Under the Skin is a genre-defying masterpiece.


The Turn of the Key

By Ruth Ware,

Book cover of The Turn of the Key

Gail Lukasik Author Of The Darkness Surrounds Us

From the list on modern gothic mystery.

Who am I?

While an adjunct professor at a local Midwestern college, I taught a night course in gothic literature. It was winter and my drive was over an hour to the satellite location. The wintry journey seemed apropos of the gothic’s dark themes, eerie atmosphere, and supernatural world. Though I’d enjoyed gothic novels in the past, this course cemented my love of all things gothic. By teaching the course, I enhanced my understanding of gothic fiction through such stories as, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, and Where are you going, where have you been by Joyce Carol Oates.

Gail's book list on modern gothic mystery

Discover why each book is one of Gail's favorite books.

Why did Gail love this book?

I’m always intrigued by books that re-envision a classic novel or play.

This updated version of Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw is cleverly told in first person by a nanny who relates the story of a child who died under her care. A smart house stands in for the creepy gothic mansion. Its surveillance system creates a feeling of paranoia and fear. The twist at the end is worthy of James.

By Ruth Ware,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Turn of the Key as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THEIR DREAM HOUSE WILL BECOME HER WORST NIGHTMARE

'Ruth Ware just gets better and better' Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of The Family Upstairs

'The queen of creepy crime' Metro

When Rowan comes across the advert, it seems too good to be true: a live-in nanny position, with an extremely generous salary.

What she doesn't know is that she's stepping into a nightmare - one that will end with her in a cell awaiting trial for murder.

She knows she's made mistakes.
But she's not guilty - at least not of murder.
Which means someone else is...

THE TURN OF THE…


The Second Stranger

By Martin Griffin,

Book cover of The Second Stranger

Claire Cooper Author Of The Elevator

From the list on locked room thrillers to get your heart pounding.

Who am I?

There’s nothing I love more than a good thriller, especially one with a locked room setting. I’m fascinated by how people react to psychological pressure, and what it would take for any of us to behave in extreme ways. With The Elevator, I wanted to push that locked room scenario to its limits: two characters, trapped together in a tiny space. This might also be the book that’s been gestating inside me for longest – my mum was trapped in a lift when she was pregnant with me! I hope some of the books on this list appeal to you, and that you enjoy them as much as I did.

Claire's book list on locked room thrillers to get your heart pounding

Discover why each book is one of Claire's favorite books.

Why did Claire love this book?

This is another chiller thriller, set in a remote hotel in the Scottish Highlands. (Note to self: only holiday in Scotland in the summer!)

The hotel is closed to guests, and Rennie Yorke is working what should be her final shift when a storm blows in and seals off her exit. But she’s not alone for long – an injured man arrives at the door, claiming to be a police officer who was transporting a dangerous prisoner when his car crashed, and the prisoner escaped. Rennie lets him in – but shortly afterward another man arrives, making the same claim.

It’s a brilliant hook, and I was completely immersed in trying to work out who was telling the truth and who was lying. 

By Martin Griffin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Second Stranger as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

ONE DETECTIVE. ONE MURDERER. BUT WHICH IS WHICH?

Remie Yorke has one shift left at the Mackinnon Hotel in the remote Scottish Highlands before she leaves for good. Then Storm Ezra hits.

As temperatures plummet and phone lines go down, an injured man stumbles inside. PC Don Gaines was in a terrible accident on the mountain road. The only other survivor: the prisoner his team was transporting.

When a second stranger arrives, Remie reluctantly lets him in from the blizzard. He, too, is hurt. He claims to be a police officer. His name is also Don Gaines.

Someone is lying…


Book cover of The Making of the Crofting Community

Donald S. Murray Author Of The Guga Hunters

From the list on Scottish Highlands and Islands.

Who am I?

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.

Donald's book list on Scottish Highlands and Islands

Discover why each book is one of Donald's favorite books.

Why did Donald love this book?

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.

By James Hunter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Making of the Crofting Community as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

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…


Highland River

By Neil M. Gunn,

Book cover of Highland River

Kenneth Steven Author Of Iona: New and Selected Poems

From the list on spiritual places.

Who am I?

I’ve been fortunate enough to have had a different kind of life. I was brought up by two writers who took me to magical places, far away from cities, to meet magical people. I spent my childhood searching for horse chestnuts and looking for otters. I wasn’t interested in electronic games and loud music: I wanted instead to be out in nature, watching for wild things and listening to the song of birds. It comes back to Iona, to this tiny little island on the west coast of Scotland which I will feel always is my spiritual home. In that place, I have everything I need. Nothing that a big city can offer tempts. Ever.

Kenneth's book list on spiritual places

Discover why each book is one of Kenneth's favorite books.

Why did Kenneth love this book?

I choose this book because it gives me the most haunting sense of landscape and place. The author was from the northeast corner of Scotland and it was in his blood. I find it incredible that he’s able to capture it so deeply. We can feel these things, but to put them on paper is something else, a different skill. But somehow he manages to take you with him and to bring that landscape to life in the most incredible and powerful way. I suppose my greatest compliment to this book is that I wish I’d written it myself.

By Neil M. Gunn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Highland River as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Kenn returns to the Highlands of his youth, back to the river which has haunted his dreams since boyhood. Determined to walk all the way back to its source, Kenn embarks on a journey that will lead him deep into the wilderness of his own heart.

Profound and moving, Highland River is a stirring tale of what is lost and what endures, and the unexpected ways we can be renewed.


Scabby Queen

By Kirstin Innes,

Book cover of Scabby Queen

Elissa Soave Author Of Ginger and Me

From the list on Scottish reads centring working-class women.

Who am I?

I am a Scottish writer and have long loved books from and about Scotland. But I would love to see more written about the working-class Scottish experience from women’s perspective as I think that would lead to less focus on the violence and poverty that is featured in so many contemporary Scottish books from male authors. There is so much joy in the Scottish working-class experience – a pot of soup always on the stove in someone’s kitchen, the stories, the laughter, a community that cares for their own. Let’s see more of that, and more stories from and about Scottish working-class women.

Elissa's book list on Scottish reads centring working-class women

Discover why each book is one of Elissa's favorite books.

Why did Elissa love this book?

Scabby Queen opens with the death by suicide of Clio Campbell, at different times a popstar, a political activist, a lover of life.

The book stretches back five decades to tell her story, from different perspectives and jumping around between time periods. I really love that such a complicated, strong, and uncompromising woman gets to take centre stage in a story that is both political (poll tax riots, miners’ strikes, Brexit) and personal.

By Kirstin Innes,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Scabby Queen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Gripping and moving. A literary triumph' Nicola Sturgeon

'A humane and searching story' Ian Rankin

'Kirstin Innes is aiming high, writing for readers in the early days of a better nation' A.L. Kennedy

A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR * A SCOTSMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR

Three days before her fifty-first birthday Clio Campbell - one-hit wonder, political activist, lifelong love and one-night-stand - kills herself in her friend Ruth's spare bedroom. And, as practical as she is, Ruth doesn't know what to do.

As the news spreads around Clio's collaborators and comrades, lovers and enemies, the story of…


The Last Wilderness

By Neil Ansell,

Book cover of The Last Wilderness: A Journey into Silence

Jen Barclay Author Of Wild Abandon: A Journey to the Deserted Places of the Dodecanese

From the list on wild and abandoned island places.

Who am I?

A British writer and editor who developed a love of Greece from childhood holidays and Ancient Greek classes at school, and a passion for hidden and little-known places, I felt myself called back and moved ten years ago to the Dodecanese, a remote and rugged group of islands at the southeast edge of Europe. Wandering on foot around islands whose populations emigrated in their thousands over the last hundred years leaving refuges of wild and quiet, I began to be fascinated by things left behind on the landscape and differences from one island to the next. I explored in this way for five years and wrote the stories in my third book set in Greece, Wild Abandon: A Journey to the Deserted Places of the Dodecanese.

Jen's book list on wild and abandoned island places

Discover why each book is one of Jen's favorite books.

Why did Jen love this book?

There’s a deep poignancy to this book about Ansell’s wanderings in the Rough Bounds where the highlands of Scotland meet the Atlantic in a series of rugged peninsulas, a ‘place apart’ thanks to its remoteness and inaccessibility; not only because it originally inspired his love of nature and being solitary in nature, but also because he’s now losing his hearing, and with it his relationship with the joys of birdsong, which became particularly important to him when he lived alone in a cottage in mid-Wales. The Rough Bounds have been called Britain’s last great wilderness, and yet the area has a long history of settlement, and in some of his walking he explores the gradual depopulation of the Western Highlands, inhabited from ancient prehistory through generations and thriving communities until only a couple of hundred years ago. Instead of being a scientific exploration, it’s meditative and meandering; ‘sometimes a little…

By Neil Ansell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Last Wilderness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Neil Ansell's THE LAST WILDERNESS is a mesmerising book on nature and solitude by a writer who has spent his lifetime taking solitary ventures into the wild. For any readers of the author's previous book, DEEP COUNTRY, Robert Macfarlane's THE OLD WAYS or William Atkins THE MOOR.

'A gem of a book, an extraordinary tale. Ansell's rich prose will transport you to a real life Narnian world that C.S.Lewis would have envied. Find your deepest, most comfortable armchair and get away from it all' Countryfile

The experience of being in nature alone is here set within the context of a…


Single Malt Murder

By Melinda Mullet,

Book cover of Single Malt Murder

Mary Karlik Author Of Hickville Crossroads

From the list on contemporary romances with a Scottish accent.

Who am I?

I love everything Scottish. My grandfather was Scottish. I never met him, but mom passed the pride of her heritage and culture to me. Mom used to throw out an occasional phrase or poem that I thought was Gaelic. (I later learned it was Scotts but that’s another story.) I decided I wanted to learn the language and found a short course at a small college on the Isle of Skye and it changed my life. After that short course I committed to learning the language and enrolled in the distance learning program. I travel to Skye for the short courses between my semesters and have made lifelong friends.  

Mary's book list on contemporary romances with a Scottish accent

Discover why each book is one of Mary's favorite books.

Why did Mary love this book?

This is the first in the Whisky Business Mystery series. I loved this series and was sad to see it end. I swear I know at least two of the characters personally. There is enough romance to make this romance reader happy but there was also a great murder mystery sprinkled—or should I say—splattered with humor. I loved it.

By Melinda Mullet,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Single Malt Murder as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Abigail Logan never expected to inherit a whisky distillery in the Scottish Highlands. But in the first novel of an engaging new series blending fine spirits with chilling mystery, Abi finds that there are secrets lurking in the misty glens that some will go to any lengths to protect...even murder.

When Abi inherits her uncle's quaint and storied single malt distillery, she finds herself immersed in a competitive high-stakes business that elicits deep passions and prejudices. An award-winning photojournalist, Abi has no trouble capturing the perfect shot - but making the perfect shot is another matter. When she starts to…


Outlander

By Diana Gabaldon,

Book cover of Outlander

Nicole Neiswanger Author Of Thundering Meadows

From the list on marriage of convenience binding two souls for life.

Who am I?

I’ve loved to read from the moment I discovered I could, going to the library and checking out the max number I was allowed every week. When I discovered romance novels, I’d hide the covers so no one knew what I was reading but I could never stop. My favorites were the ones focusing on marriage of convenience. They have multiple layers of conflict and the happily ever after never comes easy. There is something about forcing two unwilling souls together that makes for some interesting, complicated, explosive, delightful, and heartwarming storylines. No matter the time frame, two people fighting their attraction but ultimately loving hard is worth the read.

Nicole's book list on marriage of convenience binding two souls for life

Discover why each book is one of Nicole's favorite books.

Why did Nicole love this book?

It was 1996. I walked into a Walden Books and discovered Diana Gabaldon. Immediately intrigued, I purchased Outlander and was hooked.

When Claire is thrust back in time, she is rescued by a Scot, and finds herself in a pickle. An English captain believes she’s an English spy and wants her brought in for questioning, but according to Scottish law, the order can be ignored if Claire is Scottish.

It is suggested she marry Jamie to avoid imprisonment. The problem is, she’s legally married to Frank Randall in 1945 but is not legally married to anyone in 1746. Left with few options, she reluctantly agrees and the amazing love story drags you in and never lets you go, to the point where you re-read every novel over and over again.

By Diana Gabaldon,

Why should I read it?

27 authors picked Outlander as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first book in Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed Outlander saga, the basis for the Starz original series.

One of the top ten best-loved novels in America, as seen on PBS’s The Great American Read!
 
Unrivaled storytelling. Unforgettable characters. Rich historical detail. These are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon’s work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured the hearts of millions of fans. Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Beauchamp Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion and…


The Highland Fling

By Meghan Quinn,

Book cover of The Highland Fling

Maggi Myers Author Of The Final Piece

From the list on love the second time around.

Who am I?

I’ve been an incurable romantic for as long as I can remember. In fact, when I was in middle school, my friends and I started writing what would now be considered novellas. We would write our stories during class and trade notebooks in the hallways between bells. That is until I was caught writing one of my opuses in pre-algebra. There was nothing like the dopamine hit of writing those first stories that would deter me! The characters in my head grew up as I did and I found myself passionate about the telling of second chances in life and in love. 

Maggi's book list on love the second time around

Discover why each book is one of Maggi's favorite books.

Why did Maggi love this book?

Bonnie needs a second chance at life. Nothing says “starting over” like packing up your life and moving across the Atlantic to answer a help-wanted ad for a barista in Scotland. Why not? It’s not like Bonnie wasn’t just fired from her third job in a row and has anything else going on. She just wants another chance at doing life right and not feeling like a failure. Her high hopes are immediately challenged by grumpy handyman Rowan. This is a great opposites attract read, full of wit and humor. You’ll be charmed by the end and ready to book a trip to Scotland.

By Meghan Quinn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Highland Fling as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this steamy tale by USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn, an American searching for her purpose escapes to a Scottish town but finds more questions than answers when she meets a brooding yet handsome handyman.

Freshly fired from her third job in a row, Bonnie St. James has lost her way. So when she and her best friend stumble upon a "help wanted" post to run a coffee shop in the Scottish Highlands, they apply on a whim. Who knows? Maybe traveling to a new place is just what she needs to figure out her next move.

When the…


Book cover of The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency

Vickie Carroll Author Of It's Only Murder

From the list on cozy mysteries about women at work.

Who am I?

As a cozy-style mystery writer, I get to live in a world where I know that everything will work out as it should in the end. I look for this in the books that I read and recommend. Do they give the reader something interesting to ponder as they go along with the sleuth (amateur or “real detective)? My father was a police captain, and I grew up looking at things through the eyes of “the law”, I admit. Most people find comfort reading about a small town where nothing will go too wrong. The bad stuff and the bad people are kept at arm’s length, and all is well.

Vickie's book list on cozy mysteries about women at work

Discover why each book is one of Vickie's favorite books.

Why did Vickie love this book?

Who can resist a three-book series set in the Scottish Highlands? Travers does not disappoint we lovers of all things Scottish.

She sets this book in Edinburgh, 1911. The main character does something uncommon for women to do at that time—she takes a family inheritance and opens a detective agency. She also brings along Daisy, her lady’s maid.

When their first case leads them into the Highland society, the Duchess of Duddington employs them to ferret out a jewel thief. They go undercover to hunt for the thief, but soon realize they are hunting for a killer. This book blended the political and cultural reality of the day, but did it seamlessly.

I learned a few things while following Maud and Daisy around that fancy house in the Highlands. 

By Lydia Travers,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

‘Had me hooked… Loved!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Delightful… Kept me on the edge of my seat’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Wonderful… Had me giggling’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I really loved this… Fantastic’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I absolutely adored this… Brilliant’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Move over Holmes and Watson, there’s a new detective duo in town!

Edinburgh, 1911: When headstrong Maud McIntyre decides to pour her inheritance into starting her very own detective agency, she asks her lady’s maid, Daisy, to form The Scottish Ladies’ Detective Agency. After all, she knows they have a better brain for these things than most men!

Maud and Daisy never dreamed that their first case would…


Kiss of the Highlander

By Karen Marie Moning,

Book cover of Kiss of the Highlander

Allison M. Azulay Author Of Propositions and Proposals

From the list on romance in any style and era.

Who am I?

I freely admit to reading romances―"Nurse Janes," as one of my teachers used to call them―whenever I need a break from heavier material or just from life. While I have some favorite authors (who doesn't?), I do not limit myself to any particular era or style of romance. To me, romance has many shades and flavours, and I enjoy them all. Believe you me, choosing just five to recommend was no piece of cake.

Allison's book list on romance in any style and era

Discover why each book is one of Allison's favorite books.

Why did Allison love this book?

Karen Marie Moning's Kiss of the Highlander had me itching to find myself a hunky Druid, even if I had to fall into a hole and end up in the past to do it. I could picture in my mind's eye those rippling muscles, luscious lips, and penetrating eyes. Sigh.

By Karen Marie Moning,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Kiss of the Highlander as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A laird trapped between centuries...

Enchanted by a powerful spell, Highland laird Drustan MacKeltar slumbered for nearly five centuries hidden deep in a cave, until an unlikely savior awakened him. The enticing lass who dressed and spoke like no woman he’d ever known was from his distant future, where crumbled ruins were all that remained of his vanished world. Drustan knew he had to return to his own century if he was to save his people from a terrible fate. And he needed the bewitching woman by his side....

A woman changed forever in his arms...

Gwen Cassidy had come…


Hallaig and Other Poems

By Sorley MacLean, Angus Peter Campbell, Aonghas MacNeacail

Book cover of Hallaig and Other Poems: Selected Poems of Sorley MacLean

Donald S. Murray Author Of The Guga Hunters

From the list on Scottish Highlands and Islands.

Who am I?

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.

Donald's book list on Scottish Highlands and Islands

Discover why each book is one of Donald's favorite books.

Why did Donald love this book?

There are several Scottish writers with strong Gaelic connections. They range from the likes of Iain Crichton Smith to Norman MacCaig and thriller writer Alistair Maclean.

The most powerful of all, however, is Sorley Maclean from Raasay which lies off the isle of Skye. In his writing, he is not parochial or insular but mingles matters like the Spanish Civil War with Hebridean life – one of the poets to whom I return again and again.

By Sorley MacLean, Angus Peter Campbell, Aonghas MacNeacail

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hallaig and Other Poems as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This selected works of Sorley MacLean brings together published poetry from MacLean's own edited volumes of Poetry. The poems will be given in their original Gaelic with English translations and introduced by Angus Peter Campbell and Aonghas Mac Neacail.

Sorley MacLean was born on the island of Raasay in 1911. He was brought up within a family and community immersed in Gaelic language and culture, particularly song. He studied English at Edinburgh University from 1929, taking a first-class honours degree. Despite this influence, he eventually adopted Gaelic as the medium most appropriate for his poetry. He translated much of his…


Book cover of The Highlander’s Christmas Countess

Emmanuelle de Maupassant Author Of Highland Christmas

From the list on holiday historical romances set in the Highlands.

Who am I?

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 brooding, kilted heroes. 

Emmanuelle's book list on holiday historical romances set in the Highlands

Discover why each book is one of Emmanuelle's favorite books.

Why did Emmanuelle love this book?

I have a soft spot for ‘in disguise’ stories. Here, our heroine is on the run from the dastardly stepbrother who’s after her money. Being a genius with horses, she conceals her gender and finds work as a stablehand. However, taking refuge during a snowstorm, her secret is soon revealed—to the dashing heir of Cannich no less! A rushed marriage follows, but will our heroine ever be safe from her wicked stepbrother?

By Anna Campbell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Highlander’s Christmas Countess as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The new stableboy has a secret!

Kit Laing is a genius with Glen Lyon’s horses and a favorite with his employer’s family, but he isn’t all he seems. In fact, the shy stablehand isn’t a he at all. Kit is actually Christabel Urquhart, Countess of Appin, on the run from a greedy, violent stepbrother with designs on her fortune.

And the laird’s handsome nephew has worked out just what it is.

Quentin MacNab, the dashing heir to Cannich, has had his suspicions about the new stable lad from the first. Kit is far too pretty to be a boy –…


A Yuletide Kiss

By Glynnis Campbell,

Book cover of A Yuletide Kiss: A Warrior Maids of Rivenloch Short Story

Emmanuelle de Maupassant Author Of Highland Christmas

From the list on holiday historical romances set in the Highlands.

Who am I?

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 brooding, kilted heroes. 

Emmanuelle's book list on holiday historical romances set in the Highlands

Discover why each book is one of Emmanuelle's favorite books.

Why did Emmanuelle love this book?

All sorts of fun tropes are rolled into this fabulously fast-paced ‘runaway bride’ Yuletide novelette, featuring another heroine hiding her identity. Escaping an arranged marriage, it so happens that the very man our girl falls for while in disguise is the groom scheduled to walk her down the aisle. And, Brude the Brutal is a virgin. Happy sigh! 

By Glynnis Campbell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Yuletide Kiss as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Kimbery from "The Shipwreck" gets her own story!

From USA Today bestselling author Glynnis Campbell...A half-Viking shieldmaiden has until Yuletide to choose a bridegroom…or one will be chosen for her.

Half-Viking shieldmaiden Kimbery of Rivenloch has until Yuletide to choose a bridegroom…or one will be chosen for her. But when the barbarian Brude the Brutal travels to claim his betrothed, he finds himself bewitched instead by a runaway bride.

A YULETIDE KISS
A Warrior Maids of Rivenloch short story
Damsels in shining armor...riding to the rescue! Deirdre, Helena, and Miriel, three kick-arse Scots wenches known as The Warrior Maids of…


Pine

By Toon Francine,

Book cover of Pine

Thomas H. Brand Author Of The Serpent's Eye

From the list on leaving you spooked and unsettled.

Who am I?

Horror was never something that appealed to me when I was younger. However, in adulthood, I realised the fascination of the unsettling. As I began writing, I realised that true horror is not all about monsters and gore but about breaking our everyday complacency and realising the possibility that the world is bigger than us and how we are unprepared to deal with it. This is why I write horror. Not to shock you with a jump-scare, but you leave you thinking about my words long after the lights have gone out.  

Thomas' book list on leaving you spooked and unsettled

Discover why each book is one of Thomas' favorite books.

Why did Thomas love this book?

One night, a gaunt woman stumbles into the road in front of Lauren and her father. They take her home, but the next day she is gone, and only Lauren can remember she was ever there. 

The best supernatural horror works because it reflects the terrors of real life. Francine Toon’s Pine is the story of Lauren, a young girl growing up in rural Scotland with an alcoholic father and only the memory of a mother who disappeared when she was a child.

And while the supernatural is always present, it is the isolation and actions of the living that create true horror. 

By Toon Francine,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Pine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER of the McIlvanney Prize 2020
Shortlisted for Bloody Scotland's Scottish Crime Debut of the Year 2020
Longlisted for the Highland Book Prize 2020

'Hugely atmospheric, exquisitely written and utterly gripping' LUCY FOLEY, author of The Hunting Party
'It's both eerie and thrilling at once, and had me under its spell until the end' SOPHIE MACKINTOSH, author of Blue Ticket and The Water Cure
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They are driving home from the search party when they see her. The trees are coarse and tall in the winter light, standing like men.

Lauren and her father Niall live alone in the Highlands,…