Best of
Scotland

2022

Hex


Jenni Fagan - 2022
    IT'S THE 4TH OF DECEMBER 1591.On this, the last night of her life, in a prison cell several floors below Edinburgh's High Street, convicted witch Geillis Duncan receives a mysterious visitor - Iris, who says she comes from a future where women are still persecuted for who they are and what they believe.As the hours pass and dawn approaches, Geillis recounts the circumstances of her arrest, brutal torture, confession and trial, while Iris offers support, solace - and the tantalising prospect of escape.Hex is a visceral depiction of what happens when a society is consumed by fear and superstition, exploring how the terrible force of a king's violent crusade against ordinary women can still be felt, right up to the present day.

A Laird for the Governess


Catherine Tinley - 2022
    Only she should know better than to fall for the handsome laird when it could leave her without a job, or a home…From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.Lairds of the Isles Should duty come before love?Book 1: A Laird for the Governess

Hear No Evil


Sarah Smith - 2022
    Unable to communicate with their silent prisoner, the authorities move Jean to the decaying Edinburgh Tolbooth in order to prise the story from her. The High Court calls in Robert Kinniburgh, a talented teacher from the Deaf & Dumb Institution, in the hope that he will interpret for them and determine if Jean is fit for trial. If found guilty she faces one of two fates; death by hanging or incarceration in an insane asylum.Through a process of trial and error, Robert and Jean manage to find a rudimentary way of communicating with each other. As Robert gains her trust, Jean confides in him, and Robert begins to uncover the truth, moving uneasily from interpreter to investigator, determined to clear her name before it is too late.Based on a landmark case in Scottish legal history Hear No Evil is a richly atmospheric exploration of nineteenth-century Edinburgh and Glasgow at a time when progress was only on the horizon. A time that for some who were silenced could mean paying the greatest price.

Promised to the Wolf: A Prequel Short Story


Jayne Castel - 2022
    

The Voids


Ryan O’Connor - 2022
    Voids are flats that have been vacated, that will never be lived in again. But there never were any signs of life. Only the wind whistling through vacant interiors.’In a condemned tower block in Glasgow, residents slowly trickle away until a young man is left alone with only the angels and devils in his mind for company. Stumbling from one surreal situation to the next, he encounters others on the margins of society, finding friendship and camaraderie wherever it is offered, grappling with who he is and what shape his future might take.The Voids is an unsparing story of modern-day Britain, told with brilliant flashes of humour and humanity.

Our Wild Farming Life: Adventures on a Scottish Highland Croft


Lynn Cassells - 2022
    They had in mind keeping a few chickens, a kitchen garden, and renting out some camping space; instead, they fell in love with Lynbreck Croft--150 acres of opportunity and beauty, shrouded by the Cairngorms and deep in the Highlands of Scotland.But they had no money, no plan, and no experience in farming.In Our Wild Farming Life, Lynn and Sandra recount their experiences as they work out what kind of farmers they want to be, learning how to work with Highland cattle, become part of the crofting community, and understand how they can farm with nature to produce food for themselves and the people around them. "Through their journey to becoming farmers," as The Guardian recently wrote, "it's clear that nature and the health of the environment plays a central role in everything they do, from planting 17,500 native broadleaf trees for wood pasture to setting aside 22 hectares for rewilding." And through efforts like these, Lynn and Sandra have been able to combine regenerative farming practices with old crofting traditions to keep their own personal values intact. Our Wild Farming Life is what happens when you follow your dreams of living on the land; a story of how two people became farmers--and how they learned to make a living from it, their way.

Married to a Heartless Laird: A Scottish Medieval Historical Romance


Veronica Swan - 2022