Underhill

If you can find a used copy, Jan Cox Speas's "Bridge of the McHugh" is excellent.

my2cents

Being a mystery fan I cast another vote for the Hamish MacBeth books -- great quirky highlands small town characters (and fun mysteries). I also like the book, Holy Terror in the Hebrides (by Jeanne M. Dams) that takes place on Iona. In addition to being a good mystery it really gave me a good feel for the island and made me want to go there (which I did). While there I had fun recognizing various places and sites from the book.

Underhill

Well, callling it "Bridge" instead of "Bride" would certainly make for a different kind of book.

sheila

Yes, noe (ha! ha!); that was it.

lscott

Yes josele, thanks, it is Ian Rankin not Frazier...must have had a brainfart when I wrote that.

teacher33

I third the nomination of M C Beaton's Hamish Macbeth.

Jessica Stirling has written several novels set in early 20th century Scotland. One trilogy is set on the Isle of Mull and there are several set in Glasgow.

Happy reading!

doonhamer

For lovers of historical fiction, try "Flower o' the Heather" by R. W. McKenna, set in Galloway during the "Killing Times".

Bo2642

Alexander McCall Smith, who's provided so much pleasure with his No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series (set in Botswana and centering on the life of the charming detective Precious Ramotswe) has now come on the scene with two more series, these set in Edinburgh--The Isabel Dalhousie books (The Sunday Philosophy Club, etc.) and 44 Scotland Street, etc. Have to admit that Isabel got on my nerves initially, but by the second book, I'd gotten past it. The 44 Scotland Street books, though, are filled with the most interesting characters and just drew me in from the beginning. In both Edinburgh series, much attention is given to the modern day city.

laverendrye

Here are the top 10 in the 2005 contest to name the best Scottish book of all time.

1. Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon (1932)
2. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnet (1962)
3. Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh (1993)
4. Lanark by Alasdair Gray (1981)
5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling (1997)
6. 1984 by George Orwell (1949)
7. Born Free by Laura Hird (1999) (note: this is not about lions)
8. An Oidhche Mus Do Sheol Sinn (The Night Before We Sailed) by Aonghas Padraig Caimbeul (2003)
9. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (1961)
10. The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg (1824)

The top 100 are included in a guide called, not surprisingly, "The Top 100 Scottish Books of All Time." Those interested in the voting list can find it at:

http://www.list.co.uk/bestbooks/bestbookslist.html

begbie

aye, i was going to mention the "scots Quair" by grassic gibbons. thing is , its a wee bit grim, and it makes you think they made us read it in school. As far as i know, 1984 is not set in scotland .. and harry potter?? (never read it so i dont know"
also : A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland by samuel johnson.
there's also a guy called Ian Banks ( who writres sc´fi under the name of Ian M. banks) whose novels are generally based in scotland. eg: the wasp factory, complicity, the crow road ( to be recomended) and the bridge among others.
there's also "how late it was, how late" by james kelman, which won the booker prize ( i think) a few years back.

Daisy54

I'm not certain I would classify Harry Potter as a "Scottish" book, as it is set in England and written by an Englishwoman, though she does live in Scotland.

cigalechanta

A poster above beat me to Compton MacKenzies book, "Whiskey Galore" later made into a film and releasd here under the title of "Tight Little Island."
During World War II, a cargo vessel (S.S. Cabinet Minister) is wrecked off a remote Scottish island group — Great Todday and Little Todday — with 50,000 cases of whisky aboard. Due to wartime rationing, the thirsty islanders had nearly run out of the "water of life" and see this as an unexpected godsend. They manage to salvage several hundred cases before the ship sinks. But it is not all clear sailing. They must thwart the efforts of the authorities to confiscate the liquor, particularly in the shape of misguided, pompous English Home Guard Captain Paul Waggett. A cat-and-mouse battle of wits ensues.

Although the wreck and the escapades over the whisky are at the centre of the story, there is also a lot of background detail about life in the Outer Hebrides, including e.g. culture clashes between the Protestant island of Great Todday and the Catholic island of Little Todday. (Mackenzie based the geography of these islands on Barra and Eriskay respectively, but in real life they are both Catholic islands.) There are various sub-plots, e.g. two couples who want to get married.

Mackenzie's prose captures the various accents of the area in an illustrative way, and also includes much common Gaelic that was in use at the time. The book comes with a useful appendix of both meaning and approximate pronunciation of the language.

cigalechanta

OOla-La!! Look what I found for you.
Author
Title

Atkinson, Kate
Emotionally Weird

Beaton, M. C.
Death of a Cad


Death of a Dentist


Death of a Dustman


Death of a Glutton


Death of a Macho Man


Death of a Travelling Man


Death of an Addict

Black, Veronica
A Vow of Sanctity

Brown, Robert McAfee
Dark the Night, Wild the Sea

Charteris, Leslie
The Saint V. Scotland Yard

Constant, Jan
McKenzie's Woman

Coulter, Catherine
Scottish Bride

Crow, Donna Fletcher
Grave Matters

Davis, Kathryn Lynn
All We Hold Dear

Davis, Margaret Thompson
Hold Me Forever

Deveraux, Jude
Temptation

Drake, Shannon
Come the Morning

Dunnett, Dorothy
The Disorderly Knights


The Game of Kings


Queen's Play


The Ringed Castle

Faber, Michel
Under the Skin

Gabaldon, Diana
Dragonfly in Amber


Voyager

Garwood, Julie
Ransom

Gaskin, Catherine
A Falcon for a Queen

George, Margaret
Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles

Greenwood, L. B.
Sherlock Holmes and the Thistle of Scotland

Grindal, Richard
The Tartan Conspiracy

Hammond, Gerald
Twice Bitten

Harper, Karen
The Wings of the Morning

Henley. Virginia
A Year and a Day

James, P. D.
Three Complete Novels

Johnson, Grace
Tempest at Stonehaven

Johnson, Susan
To Please a Lady

King, Susan
Lady Miracle


The Stone Maiden

Knox, Bill
A Killing in Antiques


Stormtide

Lawhead, Stephen R.
The Black Road

McCrumb, Sharyn
Paying the Piper

McDougall, Carl, ed.
The Giant Book of Scottish Short

McHargue, Georgess
The Horseman's World

Mackie, Mary
Castle Kintyle

Medeiros, Teresa
The Bride and the Beast

Phillips, Michael
An Ancient Strife

Pilcher, Rosamunde
Winter Solstice

Plaidy, Jean
Royal Road to Fotheringay

Rankin, Ian
Black and Blue


Let It Bleed


Set in Darkness

Roberson, Jennifer
Lady of the Glen

Roberts, Cindra
Dillon's Promise

Samson, Lisa
The Highlander and His Lady


The Legend of Robin Brodie

Samson, Lisa
The Temptation of Aaron Campbell

Stevenson, Robert Louis
Kidnapped


The Master of Ballantrae

Stirling, Jessica
The Good Provider


The Marrying Kind


The Penny Wedding


Shadows of the Shore


The Workhouse Girl

Thomas, Graham
Malice in the Highlands

Thomas, Sue
Water

Tranter, Nigel G.
Robert the Bruce: the Path of the Hero King


Robert the Bruce: The Steps to the Empty Throne

Turnbull, Peter
Deep and Crisp and Even


Fair Friday

Welsh, Irvine
Marabou Stork Nightmares

Williams, Jeanne
Daughters of the Storm

Wright, Sally S.
Pride and Predator

sunsurfsand

The Master of Balantrae.
It was made into a movie starring Errol Flynn.

begbie

heres a decent scots writer, Alan Warner. his book "Morvern Callar" was made into a film. also he has written "the sopranos" (nothing to do with the mafia, by the way) , "these demented lands" ( a "sequel" to morven callar) and "the man who walks". i enjoy his stuff.

Vttraveler

bookmarking

Also I don't think anyone has listed The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey

palmettoprincess

I'm with Bo2642. Alexander McCall Smith's Isabel Dohousey books were worth reading even though you thought he was just trying to show how cultured he was. 44 Scotland Street is much beter.

Ian Rankin in my all time favorite. I just got his newest book for mother's day. If you read Ian Rankin, one of the best volumes to start with is The Falls.

palmettoprincess

I also like the Quintin Jardine series.

mdmomof7

Rosamunde Pilcher's Winter Solstice. Read it in the fall.

momofrajah

Elizabeth Peters - Legend in Green Velvet. An absolute hoot!!