Showing results by narrator "Cathleen McCarron" in All Categories

Blind since birth, widowed in her 20s, now lonely in her 40s, Marianne Fraser lives in Edinburgh in elegant, angry anonymity with her sister, Louisa, a successful novelist. Marianne's passionate nature finds solace and expression in music, a love she finds she shares with Keir, a man she encounters on her doorstep one winter's night. Whilst Marianne has had her share of men attracted to her because they want to rescue her, Keir makes no concession to her condition.

Seven years after her mother's death, Leonie Charlton is still gripped by memories of their fraught relationship. In May 2017, Leonie trekked through the Outer Hebrides in the company of a friend and their Highland Ponies in search of closure. When Leonie's pony has a serious accident, she begins to realise that finding peace with her mother is less important than letting go. Leonie Charlton blends travel and nature writing with intimate memoir in this beautifully written account of grief and acceptance.

In Jackie Kay’s first collection of stories, ordinary lives are transformed by secrets. Her world might seem familiar – sex, death and family cast long shadows – but the roles of mothers, daughters and lovers are imagined and revealed in the most surprising of ways. Jackie Kay sees the extraordinary in everyday life, and lights it up with humour and generosity in a way that is uniquely her own.

It’s April 2020 and Edinburgh is in lockdown, but that doesn’t mean crime takes a holiday. It would seem like a strange time for a cold case to go hot—the streets all but empty, an hour’s outdoor exercise the maximum allowed—but when a source at the National Library contacts DCI Karen Pirie’s team about documents in the archive of a recently deceased crime novelist, it seems it’s game on again. What unspools is a twisted game of betrayal and revenge, but no one quite expects how many twists it will turn out to have.

In a world where online scrutiny is more intense than ever, Elise’s story massively transcends sport. Having been bullied while growing up in Scotland, Christie first felt the full weight of online public opinion following three separate disqualifications at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Death threats followed amid a torrent of online hate whereby she was accused of having caused a rival South Korean medal hopeful to crash. Christie, aged just 24, retreated into a period of mental health support to assist her through extremely traumatic times.

Word in the Royal Court has spread that the wild Scottish borders are too unruly. Upon the King's command, John Brunson must return home. Once part of a powerful border clan, John has not set eyes on the Brunson stone tower in years. With failure never an option, he must persuade his family to honor the king's call for peace. To succeed, John knows winning over Cate Gilnock, the daughter of an allied family, holds the key. But this intriguing beauty is beyond the powers of flattery and seduction.

Charley Lambert has a perfect life. She has The Job. The Wardrobe. And The Flat. Then she breaks her leg in three places and is forced to hand over her job to her nasty deputy while she recovers. Desperate for something to do, she discovers a talent for helping the lovelorn online. Then along comes William.…

Summer, 1993. In the aftermath of her mother's suicide attempt, 16-year-old Prue must spend the summer holidays on a remote island in the Shetlands with her favourite Aunt Ruth and Uncle Archie, a man she's barely met since her aunt married him. Prue hopes to re-establish the relationship, and that her aunt might help her understand some of the parts of the past she has been forbidden to discuss by her mother—including the identity of her father. Prue soon finds out that her uncle was the only suspect in the disappearance of a local girl some twenty years ago.

When Effie Coulstoun drops dead on the floor of her bar in a small Spanish town mid-business meeting, her daughter Daniella feels it’s her duty to return for the funeral. But Daniella has been estranged from her mother for over 20 years. Daniella is soon confronted by a hostile group of expat misfits who, along with Effie, are involved in a multi-million-pound property scam. The expats are threatening to implicate Daniella to save themselves. A Spanish detective is investigating Effie’s death. He’s convinced Daniella knows more than she is telling.

The children of Mivtown have grown up hearing the legend of the monsters of the loch. But it’s only a story - a warning to stay away from the water. Then strange things start happening in the village. Effie’s rabbit Buster escapes from a locked hutch, her mum disappears without trace and slugs start to infest her home. Along with her best friend Finn, Effie begins to hunt for clues to solve the mysteries of Mivtown. Could this all be connected to the legend? Is it really just a story, or is there something lurking in those deep, dark waters?

Moira McAfee has spent her life training to be a warrior. When unexpected events lead the clan and its allies to war, she does as always and jumps in head first with no thoughts for her own safety. Brodie McClain has admired Moira since he met her at the Highland Games, and he feels certain she should be his bride. Marrying amidst a war where they are both part of the army proves to be a challenge but not an insurmountable one. When Brodie is injured and Moira is the one to save him, he must fight for his life.

Lily Crawford and Jeanie Taylor, from very different backgrounds, are firm friends from their childhoods in Kirkcudbright. They share their ambitions for their futures, Lily to be an artist, Jeanie to be a dancer. The two women's eventful lives are intertwined. In the years before the First World War, the girls lose touch when Jeanie runs away from home and joins a dance company, while Lily attends The Mack, Glasgow's famous school of art designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

When twelve-year-old Lily moves to the sleepy seaside town of Edge, she’s sure that nothing exciting is ever going to happen to her again. But when she stumbles upon a secret museum hidden in the middle of town, she realises that there might be more to her new home than meets the eye. The Museum of Emily is filled with the belongings of one seemingly ordinary girl who disappeared from the town without a trace. With the help of her new friends, Lily is determined to solve the mystery and find out who Emily was, why she disappeared and who has created the strange, hidden museum.

Erin Paterson runs her grandfather's law firm in Glasgow, and is an uncompromisingly aggressive negotiator. But the success of her practice is not echoed in her personal life. Erin's father has had a stroke. She can't stand her mother. Her sister's a flake and their brother, Leland, committed suicide. She's not doing too well with her boyfriend either, whom she discovers in flagrante the day that an old school friend, Lucy Grant, is murdered.

For centuries faeries have lived safely in their ancient forests, but now their peace is under threat. Devils are escaping the prisons that have held them since the Dawn Days, and only one faerie stands in their way. Magpie Windwitch is the greatest—the only—devil-hunter of the Age. Together with her trusted band of crows, she tracks down and recaptures these ravenous beasts that devour everything in their path. When the hunt leads them to the legendary forest of Dreamdark, Magpie finds herself outmatched.

As leader of his clan, Black Rob Brunson has earned every dark syllable of his name. But having taken hostage his enemy's daughter in a fierce act of rebellion, he is tormented by feelings of guilt and torn apart with the growing need to protect her--and seduce her! Stella Storwick feels Rob's disdain from the first. Then slowly she starts to see behind his eyes to a man in turmoil. Something he has no words for, something that can only be captured in a heart-wrenching kiss...

Ailsa Calder has inherited half a house. The other half belongs to a man who disappeared without a trace 27 years ago. Her father. Leaving London behind to settle her mother's estate, Ailsa returns to her childhood home in the foothills of the Scottish Highlands, accompanied by the half sister she's never taken the time to get to know.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick “Beautifully written and incredibly funny, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is about the importance of friendship and human connection. I fell in love with Eleanor, an eccentric and regimented loner...

'Christmas and a wedding equals the perfect novel! The more I read it, the more I enjoyed it - this novel was magical.' NetGalley reviewer 'full of cosy Christmas feels' NetGalley reviewer Welcome to Mistletoe Island, where dreams can come true... The snow is falling and Fliss's friends have...

Hame, n. Scottish form of 'home': a valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin. In the wake of the breakdown of her relationship, Mhairi McPhail dismantles her life in New York and moves with her nine-year-old daughter, Agnes, to the remote Scottish island of Fascaray. Mhairi has been commissioned to write a biography of the late Bard of Fascaray, Grigor McWatt, a cantankerous poet with an international reputation. But who was Grigor McWatt?