This Month's Highlights

It would be nice to say that festival season is over, but that's not really true. Hot on the heals of the Edinburgh International Book Festival comes the Port Ellen Book Festival, and at the end of the month Scotland's national Book Town, Wigtown in Dumfries & Galloway, hosts its autumn festival. So, no rest for the literary wicked.

But it's ot a busy month for new Scottish books; publishers are taking a breather before they gear up for their Christmas list in October.

Fiction

The queen of crime fiction Val McDermid returns with a novel split between her native Fife and Tuscany. In A Darker Domain, a 24 year-old case is re-opened after an astonishing discovery in Italy.

Moonshine in the Morning is a debut novel from Andrea McNicoll, and promises to be a charming read. Set in a remote Thailand village, Mother Nong and Mother Mensri have to save their menfolk from ghosts; Mother Suree tries to curb her husband's infidelities; and all the while the village tries to hold its identity under the advance of 21st century modernity.

Military History

Trevor Royle continues his tasking in recording the history of the Scottish regiments. His latest, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, charts the history of the 93rd Highlanders from its foundation in the 18th century to its merger into the Royal Regiment of Scotland in 2006.

Sport

There are plenty of books about Scottish football legends Celtic FC, but The Celtic Story: The Will to Win is probably the first comic-book version. The book has a foreword by Billy McNeill.

Biography

Rodge Glass has recently finished his unique biography of one of Scotland's most famous authors, Alasdair Gray. Now Gray himself has his own biography A Life in Pictures, focussing on his work as an artist and illustrator for his own books. This lavish £30 book is from publishers Canongate.

Food and Drink

Hardeep Singh Kohli's Indian Takeway was launched at this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival. The Scots-Asian chef traces his ancestral and culinary roots in a journey around India - but can't help but bring some classic British meals with him.

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The Argyll And Sutherland Highlanders: A Concise History - Hardback - Trevor Royle
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders is one of the best-known regiments in the British Army. In a previous incarnation as the 93rd Highlanders, its soldiers were famed for being the thin red line that repulsed the Russian heavy cavalry at the Battle of Balaklava during the Crimean War. This book tells the regiments story.
£14.99
The Celtic Story: The Will To Win - Paperback - Patrick Canning; Tommy Canning; Allan Canning
In this full-length comic book story of Celtic Football Club, Tommy Canning conveys through his superb illustrations the rich history of the Glasgow club from the its founding and early years through to the present season.
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£18.99
A Darker Domain - Hardback - Val McDermid
1984, Fife. Heiress Catriona Maclennan Grant & her baby son are kidnapped. The ransom payoff goes horribly wrong. She is killed while her son disappears without trace. 2008, Tuscany. A jogger stumbles upon dramatic new evidence that re-opens the cold case. For Detective Sergeant Karen Pirie, it's an opportunity to make her mark.
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£16.99
Indian Takeaway: One Man's Attempt To Cook His Way Home - Hardback - Hardeep Singh Kohli
Hardeep Singh Kohli loves many things in life - but none more than food. He loves to eat it & he loves to cook it. So when he decided to travel round India, searching for his roots, what seemed the obvious thing to take with him? Not a travel guide. Not a BBC cameraman. Shepherd's pie and Yorkshire pudding.
£30.00
A Life In Pictures - Hardback - Alasdair Gray
Alasdair Gray is known throughout Europe and beyond for his writing, but he is also a highly regarded artist who is responsible for many murals, portraits, paintings and posters. In this autobiography he gathers together the paintings that have mattered most to him over the years, and weaves the story of his life through them.
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£7.99
Moonshine In The Morning - Paperback - Andrea McNicoll
'Moonshine in the Morning' presents an unforgettable cast of strong-minded women and their wayward husbands clinging to village life in Thailand before the relentless advance of modernity.