Read Scotland discussion

Alright, I'll give this a go. I read 8 books in this category in 2019, the best being Jackie Kay's "Trumpet". I'm not feeling as ambitious this year, but I have a Muriel Spark novel on the pile that I might get to shortly. And I want to read more Denise Mina, though she can be hit or miss.

James wrote: "Alright, I'll give this a go. I read 8 books in this category in 2019, the best being Jackie Kay's "Trumpet". I'm not feeling as ambitious this year, but I have a Muriel Spark novel on the pile tha..."

Good luck James! I'm glad someone else finds Denise Mina hit and miss too - I really enjoyed The Long Drop but might not be for everyone. :)

Finally got started on this, with Denis Mina's "The End of the Wasp Season." It's the second in her Glasgow-based Alex Morrow series, and generally better than the clunky "Still Midnight." Mina has her charms, but seems to struggle with structuring her plots. And characters often behave inconsistently, sometimes ridiculously. Her problem may be understanding the behavior and motivations of the criminals; she does much better with police, especially on procedures and office politics.

I also recently read Muriel Spark's "Territorial Rights", which was excellent, but I don't think I will count it toward this Scottish reading project. Spark was born in Edinburgh, but left after marrying young and spent her adult life primarily in London, New York, and Italy. And this book was set in Venice.

James wrote: "Finally got started on this, with Denis Mina's "The End of the Wasp Season." It's the second in her Glasgow-based Alex Morrow series, and generally better than the clunky "Still Midnight." Mina has..."

I would think Spark counts as Scottish for the purposes of this group. Certainly crime writer Ian Rankin considers her Scottish.
Most of her work was set in London though - a notable exception being "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie."

Point taken, and that's fine for the group's purposes, but Territorial Rights didn't seem to fit into my own list of "Scottish Reads".

Cheers.

One Good Turn, by Kate Atkinson, the second in her Jackson Brodie mystery/detective series. It’s set in Edinburgh, and felt a bit touristy – perhaps appropriately so since the character is English, now living in France. I haven’t read any Ian Rankin lately, but it might be interesting to compare their respective treatments of the city. Atkinson doesn’t wear her research lightly. But it moves along well and has an interesting, complex, plot.

I have read two of Peter May's books: Black House and Coffin Road. Great crime series set in the Hebrides. Eventually, I'll read more. How The Scots Invented the Modern World is another good one.

Sherry wrote: "I have read two of Peter May's books: Black House and Coffin Road. Great crime series set in the Hebrides. Eventually, I'll read more. How The Scots Invented the Modern World is another good one."

Thanks, I'll look for these. I've heard good things about that series by Peter May.

There’s another book - Caledonia. It’s 17th century Scotland based on The Darien Scheme - Scotland’s plan to create a New World colony in present day Panama. The attempt failed miserably and led to the Act of Union in 1707. Caledonia is an inter-generational tale about a 17th century woman who is one of the colonists on the failed mission. Her story was discovered by a 21st century American. In an effort to be up front and honest, I am the author of Caledonia.

One last one for 2020: Fishnet by Kirstin Innes. Interesting, but I have mixed feelings about it.

Wanted to fit in one more before the end of the year, so that makes three Scottish books this year. (Also a few by Muriel Spark.) Not sure what to do with this next year. There are some by Val McDermid that I'm interested in. Other possibilities are:
A Fine House in Trinity, by Lesley Kelly
Freeform, by Jack Dickson
Scotch Verdict, by Lillian Faderman