Books published by Saraband

This handbook offers an inspirational resource for those who want to discover more about the thousands of miles of Scotland's spectacular coastline.

Finding herself at a crossroads and in need of a change from her job and domestic responsibilities, Helen Moat set herself the challenge of a lifetime: she got on her bike and embarked on an epic cycle ride across Europe, all the way to Istanbul, accompanied by her eighteen-year-old son.

A thrilling historical novel based on the extraordinary true story of Lady Grange, who in 1732 was kidnapped on the orders of her powerful husband and exiled to a remote island beyond the Outer Hebrides.

The third in an acclaimed historical trilogy set in the Iron Age, The Stone Stories. Former slave, indomitable survivor and now matriarch Rian returns with her daughters to her Celtic homeland, navigating plundered riches, feuding warlords and a menacing curse.

A gripping, high-concept, page-turning crime debut featuring realistic digital face-recognition technology.

Scotland is a nation of dramatic weather and breathtaking landscapes. Its mountains, glens, rivers, lochs and seas are world-renowned for their beauty and their bounty. This is a lexicon of Scottish words that have been shaped by the landscape and wildlife.

Intrepid librarian Shona McMonagle, erstwhile Marcia Blaine Academy prefect, finds herself in an isolated French mountain village, where she must solve a mystery involving the mayor, the cheesemonger, the soprano Mary Garden - and even Count Dracula himself.

A compelling, often funny, inspirational boxing memoir charting one woman's incredible determination to achieve fitness goals in mid-life that smash all expectations of her age and gender.

Winner of the inaugural Mslexia Novella Award (2019). 1960s: A young woman arrives in 1960s Vegas, where she wants to start again and leave her past behind.

The story of a murder and its aftermath. On Christmas Night in 1881, John Manley, a poor son of Irish immigrants living in the slums of Leeds, was fatally stabbed in a drunken quarrel. The frightened murderer went on the run, knowing that capture could see him hang.A few generations later, author Catherine Czerkawska begins to tease out the truth behind her great-great-uncle's tragic death. But she uncovers far more than she bargained for.In a personal family story that takes us from Ireland to the industrial heartlands of England and Scotland, from the nineteenth century to the twentieth, Catherine gives voice to people often maligned by society and silenced by history - immigrants, women, the working classes. She unearths a tale of injustice and poverty, hope and resilience, and she is both angered and touched by what she finds. Catherine is driven to keep digging, to get to the very heart of life - and death - in the not-so-distant past.

Light is changing, dramatically. Our world is getting brighter - you can see it from space. But is brighter always better? Artificial light is voracious and spreading. Vanquishing precious darkness across the planet, when we are supposed to be using less energy. The quality of light has altered as well. Technology and legislation have crushed warm incandescent lighting in favour of harsher, often glaring alternatives. Light is fundamental - it really matters. It interacts with life in profound yet subtle ways: it tells plants which way to grow, birds where to fly and coral when to spawn. It tells each and every one of us when to sleep, wake, eat. We mess with the eternal rhythm of dawn-day-dusk-night at our peril. But mess with it we have, and we still don't truly understand the consequences. In Incandescent, journalist Anna Levin reveals her own fraught relationship with changes in lighting, and she explores its real impact on nature, our built environment, health and psychological well-being. We need to talk about light, urgently. And ask the critical question: just how bright is our future?

Spring marks the genesis of nature's year. As Earth's northern hemisphere tilts ever more towards the life-giving sun, the icy, dark days of winter gradually yield to the new season's intensifying light and warmth. Nature responds... Jim chronicles it all: the wonder, the tumult, the spectacle of spring.

Hong Kong, 2012. Dimitri Johnson learns that he is dying. Stunned by his doctor's prognosis, he nevertheless makes his ritual annual pilgrimage to the candlelight vigil for the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre. But this year, he thinks, may be his last. So little time remains. Over on the mainland, Chinese academic Yu Guodong is arrested for protesting against an official land grab in his ancestral village. Guodong's wife appeals to Dimitri's family for help, but taking on the forces of the state is fraught with danger. And isn't it simply a fool's errand, anyway? A powerful family drama set against the backdrop of the burgeoning protest movement that led to Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution, Chinese Spring explores the reality of democracy and dissent in modern China. And begs the question: have things really changed for the post-Tiananmen generation?

Norman Bates is alive and well... He's living just next door.

From the bestselling author of popular historical mysteries...

An epic coast-to-coast cycling trip through the wild and lonely interior of the Highlands, with a personal take on Scotland's landscape and history.

David Howe tells the story of the Lake District, England's most dramatic landscape. Home to vistas of stunning beauty and a rich heritage, it is an area of England that fascinates, inspires - and has bewitched David for a lifetime. With passion and an endless curiosity, he reveals how half a billion years of shifting ice, violent volcanoes and (of course) falling rain have shaped the lakes and fells that have fired the imaginations of the great sons and daughters of the area, the poets and the scientists. He shows that Lakeland is a seamless web where lives and landscape weave together, where the ancient countryside has created a unique local history: of farming and mining, of tightknit communities, of a resilient and proud people. The Lake District is a place of rocks and rain, reason and romance, wonder and curiosity. And this book celebrates it all: the very character of Cumbria.Praise for Wandering in Norfolk: East Anglian Book Awards 2017, SHORTLISTED "e;A real treat, and a perfect read for that comfortable armchair in front of the woodburner on a cold winter's day."e; Eastern Daily Press"e;The pot pourri style is very effective ... thoughtful views on a variety of subjects and some beautifully written science lessons ... an excellent and well written book."e; Amazon reviewer"e;Beautifully written, a joy to read."e; Amazon reviewer

The sequel to The Walrus Mutterer, longlisted for the Highland Book Prize, 2018

"e;Bullet-ridden, bold, brilliant."e; Neil BroadfootWhen Coleman Lang finds his girlfriend Gina dead in his New York City apartment, he thinks nothing could be worse... until he becomes the prime suspect. Desperate to uncover the truth and clear his name, Coleman hits the streets. But there's a deranged Italian hitman, an intuitive cop, two US Marshals, and his ex-wife all on his tail. And trying to piece together Gina's murky past without dredging up his own seems impossible. Worse, the closer he gets to Gina's killer, the harder it is to evade the clutches of the mysterious organisation known only as Janus - from which he'd long since believed himself free. Packed with plot twists, suspense and an explosive climax, The Janus Run is an edge-of-the-seat, breathtaking thriller - NYC noir at its finest."e;A breakneck New York thriller - I can't wait to read the next one."e; Mason Cross "e;A natural successor to Ed McBain, Douglas Skelton gives us a sharp and thrilling ride - a brilliant read."e; Michael J Malone "e;A defining work by our finest emerging crime fiction talent."e; Quintin Jardine "e;Ludlum meets Grisham in this fast-paced, fast-talking New York City thriller. Fascinating and utterly compelling."e; Denzil Meyrick "e;Pacy, great characters, twisted enough to keep me guessing."e; Alex Gray "e;Skelton really delivers with The Janus Run : the pace is relentless, the sense of place authentic, a story that draws you in and won't let go till the final page."e; Craig Russell "e;What do you get if you mix a deep-cover agent, a witness protected mob member, a psychotic killer and more action than you can pull a trigger at? Welcome to the wonderful, high speed, rollercoaster planet that is Douglas Skelton's The Janus Run ."e; Gordon Brown"e;Bullet-ridden, bold, brilliant, The Janus Run hits its stride on the first page and hurtles to its conclusion with the speed of a runaway subway. Utterly unmissable."e; Neil Broadfoot "e;This is brilliant-black-diamond hard writing ... brutal and enthralling. You never know where the next bullet is coming from. You'd better hang on tight for this one."e; Mark Leggatt"e;It's a cracker. A pacy thrill-ride of a book with an authentic NYC setting, whip-smart dialogue and a cast of memorable characters. Think Goodfellas meets The Bourne Identity. Skelton's best yet."e; Lisa Gray"e;Dynamite... authentically brutal, powerfully plotted and perfectly executed."e; Chapter In My Life crime fiction blog"e;A book that sinks its teeth into its readers like a Rottweiler and simply never lets go: the main difference being that this is an extremely enjoyable experience."e; Undiscovered Scotland"e;Fabulous... Well written, full of tension and suspense, it caught my imagination immediately and kept me hooked all the way through."e; Amanda Gillies, crime fiction reviewer

The story of a city landscape told through its trees, both past and present.

In this biography with a twist, Claire O'Callaghan conjures a new image of Emily Bronte and rehabilitates her reputation.

In this bicentennial year, Charlotte Bronte Revisited looks at Charlotte through 21st-century eyes. Discover her private world of convention, rebellion and imagination, and how they shaped her life, writing and obsessions - including the paranormal, nature, feminism and politics.

"e;Monstrously good."e; - Louise Welsh. London, 1823. Mary Shelley's real-life friend Isabella Baxter Booth is 'disturbed in her reason' - seeing ghosts and dependent on narcoti to escape a hellish life with an increasingly violent, deranged husband. Fearful of her own murderous impulses towards him, Isabella flees for her childhood home in Scotland, where she meets an ambitious young doctor, Alexander Balfour. He will stop at nothing to establish a reputation as a genius in the emerging science of psychiatry and he believes that Isabella could be the key to his greatness. But as his own torments threaten to overwhelm Alexander, is he really the best judge of which way madness lies?

Goblin is an oddball and an outcast. But she's also a dreamer, a bewitching raconteur, a tomboy adventurer whose spirit can never be crushed.

In the Encounters in the Wild series, renowned nature writer Jim Crumley gets up close and personal with British wildlife - here, the kingfisher. With his inimitable passion and vision, Jim relives memorable encounters with some of our best-loved native species, offering intimate insights into their extraordinary lives.

When antiques seller Daisy Graham inherits an ancient house on the Hebridean island of Garve, she plans only to sell up, daunted as she is by its isolation and its crumbling structure. But the house, its beautiful grounds and the island itself quickly prove themselves too charming - their secrets too fascinating - for Daisy to resist.

The remarkable Orkney landscape has the power to bewitch people, and Robin Noble has been in its thrall for a lifetime. Here he takes us on a personal voyage of adventure and discovery of the archipelago, its history, nature and people - from its seabird colonies and startling rock formations to its fishermen's huts and the Ring of Brodgar.

One night in 1980, a man becomes a monster.