Bookshelf features new books including by authors from Dumfries and Galloway and those with connections to Kirkcudbright Book Week.

Author’s crime writing career gathers pace

The second crime novel by Castle Douglas writer David L Haigh has been published with the third in the series to be available in November (2025).

Hooked By The Past, the second book in the series, is published by Ingle-Haigh and follows David’s debut crime novel Land Kill, which came out in February 2024. Ingle-Haigh will publish A Fruitless Revenge, the third in the series, in the week beginning November 10.

Again drawing heavily on the Northumbrian countryside, as did Land Kill, Hooked by The Past begins when the estranged wife of criminal Barry Klaxon is found dead by local journalist Colin Jakeman.

Jakeman sets out to investigate the Klaxon Gang after the death of his brother, and also investigating the events is DCI Jeff Spencer and his team. The longer the investigation continues, the more it unearths evidence of extortion, murder and grievous bodily harm.

David, a member of the Stewartry Writers group, who came to live in Dumfries and Galloway in 2019, had not envisaged embarking on a career as a crime writer but all that changed when he attended a writing workshop run for the group.

Inspiration struck during the workshop run by John Dean, the crime writer who lives near Castle Douglas and has twenty six titles to his name, and who has continued to support David.

David said: ”That workshop  planted the idea in my brain and John has remained a guiding light with his encouragement and advice.

“Land Kill was my first venture into crime fiction. In the beginning, I had no intention of it being anything more than a one-off but by the end of the novel thoughts of a follow-on saga for DCI Jeff Spencer and his team began to sprout.

“Hooked By The Past grew into the second book in the series. A Fruitless Revenge is the latest.” 

John Dean said: “David is the perfect example of an author who becomes inspired by the potential for storytelling offered by crime fiction. I am impressed at the way the ideas have kept coming and the way David has continued to hone his writing skills.”

David said that other support has included editing by Claire Cronshaw, of Cherry Edits, and proof-reading by freelance book editor Laura Dean. The cover designs were produced by Bespoke Author, who also carried out the formatting for sale on Amazon.

Orders are being taken for an anthology of short stories produced by a new Scottish publisher working with a highly inventive format.

274 Miles features forty stories, none more than 274 words. The collection, which became Glasgow-based Tantallon Tìr’s debut anthology when it was published on September 30, 2025, takes its title from the fact that the Scottish mainland, from the Mull of Galloway to Cape Wrath, is 274 miles.

The fact led to an anthology comprising the forty stories featuring crime, horror, sci-fi, literature, and everything in between.

Tantallon Tìr says that the collection features ‘the very best writers from, or living in, Scotland’.

Advance copies of the 274 Miles anthology (£12) can be ordered at :

https:// tantallontir.com/shop/

The Detective Chief Inspector Jack Harris series (The Book Folks, a Joffe Books company)

The first nine novels in John Dean’s Detective Chief Inspector Jack Harris series have been published in a special Kindle e-book boxset for just 99p. Published by The Book Folks, a Joffe Books company, the novels by the Dumfries and Galloway author tell the story of the detective as he returns to take charge of CID in the North Pennines valley where he grew up, with some of the action in the later books taking him to South West Scotland.

The boxset can be purchased by keying in ‘John Dean’ on Amazon

JESSIE MARION KING Jessie Marion King (20 March 1875–3 August 1949) was a Scottish artist, designer and illustrator especially known for her illustrated books. She was one of the artists known as the Glasgow Girls. Little known at the time of her death, her work is now widely admired and celebrated.

THE LITTLE WHITE TOWN OF NEVER WEARY by Jessie M King was published in 1917. It has been out of copyright since 2018. This new edition with a comprehensive introduction by Ian Spring was released to coincide with the 150th anniversary of her birth on 20th March 2025.

The Little White Town consists of a description of a small town, clearly based on Kirkcudbright where King lived at the time, in the form of a sort of fairy tale for children. Although King had illustrated and designed many books, she was not accustomed to writing the text by herself and this proved somewhat daunting for her. Her primary idea had been to include with the book cardboard cutouts of buildings in the town which could be constructed and decorated by children — and she worked on this with her daughter Merle, who was eight at the time.

The date of release of the book is significant as simple toys for children were necessitated by the ravages of war. It was also a time, of course, when many children had suffered from the loss of their fathers.

The book was also intended as a tribute to Kirkcudbright, where King had happily settled with her husband and daughter. The ‘Little White Town’, is in some ways idyllic, but not perfect, and it can be seen as an example of a small town that demonstrates to a child the various functions of a typical community.

Although the book cannot be regarded as part of a wider Scottish fictional tradition per se, it could be regarded as an antidote to the ‘anti-kailyard’ school of fiction, typified by, for example, The House with the Green Shutters and Gillespie, that portrays Scottish small town life.

You can find out more at https://www.rymour.co.uk/   https://www.rymour.co.uk/

Adventure

Publisher Ian Spring of Rymour Books, a friend of Kirkcudbright Book Week, is celebrating after one of the company’s titles was longlisted for a prestigious international prize.

Gods of the Lost Crossroads by veteran Scottish novelist Robin Lloyd-Jones has been named on the longlist for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize Best Published Novel, 2024.

Other books on the 12-strong longlist include Light Over Liskeard by Louis de Bernières (Harvill Secker), A Haunting in the Arctic by  C. J. Cooke (HarperCollins) and Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi (Gollancz).

Ian said: “This is an international prize and a perusal of the other publishers on the list will give you an idea of what an achievement this is for Rymour Books and for Robin and Scottish writing, in general.”

Crime Fiction

New John Blizzard novel is published

The latest in the DCI John Blizzard series of crime novels by Dumfries and Galloway writer John Dean has been published.

The Meek Shall Inherit (The Book Folks) is the author’s 25th crime novel to be published and is available in ebook format with paperback and hardback to follow shortly, from Amazon.

In the novel, when an elderly couple walk into Abbey Road Police Station and announce, with a certain nonchalance, that they’ll be murdered in the coming week, Detective John Blizzard has every reason to take them seriously. Twenty years earlier, they were subject to a brutal assault in their home, which they barely survived.
Enraged that he’d been diddled out of his rightful inheritance, their nephew Charlie Louden had decided to take the law, and a machete, into his own hands. Now he’s being considered for early release from prison. Blizzard tries to put their fears to rest. Charlie is apparently a changed man. And surely the parole board would not make such a grave mistake.
Yet when a body is recovered following a warehouse fire, things begin to hot up in the industrial city of Hafton.

The Meek Shall Inherit is the twelfth standalone murder mystery by John Dean to feature stalwart crime-solver DCI John Blizzard.

Crime writer Ian Robinson, a good friend of Kirkcudbright Book Week, has a new novel out, marking the return of renegade police office Sam Batford in his latest undercover assignment.

An armed gang is robbing cash vans in North London, and DS Batford’s bosses want his help catching them red-handed. That’s not all that they want. Convinced he is corrupt, Superintendent Klara Winter is looking to catch him with his hand in the cookie jar.
However, Batford’s immediate danger is being found out by the ruthless mob he has infiltrated. They are packing and not afraid to open fire. Used to bending the rules to protect his life, will he use the chance to go clean, or take a step too far and cross the Rubicon?
Lines Crossed, published by The Book Folks, is the third book in the DS Sam Batford undercover investigations series and can be purchased on Amazon in e-book, paperback and hardback formats.

Crime writer Jackie Baldwin, who has twice appeared as a guest author at Kirkcudbright Book Week, has attracted some excellent reviews for her new novel.

Murder at Whiteadder House (Storm Publishing) is the third book in Jackie’s new Grace McKenna series, and is available in Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook formats.

The book tells how private detective Grace and her assistant are called in to investigate a missing woman in a story which takes them to a clinic in Scotland’s remote wilderness. You can read the reviews and purchase the book at

Status Drift Ian Robinson (The Book Folks)

The follow-up to Criminal Justice sees a return appearance for undercover cop Sam Batford, who treads the fine line between corrupt officer and crime-busting detective. The book is available on Amazon.

The Counterfeit Detective – Simpson Grears

In The Counterfeit Detective, an American professor discovers the diaries of John Ledbury, a minor poet who, in Victorian London, is employed to reply to the mail that comes addressed to Sherlock Holmes at 221b Baker Street. The discovery leads to an investigation that involves travel through time.

The book can be purchased on Amazon.

Land Kill

Castle Douglas writer David L Haigh has had his first novel published, telling a  tale of murder in a rural community. Crime novel Land Kill, which has been published by Michael Terence Publishing, tells the story of a former stockbroker turned pheasant farmer, who was the last known person to speak to a murdered Northumbrian poacher. The book tells the story of the investigation led by DCI Jeff Spencer and his team as they attempt to find the missing links in a chain which they suspect has ties to the former stockbroker’s time in the City.

The book, which is available in Kindle and Paperback formats, can be purchased on Amazon.

Criminal Justice

Author Ian Robinson, a regular performer at Kirkcudbright Book Week, has a new crime novel out – and it’s attracting plenty of glowing reviews.
Criminal Justice (The Book Folks) introduces undercover police officer Sam Batford, a man who walks the narrow line between successful detective and corrupt cop, constantly challenging the reader’s loyalties. The novel sees him sent to work with a serious crime team in London in an investigation which sees him play the good guys off against the bad guys in a tense story. You can purchase the book on Amazon.

Author John Dean, one of the team behind the recent Kirkcudbright Book Week, has a new crime novel out.

In To Catch A Lie (The Book Folks), John’s twenty fourth crime novel to be published, DCI Jack Harris finds himself plunged into a murder investigation that takes him to Scotland in search of a killer.

The story begins when a man’s body is found on a country estate in the North Pennines area for which Harris is responsible. With rumours and intrigue bubbling up, swept along by strange currents, Harris and his sergeant, Matt Gallagher, head north of the border.

The book can be purchased in Kindle format and paperback on the Amazon website.

Historical Fiction

The first book in a historical fiction trilogy written by author Penny McPherson, which was inspired during her years living amid the rugged beauty of Skye, has been published.

Titled The Colours of the Sky’, the book is the debut novel by the 59-year-old teacher and has been published by Shore Path Press.

Born in Stranraer, Penny was inspired to write the novel partly by her time living in Tarskavaig on Skye and also by her experience as a teacher specialising in EAL {English as an Additional Language}. Teaching primary and secondary pupils, including those displaced from their homes due to war or other circumstances, gave her a life-long interest in how place and dislocation impact on the individual’s sense of self.

The trilogy tells the story of one girl’s life. Born in the 1870s, Agnes’ early years are spent in the fictional crofting township of Auchnavaig, on Skye’s southern coast. Later, she marries  a young doctor and moves to Scotland’s industrial central belt, where she witnesses the impact of hardship amidst the squalor and tragedy of mill-town life.

The book explores themes of belonging, grief, faith, love and friendship, as well as issues around loss and childbirth in late 19^th century Scotland. Book two, The Colours of the Heart, is due for completion this summer.

Book details:

Title: The Colours of the Sky

ISBN: 978-1-7384097-0-9

Format: Paperback

Size: Novel 127mm x 203mm. 487 pages.

Language: English

Genre: Fiction, Historical, Scotland

Edition: First

Retail Price: £10.99

Publisher: Shore Path Press

Launch: 1^st March 2024

You can find out more, including how to purchase the book, at https://pennymcpherson.com/

Children’s fiction

Foggie Toddle Books of Wigtown, a much-valued supporter of Kirkcudbright Book Week, has published two new children’s books.

Picture book Shona the Vet City Wildlife Rescue takes to the air for a second adventure filled with fun and facts for early readers. Shona, and her dog Jock, are the creation of working vet Catherine Stables who realised her long-held secret ambition to be a children’s writer and illustrator with her first picture book Shona the Vet: A Coast to Coast Adventure.

City Wildlife Rescue follows Shona and her dog as they fly to help a confused otter at the Falkirk Wheel, an urban fox in distress at Glasgow’s harbourside, a peregrine falcon with a sore eye at Edinburgh Castle and sooty owl in Inverness.

In her working life Catherine, of Moray, doesn’t need a helicopter as she’s a small animals vet with the Keith-based Seafield Veterinary Group. She started telling stories for her two sons when they were younger, and the idea of Shona and her adventures developed from these bedtime tales.

The first Shona the Vet story was spotted by Future-vets Scotland, who gained funding from the three veterinary colleges to send a copy into every primary school in the country in the hope of inspiring a new generation of children to consider a career in the science.

Owner of Foggie Toddle Books, Jayne Baldwin, said: “It’s been a privilege to be the publisher of a book chosen to be sent to every primary school in Scotland and now I’m so excited to see the new adventure winging its way across the country.”

Shona the Vet: City Wildlife Rescue is available to order from bookshops or online price £6.99.

The second new title is a picture book aimed at encouraging girls to follow their dreams has been created by three women who have done just that.

The Highland Cowgirl is a charming new book for wee ones created by author Louisa MacDougall together with illustrator Sarah Lovell and published by Foggie Toddle Books.

The story features Hanna who lives in the west end of a big city but who dreams of being a cowgirl in the Wild West. Until she can somehow make that happen, she practices her rodeo skills with the help of her mum and dad. But then one day her class goes on a school trip to a farm and Hanna hopes she’ll be able to put her skills into action.

Author, mother of three Louisa MacDougall, spent years submitting manuscripts and she’d been shortlisted for prestigious writing awards on several occasions, but a publishing contract still eluded her until last year.

The Searchlight Writing for Children Awards, which aims to champion new writers and illustrators, brought Louisa, who lives on Scotland’s remote Hebridean island of Harris, together with Sarah Lovell who is based in British Columbia in the west of Canada.

The full colour 36-page picture book is available, price £8.99, from the end of May 2024 in  bookshops or directly from Foggie Toddle Books at www.foggietoddlebooks.co.uk