John of JOhn
Douglas Stuart
Paper Thistle Book Reviews
At Paper Thistle, we write a review for every book we sell, specialising in Scottish fiction. Each review considers character, writing style, tone, and overall reading experience, offering a thoughtful introduction to what awaits on the page.
Book Review: The Salt and the Flame
April 1923: the liner strains free of Stornoway harbour and Mairead leaves the Isle of[...]
Book Review: Phantom Limb
Gillis stood at his church door, his sprinting years behind him. Then, in the pit[...]
Book Review: The Gracekeepers
North danced with her bear on the deck of the Excalibur while the sea rose[...]
Book Review: Things We Say in the Dark
In a deserted Icelandic house a writer waits. Outside the window, shadows gather. Inside, she[...]
Book Review: Now She is Witch
Alone and bleeding in the woods, Lux buries her mother in the poison garden. A[...]
Book Review: The Ninth Child
Trossachs, 1850s. Isabel Aird follows her doctor husband to the Loch Katrine works, where gunpowder[...]
Book Review: Music in the Dark
Rutherglen, 1884. Jamesina Ross keeps her history buttoned to the throat - until a lodger knocks and[...]
Book Review: Murder Ballad
Isobel Duguid stepped into the limelight with a voice as wild as the Firth’s tides,[...]
Book Review: The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle
Castle corridors, stormy Skye, and a stolen relic - The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle sends Ropa Moyo[...]
Book Review: Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments
Fast, funny, and city-sharp, Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments sends Ropa Moyo from haunted wards[...]