WATERSTONES SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE MONTH

'Beguiling and elegiac' Lucy Steeds, author of The Artist

'A gritty tale of secrets, guilt and desire' Observer

'Completely enthralling' Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb

'An extraordinary sense of place and time, written by an exciting new voice' Radio Times (Best Books 2025)

1915, the Cabrach. In the fierce, wild beauty of this remote corner of Scotland, an isolated community makes a discovery: an ancient body in a peat bog, perfectly preserved.

Two people haul the body from the ground: Lizzie, the wife of a wealthy local landowner, and Johnny, a nomadic singer and farm hand.

Soon afterwards, strange events begin to occur. At hearthside and inn, people whisper: what have we unearthed?

As tensions run high and men leave for war, old fears and secrets emerge. But in a place where judgement is swift, who is truly without sin?

'A striking debut, filled with folkloric mystery and yearning' Amy Twigg, author of Spoilt Creatures

'Scapegoats, suspicion and secrets…a haunting picture of a small, intense environment where isolation can breed solidarity and warmth as easily as superstition and exclusion' Financial Times