Edinburgh fiction

[LarrysRightFoot]

Can anyone recommend any good crime/mystery/historical novels set in Edinburgh. 
 

I know some of the obvious ones but I’m sure there’s plenty of good and well known ones I’ve not heard of.
 

Ones with any mention or link to Hearts would be good but not essential.

[3fingersreid]

There’s a trilogy by an author called Paul Johnstone I’m sure the first one is called 

The Body Politic , set in Edinburgh in the not too distant future that are worth a read 

[William H. Bonney]

Two way split by Allan Guthrie is ok. 

[DarthVodka]

17 minutes ago, 3fingersreid said:

There’s a trilogy by an author called Paul Johnstone I’m sure the first one is called 

The Body Politic , set in Edinburgh in the not too distant future that are worth a read 

 

I've just whacked that on my amazon list - cheers for the suggestion

 

I quite like James Oswald's Inspector McLean's series too - first one is called Natural Causes, based in Edinburgh and has a slight supernatural twist to it 

[dtgj]

25 minutes ago, 3fingersreid said:

There’s a trilogy by an author called Paul Johnstone I’m sure the first one is called 

The Body Politic , set in Edinburgh in the not too distant future that are worth a read 

I can second this. Opened the thread to say the same in fact! 

 

They were written a while ago I think so 'the future' might even be here already! 

[3fingersreid]

1 minute ago, dtgj said:

I can second this. Opened the thread to say the same in fact! 

 

They were written a while ago I think so 'the future' might even be here already! 

I was thinking exactly the same when reading your second sentence 😂

[LarrysRightFoot]

I got an email from Amazon recommending Edinburgh Twilight - anyone read it? Seems to have mixed reviews. 

[Auld Reekin']

This one's a very interesting and influential novel, partly set in the Edinburgh of the late 17th / early 18th century:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Private_Memoirs_and_Confessions_of_a_Justified_Sinner#:~:text=The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner%3A Written,Hogg%2C published anonymously in 1824.  It won't be for everyone, given that it was written in the early 19th century, but I found it enjoyable and easy enough to read.

[AndrewB]

2 minutes ago, Auld Reekin' said:

This one's a very interesting and influential novel, partly set in the Edinburgh of the late 17th / early 18th century:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Private_Memoirs_and_Confessions_of_a_Justified_Sinner#:~:text=The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner%3A Written,Hogg%2C published anonymously in 1824.  It won't be for everyone, given that it was written in the early 19th century, but I found it enjoyable and easy enough to read.

James Hogg aka The Ettrick Shepherd.  That book is such  a good read

[Jibbers]

Complicity by Ian Banks is well worth a read. Set in Edinburgh it follows a journalist's investigation of a series of grisly murders during which he becomes

a suspect.

[Auld Reekin']

1 hour ago, AndrewB said:

James Hogg aka The Ettrick Shepherd.  That book is such  a good read

 

 

56 minutes ago, Jibbers said:

Complicity by Ian Banks is well worth a read. Set in Edinburgh it follows a journalist's investigation of a series of grisly murders during which he becomes

a suspect.

 

Good shout; good book.

[Governor Tarkin]

3 hours ago, Auld Reekin' said:

This one's a very interesting and influential novel, partly set in the Edinburgh of the late 17th / early 18th century:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Private_Memoirs_and_Confessions_of_a_Justified_Sinner#:~:text=The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner%3A Written,Hogg%2C published anonymously in 1824.  It won't be for everyone, given that it was written in the early 19th century, but I found it enjoyable and easy enough to read.

 

I was about to post this very book.

 

I thought it was excellent.

[¼½¾]

4 hours ago, 3fingersreid said:

There’s a trilogy by an author called Paul Johnstone I’m sure the first one is called 

The Body Politic , set in Edinburgh in the not too distant future that are worth a read 

 

I'm on book no 7.  I thought that was the last one, but on checking I noticed there's an 8th.

 

The first book is set in 2020 and the one I'm reading, Skeleton Blues is set in 2034

[Cade]

Paul Johnston's stuff is great.  

Have them all and regularly re-read them.

Social/political satire meets dystopian near future meets light science fiction meets private eye noire crime drama meets Edinburgh.

 

8 books in total so far, in order
Body Politic (1999)

The Bone Yard (2000)

Water of Death (2001)

The House of Dust (2002)

Blood Tree (2011)

Head or Hearts (2015)

Skeleton Blues (2016)

Impolitic Corpses (2019)

[3fingersreid]

39 minutes ago, Lemongrab said:

 

I'm on book no 7.  I thought that was the last one, but on checking I noticed there's an 8th.

 

The first book is set in 2020 and the one I'm reading, Skeleton Blues is set in 2034

 

3 minutes ago, Cade said:

Paul Johnston's stuff is great.  

Have them all and regularly re-read them.

Social/political satire meets dystopian near future meets light science fiction meets private eye noire crime drama meets Edinburgh.

 

8 books in total so far, in order
Body Politic (1999)

The Bone Yard (2000)

Water of Death (2001)

The House of Dust (2002)

Blood Tree (2011)

Head or Hearts (2015)

Skeleton Blues (2016)

Impolitic Corpses (2019)

I didn’t think he’d done any after Water of Death , I tried reading one of his that was set on a Greek island but couldn’t get into it . I was speaking to an author at the book feastival about PJ and he’d said he’d stopped writing due to ill health .

Plenty reading then to come , I take it it’s the same characters ? 

[¼½¾]

20 minutes ago, 3fingersreid said:

 

I didn’t think he’d done any after Water of Death , I tried reading one of his that was set on a Greek island but couldn’t get into it . I was speaking to an author at the book feastival about PJ and he’d said he’d stopped writing due to ill health .

Plenty reading then to come , I take it it’s the same characters ? 

Mostly the same characters.  For added interest, Tynecastle features in one of the later books. I like how he has Edinburgh Council's official colour as maroon, and its emblem a heart. 

[Cade]

31 minutes ago, 3fingersreid said:

 

I didn’t think he’d done any after Water of Death , I tried reading one of his that was set on a Greek island but couldn’t get into it . I was speaking to an author at the book feastival about PJ and he’d said he’d stopped writing due to ill health .

Plenty reading then to come , I take it it’s the same characters ? 

 

Aye the poor guy has had cancer about 8 times (he has some genetic problem that makes him very susceptible)  and he had to stop writing for a few years.

Same characters and setting in all the books.

[3fingersreid]

55 minutes ago, Lemongrab said:

Mostly the same characters.  For added interest, Tynecastle features in one of the later books. I like how he has Edinburgh Council's official colour as maroon, and its emblem a heart. 

Yep , I liked that too

 

48 minutes ago, Cade said:

 

Aye the poor guy has had cancer about 8 times (he has some genetic problem that makes him very susceptible)  and he had to stop writing for a few years.

Same characters and setting in all the books.

cheers , it says something about his character that he keeps fighting it 

[Carl Fredrickson]

I love Scottish/UK crime books and was going to recommend Rebus and the James Oswald books. 

[AlphonseCapone]

Started reading a book I picked up from a charity shop called Gutted by Tony Black that's set in Edinburgh. It's part of crime series about a character called Gus Dury.

 

It won't be winning the Pulitzer but an easy read and entertaining enough with all the references. 

[Tazio]

The Jack Parlabane books by Christopher Brookmyre are a good read and mainly based in Edinburgh. 

[Jamboross]

I've really been struggling to get into books at the moment but picked up a few of Doug Johnstone's novels and they're really enjoyable page turners that are mostly set in Edinburgh: 

 

Fault Lines

Breakers

The Dead Beat

A Dark Matter

 

I think he's done about ten in total.

 

Also, as Tazio said, Chris Brookymre's stuff is great. On top of the Parlabane series he and his wife have co-written a couple of books under the name 'Ambrose Parry' set in 19th Century Edinburgh which are really good reads. 

 

 

[superjack]

A series of books based in Edinburgh that I really enjoyed was the deadinburgh series. A zombie apocalypse series. Quite light hearted and funny at times.

[Pagey]

I've just finished the latest Quentin Jardine Bob Skinner book- was a bit disappointed tbh, think he's starting to run out of ideas. Motherwell FC was mentioned so probably backs up my last statement up!

[JWL]

17 hours ago, Tazio said:

The Jack Parlabane books by Christopher Brookmyre are a good read and mainly based in Edinburgh. 

 

Came on to post similar. His first novel 'Quite Ugly One Morning' is pretty much all set in Edinburgh and is FAF.