Alastair Macleod: 158 books

Who were the Zeno brothers? How and why might they have led an expedition to America in 1398, well before Chistopher Columbus? Why were Knights Templar involved? And the young King Erik of Norway? And what role did the Earl of Orkney and Shetland play? Alastair Macleod uses historic...

"He knew these symptoms. These were the physical manifestations of a suppressed desire. In Guiliana's case it was clear the desire to have children was surfacing in her dreams. Italo had described how Guiliana not only dreamed of the Virgin and Child, but she dreamt hordes of children were possessing...

"Signora Grimaldi introduced her friends as they met with Flavia in the hall, "this is Signora Cassani and this is Signora Altieri. And this," she said turning to the dark haired woman "is my daughter Antonina." In that moment before they kissed in greeting, Flavia looked...

"and this beech he called Elfgifu the Emerald Princess. In the summer light she did seem like a princess to him- the sun slanting through her small soft downy green leaves dappling the glade in an emerald glow. The names came to him from his half course in Anglo Saxon at university. That time...

In this seventh story, Xiulan, a young Chinese woman living in Hong Kong, is now using her special skills in the police department. She encounters the dangerous world of art forgery, with its big money, big egos, state involvement and inevitably, organised crime. 

"Attaining Guanxi depends on all the principles being in place. The key is the concept of harmony; without harmonious relationships, for example where there are competing or conflicting relationships, there can be no trust, without trust, Lian or face will be lost. Also without trust, Mian-zi...

"Resentfully the women pulled on hats and gloves. Always after class they wanted to talk, to sit and drink tea, to let the session reach a natural end. This abrupt turfing out thrust them back to a reality they had escaped for a moment. Tanya watched the dark figures in ones and twos disperse...

"The neighbours soon knew about her husband's disappearance. And they were not slow in offering opinions of him. "Best without him," said Roberta from the flat above. "Too lazy." "What a pity, to lose such a handsome man, " said Alessandra Cavaletto, who had always...

"She knew him vaguely. He lived up the valley on a small hill farm which he worked with his dad. Sheep mostly. "We've lost a few lambs in the wet," he said, his voice warm and steady. Things had been that bad with prices recently he'd taken a job with the NFU as part time insurance...

"The tourist to the islands is to be forgiven for imagining that island life is an escape, an idyll where life is easy. It is far from the truth. Winning a living from sea and soil is hard, sometimes on a knife edge of risk. Not only therefore, did the islanders in their deepest hearts expect loss but they expected the bounty, the serendipitous event, the fortunate chance"

"they talked of the perilous journey they had undertaken, past the swilling whirlpool near the Katness shore, then the ripping tides of the Pictland Firth, then the journey past the symbol of the isles, the huge towering rock needle of the old man who gazed out to sea. They relayed greetings...

"She rubbed her arms – goose pimples. She stroked her long hair, fingering the ringlets and stared at her sandals; a slight girl, slender brown in a fine white garment that reached her ankles. Gold rings on her fingers and a bracelet of elephant hair. Around her neck a broad necklace of lapsis...

The Aeolian islands, in the Tyrrenhian Sea, have seen many invaders and many cultures, but the Greek period is seen as of one of halcyon days when the arts, community life and trade prospered. Yet those times were not without problems. This story takes place on one of those islands, the volcanic...

"The seal was close now, swimming parallel to the shore. "Enter," it said, "Enter". She watched in amazement as, starting at her toes her feet, then legs, began to turn silver. She could feel under her clothes the rest of her body changing too. She pulled off her trousers...