Brian Hannan of Abbey Books in Paisley takes a look at how David McCloskey has inherited the John le Carre crown Mick Herron of Slow Horses fame has a challenger in the bid to be recognised as the best contemporary proponent of the espionage thriller crown. John le Carre became a huge international bestseller...
Read MoreNothing Ever Happens by Nouele P. St John, reviewed by local councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes Nothing Ever Happens by Nouele P. St John is the most recent novel published in Renfrewshire’s growing noir scene, and it’s a cracker. Jenny Winters spends her days working in the Glasgow Airport Security Vetting Team, a job she likes,...
Read MoreLocal Hero; Abbey Books in Paisley Celebrates 60th Anniversary of Red Clydeside MP William Gallacher Abbey Books in Wellmeadow St, Paisley, is commemorating the 60th anniversary of Paisley-born MP William Gallacher – a key figure in the Red Clydeside movement and one of only five Communist MPs to ever win a seat in Parliament...
Read MoreMuckle Flugga by Michael Pedersen reviewed by local councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes Muckle Flugga, the first novel from award-winning Scottish poet Michael Pedersen, draws you in from its first line. Named for the second most northerly island in Scotland, it captures the life of its sole inhabitants, the recently widowed lighthouse keeper known as The...
Read MoreHow to Kill a Witch: A Guide for the Patriarchy by Claire Mitchell and Zoe Ventidozzi, reviewed by Lisa-Marie Hughes How To Kill a Witch is the debut book by Witches of Scotland’s Dr Claire Mitchell QC and Dr Zoe Ventidozzi, whose campaign lead to the then First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, offering a public...
Read MoreEvery book collection tells a story, and none more so than that of Christopher Priest, as Brian Hannan of Abbey Books has discovered It’s taken us the best part of a year to open all the 50 boxes containing about 2,000 books that were donated by the widow of novelist Christopher Priest who lived...
Read MoreBrian Hannan from Abbey Book reviews the Architecture of Thomas Coats Memorial Church Paisley, The Baptist Cathedral of Europe 1894 A new book celebrating one of Paisley’s most stunning buildings has been published by Paisley Publishing. With an astonishing 180 photographs, Architecture of Thomas Coats Memorial Church Paisley, The Baptist Cathedral of Europe 1894...
Read MoreBrian Hannan from Abbey Books in Paisley reviews The Paisley Thread by Matthew Blair The worst thing about running a preloved operation like Abbey Books is that once a book is gone it’s gone. Although we have 40,000 books in stock, we only usually have one copy of a particular item. This is especially...
Read MoreAcclaimed Lochwinnoch-based writer Alan Bissett takes us inside the creation and conception of Lads: A Guide to Respect and Consent for Teenage Boys and outlines the “man-to-man conversations” that are soon to hit Renfrewshire’s high schools In 2022, I was one of the writers who worked on a script for a Police Scotland video...
Read MoreCaledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan, reviewed by local councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes Caledonian Road, penned by three times Booker Prize-nominated Andrew O’Hagan, is a literary giant destined to become a classic. Campbell Flynn is a middle-aged celebrity commentator and art historian. Coming from humble beginnings in Glasgow, he rises to the upper echelons of the...
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