Books by Sue

Lady’s Rock

Saraband, April 2024

A wronged woman’s voice is reclaimed in this gripping tale of revenge and romance–a medieval Gone Girl

Highland Scotland was no place for a woman in the early 1500s. Life was turbulent and short, battles were waged, and sisters and daughters were traded as pawns in marriage. Catherine Campbell was one such young bride, betrothed to Lachlan Maclean and sent from her fine home to join him on the Isle of Mull, to bear his sons and heirs.But Lachlan proved to be nothing like the man of Catherine’s dreams, and she was forced to resign herself to enduring life with him for the sake of duty. Until the day when he threatened to take away the one thing she couldn’t sacrifice: her daughter.Casting a fascinating light on the ruthless Highlands, this sweeping drama by one of Scotland’s best-loved novelists explores love, ambition and betrayal and highlights the precarious position of 16th-century women.

Praise for Lady’s Rock

Lady’s Rock draws a tale from one of the dark corners of Scotland’s history and re-tells it in a way that is absorbing and vividly imagined.  Clan feuds, love and betrayal, violence and vengeance – and all set against the peerless backdrop of the Scottish Highlands. Who can ask for more?
– Sarah Maine

Breathless pace, unexpected events … Terrific stuff that kept me up late
– E.S. Thomson

Chock full of gasp-inducing twists and turns
– Sarah Smith

The Green Lady

Saraband, February 2022

1567, Scotland: no place for a woman. Mary, Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son. She can rely only on the loyalty of her ladies-in-waiting, chiefly Marie Seton. Meanwhile, the political turmoil in the country is mirrored behind the walls of beautiful Fyvie Castle. Lilias’s marriage to Marie’s nephew, the ruthlessly ambitious Alexander Seton, goes awry after the birth of yet another daughter. He blames her, and contemplates drastic action. To what lengths will a man go to secure a son and heir?

The Green Lady is a shocking tale of intrigue, secrets, treachery and murder, based on true events, but seen from a different perspective than is found in most history books. Casting a fascinating light on the ruthless nature of power, the story highlights the precarious position of sixteenth-century women, even those in the most privileged of circumstances.

The Unreliable Death of Lady Grange

Saraband, 2020

Edinburgh, January 1732: It’s Lady Grange’s funeral. Her death is a shock: still young, she’d shown no signs of ill health. But Rachel is, in fact, alive and (mostly) well. She’s been brutally kidnapped by the man who has falsified her death – her husband of 25 years, a pillar of society with whom she has raised a family. Her punishment, perhaps, for railing against his infidelity – or for uncovering evidence of his treasonable plottings against the government.

Whether to conceal his Jacobite leanings, or simply to ‘replace’ a wife with a long-time mistress, Lord Grange banishes Rachel to the remote Hebridean Monach Isles, from where she’s removed again to distant St Kilda, far into the Atlantic – to an isolated life of primitive conditions, with no shared language – somewhere she can never be found.

This is the incredible and gripping story of a woman who has until now been remembered mostly by her husband’s unflattering account. Sue Lawrence reconstructs a remarkable tale of how the real Lady Grange may have coped with such a dramatic fate, with courage and grace.

A Taste of Scotland’s Islands

Birlinn, 2019

Sue Lawrence has been on a personal odyssey – a trip round some of Scotland’s many islands speaking to producers and cooks, gleaning recipes along the way. From islands such as Mull, Raasay, Out Skerries and Luing she has amassed over 100 recipes, mainly created from ingredients and produce she came across in her travels. Some of the recipes are traditional, for example using seaweed or reestit mutton in a soup; others are more contemporary, like Shetland Salt Fish Cakes with Romesco Sauce or Venison Chilli.
This celebration of the landscape and history of the Scottish islands is illustrated with photos of some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and with mouth-watering pictures of the islands’ best cooking. Keen home cooks will find here a whole new world of delicious but easy to prepare dishes, presented with Sue’s trademark warmth and clarity of method.

Down To The Sea

Saraband, March 2019

A young couple buy a large Victorian house in Edinburgh and plan to renovate and set it up as a luxury care home. But something is not quite right: disturbing sounds can be heard when the sea mists swirl; their unpredictable neighbour makes it clear that the house was not always a happy family home. And their characterful’ historic pile has a gloomy cellar harbouring relics from days gone by. Back in the 1890s, superstitious fishwives blame young Jessie for the deaths of their menfolk in a terrible storm, and she’s forced into the Poorhouse. In those less enlightened times, life was often severe, cruel even, and Jessie is entirely at the mercy of a tyrant matron. But one inmate is not all she seems. Jessie begins to pick at the truth, uncovering the secrets and lies that pervade the poorhouse and which will have profound and dangerous consequences in the future.

The Night He Left

Freight Books, April 2016

At 7pm on 28th December 1879 a violent storm batters the newly-built iron rail bridge across the River Tay, close to the city of Dundee. Ann Craig, a wealthy woman, is waiting for her husband, a mill owner, to return home. From her window she sees the bridge collapse, the train he is travelling on ploughing into the sea, killing all those on board. As Ann investigates the events leading up to the crash, doubt is cast on whether Robert was on the train after all. If not, where is he, and who is the mysterious woman who is first to be washed ashore? In the present day, Fiona Craig’s new partner Pete, an Australian restaurateur, clears the couple’s bank account before abandoning his car at Dundee Airport and disappearing. When the police discover his car is stolen, Fiona conducts her own investigation into Pete’s background, slowly uncovering dark secrets and strange parallels with the events of 1879. Following on from her acclaimed debut, Fields of Blue Flax, Sue Lawrence serves up another brilliant historical mystery, meticulously researched and densely plotted, with plenty of twists and turns and a gripping climax.

Praise for The Night He Left

I found this book enthralling. It’s a cracking story beautifully told
Lorraine Kelly

Lawrence’s parallel plotlines advance in lock-step with each other over alternate chapters, with spooky similarities but also crucial differences, until they’re entwined to great effect towards the end
Sunday Herald Life 

A gripping tale
Daily Record 

The Night He Left is a deft mix of vivid storytelling, intriguing mystery and building momentum, skilfully interwoven with the history of the Tay Bridge disaster
Scottish Field

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29417273-the-night-he-left

Fields of Blue Flax

Freight Books, May 2015

Dark Victorian secrets mirror the pattern of betrayal and deception in the present.

Set in Edinburgh and Dundee, Fields of Blue Flax is the parallel story of, in the past, dark Victorian secrets uncovered and, in the present, how an innocent interest in genealogy brings a family to the brink of destruction. Cousins Mags and Christine are complete opposites, one conventional the other bohemian. As family life with husbands and children intertwine, their joint research into the family history uncovers a forgotten relative, Elizabeth Barrie, born in the late nineteenth century in the north east village of Tannadice. Elizabeth’s origins aren’t what they appear to be, hiding a shocking scandal at the very heart of a prominent, ‘respectable’ family. Unprepared for what they will find about their relative, the truth at the heart of Elizabeth’s story mirrors the cousins’ own equally dysfunctional family lives. Both Mags and Christine find out in different ways that uncovering a family’s past can have unexpected and revocable consequences for those living in the present.

Praise for Fields of Blue Flax

Researching your family tree has never been easier and the secrets that previous generations thought they had taken to the grave are now ripe for discovery by an internet savvy generation keen to uncover their past. Such family secrets and lies are the ingredients for food writer Sue Lawrence’s debut novel Fields of Blue Flax… As the protagonists chop, stir and simmer their way through breakfasts, lunches and dinners of family life, there is comfort food and cold comfort food, a killer broth and some to-die-for brownies, all served up in what is a satisfying tale of revenge served both hot and cold
Scotland on Sunday

Scottish Baking

Birlinn, July 2014

In recent times Britain as a whole can’t get enough of programmes like The Great British Bake-off and The Fabulous Baker Boys, but Scotland has always had a wonderful tradition of baking in both sweet and savoury recipes. Leading cookery writer Sue Lawrence has now combined her two passions, for baking and Scottish cooking, into one definitive book. A compendium of 70 easy-to-follow recipes, it brings together the traditional breads, scones and cakes that have shaped Scotland’s great baking heritage and new contemporary bakes like Sticky Toffee Apple Cake and Coconut Cherry Chocolate Traybake. Cooks everywhere will want to try these delicious recipes from Scotland. This is a book that will reach out to anyone who loves to dabble with flour, sugar, butter – and a griddle!

Praise for Scottish Baking

Sue Lawrence is a rock star
Guardian

Breathtakingly clear photography, paired with minimalist layout, help contemporise the humble scone, oatcake and bannock, reflecting their renewed appreciation by a younger generation of bakers . . . Beats the GBBO’s fussy showstoppers hands-down
Herald