Winter

''A warm hug of a book... like sitting by a roaring winter fire'' JACKIE KAY Winter is the time to snuggle indoors without guilt; to curl up on the sofa with a good book or a box set, a hot drink or a wee whisky to hand. Val McDermid has always had a soft spot for winter: the bitter clarity of a crisp cold day, the vivid skies over the Firth of Forth, the crunch of frost on fallen leaves and the chance to be enveloped in big jumpers and thick socks. In Winter , she takes us on an adventure through the season, from the frosty streets of Edinburgh to the windblown Scottish coast, from Bonfire Night and Christmas to Burns Night and Up Helly Aa. She remembers winters from childhood, the thrill of whizzing over a frozen lake on skates, carving a ''neep'' (swede) for Halloween and being taken to see her first real Christmas tree in the town square, lights twinkling bravely in the dark Scottish winter night. Above all, she shows us that winter is a time of rest, retreat and creativity, for scribbling in notebooks and settling in beside the fire. This is a charming and cosy celebration of the winter season from one of Scotland best-loved writers.