The Death of Lomond Friel

A stunning debut novel about a family in crisis, written with extraordinary compassion, humour and grace. A young woman's life is thrown into disarray when her father has a stroke. 
 
WINNER OF THE SALTIRE FIRST BOOK AWARD

A vibrant, witty and passionate tale of a family struggling to overcome tragedy...Peebles' prose is consistently startling - there isn't an ordinary or hackneyed sentence or sentiment in the book...beautifully expresses the joys and tribulations of family life

I loved it...it's about human relationships, stark and simple, when they are tested to the limit. Who would have thought a novel about a stroke could be so compelling?... An excellent novel, tender and witty and shot through with perception of many kinds

If there is justice in the world she will be collecting prizes by the basketload for this extraordinary novel

The delicacy and care with which she draws the stricken Lomond is the outstanding feat of this ambitions work

In this debut novel Sue Peebles shows herself to be a deft wordsmith, grounded, subtle, and funny

This sensitive and moving narrative brings vivid, life-sized characters together in a powerful and meaningful manner. Peebles writes with an emotive energy and a lyricism that is open-hearted, focused and soulful. A debut novel worth indulging in if you'd like to introduce into your life a touch more clarity, insight and grace

A book that stayed with me long after I'd turned the final page. Despite their weaknesses and problems I wanted to keep hanging out with Rosie Friel and her family. Sue Peebles has created a very real cast of characters and rendered them with such style and verve, I really didn't want to let them go. She has a great future as a writer

Peebles tells this story with skill, tempering a potentially saccharine plot with a wry authorial gaze

The Death of Lomond Friel is a very fine first novel, full of emotion, laced with wit, and crowded with observations of the surface absurdities and hidden pains of being human. It marks Sue Peebles as an assured and cunning writer

Shot through with a fizzing mix of philosophy and comedy

An unusual, loveable debut...that explores the complexities of family relationships and the weight of memory

An unusual, loveable debut about a father and his daugther on the East Coast of Scotland...superbly written with a small cast of memorable characters

The beautiful debut by Scottish novelist Sue Peebles. This tale of a daughter caring for her father who has suffered a stroke is psychologically true and elegantly portrayed

The best debut I read...sharp, tender, wicked, and beautifully poised prose that reads like the work of an accomplished novelist

Sue Peebles was born in Scotland in 1955, but spent some of her childhood in Detroit. Since graduating in Psychology she has worked as a researcher, social worker and university teacher. Sue lives in Fife and this is her first novel.

When Rosie, a successful radio presenter, hears that her father has had a stroke, her life is thrown into disarray and she finds herself making reckless decisions that make little sense to those around her. As she strives towards building some kind of future for herself and her father, he quietly plots his own death . . . 
 
Set on the east coast of Scotland, the novel covers events in the weeks following the stroke and the lives of this small cast of captivating but very real characters. Exploring the impact of memory and conscience, it tackles a family at a time of crisis, delving into the complexities of emotions and family history with compassion, humour and grace. 
 
Winner of the Saltire Society First Book Award.

Sue Peebles

I ADORED Snake Road. Couldn't put it aside...so gentle and wise and uniquely observed. There can't be another Scottish novel, or indeed contemporary one, I will like more this year... a brilliant and beautifully written novel

A deeply humane tale of memory, loss and the struggle to understand a family’s past

The “sacred geometry” of ageing and the timeless measuring out of love are what sustain this subtle, beautiful book

A brilliantly perceptive novel of loss and love

Writing of this extraordinary quality and depth is only ever to be welcomed, embraced and, hopefully, suitably rewarded

Wise, memorable and written with a lightsome delicacy... It is wonderfully wry and occasionally laced with despair and menace

Beautiful prose and anguish conveyed throughout the text in a tender, yet irrevocably witty and sometimes self-depreciating manner…Peebles writes with an effortless empathy towards common everyday emotional and family struggles. This intergenerational journey is quite beautifully written, yet in an easy to follow and light style

Perceptive and humane, this is a memorable novel

I ADORED Snake Road. Couldn't put it aside...so gentle and wise and uniquely observed. There can’t be another Scottish novel, or indeed contemporary one, I will like more this year... a brilliant and beautifully written novel.

Brilliantly perceptive novel of loss and love

The recent death of Iain Banks left a gaping hole in contemporary literature, but nowhere was the loss felt more than in his native Scotland. Banks took ordinary situations and rendered them extraordinary; a talent that fellow Scot Sue Peebles, whose first novel won both the Scottish and Saltire book awards, shares in spades… The "sacred geometry" of ageing and the timeless measuring out of love are what sustain this subtle, beautiful book.

Deeply humane tale of memory, loss and the struggle to understand a family’s past… It’s a novel of generous warmth

A beautiful, brilliant novel destined to cement Sue's place as one of the leading lights of the Scottish literary scene

Peebles' keen eye for social observation adds a comic touch to the narrative, expertly showing how black humour is used in bleak times.

Peebles writes poetic prose, capturing Aggie's imaginative character and her need to find meaning in the puzzle of circumstances she finds herself in. The insight into dementia and its impact upon a family is poignant, with Aggie desperate to recapture the history of a beloved Gran who is disappearing in front of her eyes. The novel strongly evokes the Scottish countryside, its link to the past and the secrets it keeps. The story may be a slow burner, but keep going because its gentle pace builds up to a satisfying conclusion

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ENCORE AWARD 
 
Peggy Kirkpatrick has been talking about a baby called Eleanor. 
 
But no one has heard of Eleanor, and Peggy has dementia. She gets confused and most of the time she doesn’t make any sense, except to her granddaughter, Aggie. 
 
Determined to unravel the mystery of Peggy’s past, Aggie begins to search. But as curiosity turns to obsession, the drive for truth starts to threaten her marriage, her family, and her already fragile mind…

Sue Peebles

Praise for Snake Road

I ADORED Snake Road. Couldn't put it aside...so gentle and wise and uniquely observed. There can't be another Scottish novel, or indeed contemporary one, I will like more this year... a brilliant and beautifu ...

A deeply humane tale of memory, loss and the struggle to understand a family’s past

The “sacred geometry” of ageing and the timeless measuring out of love are what sustain this subtle, beautiful book

I ADORED Snake Road. Couldn't put it aside...so gentle and wise and uniquely observed. There can't be another Scottish novel, or indeed contemporary one, I will like more this year... a brilliant and beautifu ...

A deeply humane tale of memory, loss and the struggle to understand a family’s past

The “sacred geometry” of ageing and the timeless measuring out of love are what sustain this subtle, beautiful book

I ADORED Snake Road. Couldn't put it aside...so gentle and wise and uniquely observed. There can't be another Scottish novel, or indeed contemporary one, I will like more this year... a brilliant and beautifu ...

A deeply humane tale of memory, loss and the struggle to understand a family’s past

The “sacred geometry” of ageing and the timeless measuring out of love are what sustain this subtle, beautiful book

Books by Sue Peebles

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