I am delighted to take part in the #SkelfSummer celebrations showcasing all things Skelf in the run up to the publication of Book 6 in the series, Living is a Problem. Over the next few weeks I will be reminding you about the series by Doug Johnstone with a repost of Skelf novels. Book 5 in the series is called The Opposite of Lonely.
Even death needs company…
The Skelf women are recovering from the cataclysmic events
that nearly claimed their lives. Their funeral-director and
private-investigation businesses are back on track, and their cases are as
perplexing as ever.
Matriarch Dorothy looks into a suspicious fire at an illegal
campsite and takes a grieving, homeless man under her wing. Daughter Jenny is
searching for her missing sister-in-law, who disappeared in tragic
circumstances, while grand-daughter Hannah is asked to investigate increasingly
dangerous conspiracy theorists, who are targeting a retired female astronaut …
putting her own life at risk.
With a body lost at sea, funerals for those with no one to
mourn them, reports of strange happenings in outer space, a funeral crasher
with a painful secret, and a violent attack on one of the family, The Skelfs
face their most personal – and perilous – cases yet. Doing things their way may
cost them everything…
Tense, unnerving and warmly funny, The Opposite of Lonely is
the hugely anticipated fifth instalment in the unforgettable Skelfs series, and
this time, danger comes from everywhere…
My Thoughts
We
pick up the lives of the three generations of The Skelfs and at once
are plunged back into their complicated lives which deal with the
blackest moments in people's lives. On the one hand, life seems gritty
and full of cynicism and menace. However, these are the Skelfs and so
there is a rich seam of black humour running straight through all the
events. Dorothy, Jenny and Hannah are all involved in their own
investigations but their lives interlap. Past events are never far
away.
I
was struck by the way the plot gathered pace as the story threads
evolved and by the end, the tension had become acute. The Skelf women
are made of strong stuff but there are others who you feel are bullied
and disregarded. Above all, you are left with the feeling that life and
death are so close together. You can tip from one state to oblivion in
an instant. Life is fragile but at the same time, worth fighting for.
This has been a great series to follow, full of humour to temper the
grit and with some finely drawn characters who are stand-out
individuals.
In short: five stars
About the Author
Doug Johnstone is the author of twelve previous novels, most
recently The BigChill (2020). Several of his books have been bestsellers and
three, A Dark Matter (2020), Breakers (2019) and The Jump (2015), were
shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year. He’s
taught creative writing and been writer in residence at various institutions
over the last decade – including at a funeral parlour ahead of writing A Dark
Matter – and has been an arts journalist for over twenty years. Doug is a
songwriter and musician with five albums and three solo EPs released, and he
plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, a band of crime writers. He’s
also player-manager of the Scotland Writers Football Club. He lives in
Edinburgh.
Amazon UK
Thanks to Doug Johnstone, Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book.
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