#SkelfSummer The Opposite of Lonely by Doug Johnstone #Review #Repost

 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. 

 

You can follow Doug here: Twitter   |  Website 

Amazon UK

 

Thanks to Doug Johnstone, Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book.