Skelfs

Running private investigator and funeral home businesses means trouble is never far away, and the Skelf women take on their most perplexing, chilling cases yet in book two of this darkly funny, devastatingly tense and addictive new series! Haunted by recent events, the Skelf women are hoping for a quieter life. But running both a funeral directors and a PI business means trouble is never far away, and when a car crashes into the open grave at a funeral that Dorothy is conducting, she can't help looking into the dead driver's shadowy life. While Dorothy begins to uncover a dark truth at the heart of Edinburgh society, her daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah have their own struggles to deal with. Jenny's ex-husband Craig is making plans that could shatter the Skelf women's lives, and the increasingly obsessive Hannah has formed a friendship with an elderly teacher that is fast turning deadly. Something even more sinister lurks around the corner when a drumming student of Dorothy's disappears and suspicion falls on her parents. The Skelf women find themselves immersed in an unbearable darkness, but could the real threat be to them? Following three generations of women, as they deal with the dead, help the living and find out who they are in the process, The Big Chill reboots the classic PI novel while asking big existential questions, all with a fabulous dose of pitch-black humour.

The discovery of a human foot in an Edinburgh park, the inexplicable circumstances of a dying woman, and the missing daughter of Jenny's violent ex-husband present the Skelf women with their most challenging – and deadly – cases yet... _______________ Keeping on top of the family funeral directors' and private-investigation businesses is no easy task for the Skelf women, and when matriarch Dorothy discovers a human foot while walking the dog, a perplexing case presents itself ... with potentially deadly results. Daughter Jenny and grand-daughter Hannah have their hands full too: The mysterious circumstances of a dying woman lead them into an unexpected family drama, Hannah's new astrophysicist colleague claims he's receiving messages from outer space, and the Skelfs' teenaged lodger has yet another devastating experience. Nothing is clear as the women are immersed ever deeper in their most challenging cases yet. But when the daughter of Jenny's violent and fugitive ex-husband goes missing without trace and a wild animal is spotted roaming Edinburgh's parks, real danger presents itself, and all three Skelfs are in peril. Taut, dark, warmly funny and unafraid to ask big questions – of us all – The Great Silence is the much-anticipated third instalment in the addictive, unforgettable Skelfs series, and the stakes are higher than ever. _______________

A faked death, an obsessive stalker, an old man claiming he's being abused by the ghost of his late wife, and a devastating spectre from the past. The Skelfs are back in another explosive thriller, and this time things are more than personal... 'If you loved Iain Banks, you'll devour the Skelfs series' Erin Kelly ‘Nobody portrays modern Edinburgh better than Doug Johnstone. I love The Skelfs' Val McDermid _________________________________________ Death is just the beginning... The Skelf women live in the shadow of death every day, running the family funeral directors and private investigator business in Edinburgh. But now their own grief interwines with that of their clients, as they are left reeling by shocking past events. A fist-fight by an open grave leads Dorothy to investigate the possibility of a faked death, while a young woman's obsession with Hannah threatens her relationship with Indy and puts them both in mortal danger. An elderly man claims he's being abused by the ghost of his late wife, while ghosts of another kind come back to haunt Jenny from the grave ... pushing her to breaking point. As the Skelfs struggle with increasingly unnerving cases and chilling danger lurks close to home, it becomes clear that grief, in all its forms, can be deadly... _________________________________________ Praise for The Skelfs series ***Shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Book of the Year*** ***Longlisted for Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year*** ***Shortlisted for Amazon Publishing Capital Crime Thriller of the Year*** ‘An engrossing and beautifully written tale that bears all the Doug Johnstone hallmarks in its warmth and darkly comic undertones' Herald Scotland ‘Gripping and blackly humorous' Observer ‘A tense ride strong, believable characters' Kerry Hudson, Big Issue ‘The power of this book, though, lies in the warm personalities and dark humour of the Skelfs, and by the end readers will be just as interested in their relationships with each other as the mysteries they are trying to solve' Scotsman ‘Remarkable' Sunday Times ‘Keeps you hungry from page to page. A crime reader can't ask anything more' The Sun ‘Mysteries aplenty ... a poignant reflection on grief and the potential for healing that lies within us all. A proper treat' Mary Paulson-Ellis ‘A thrilling, atmospheric book, set in the dark streets of Edinburgh. Move over Ian Rankin, Doug Johnstone is coming through!' Kate Rhodes ‘An unstoppable, thrilling, bullet train of a book that cleverly weaves in family and intrigue, and has real emotional impact. I totally loved it' Helen Fields ‘This enjoyable mystery is also a touching and often funny portrayal of grief ... more, please' Guardian ‘Wonderful characters: flawed, funny and brave' Sunday Times ‘Exceptional ... a must for those seeking strong, authentic, intelligent female protagonists' Publishers Weekly

A body lost at sea, arson, murder, astronauts, wind phones, communal funerals and existential angst ... This can ONLY mean one thing! The Skelfs are back, and things are as tense, unnerving and warmly funny as ever! 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 a travelers' site, 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 installment in the unforgettable Skelfs series, and this time, danger comes from everywhere...

Drones, gangland vendettas, a missing choir singer, disturbances in the cemetery, PTSD, panpsychism, and secrets from the past ... This can ONLY mean one thing! The Skelfs are back, and things are as nail-biting, tense and warmly funny as ever! ‘ Hurroo! The Skelfs - Edinburgh funeral directors and part-time private eyes - are back ... the persistence of love in the Skelf household, no matter what fate flings at it, is reassuring and life-affirming' The Times Book of the Month _______________ The Skelf women are back on an even keel after everything they' ve been through. But when a funeral they' re conducting is attacked by a drone, Jenny fears they' re in the middle of an Edinburgh gangland vendetta. At the same time, Yana, a Ukrainian member of the refugee choir that plays with Dorothy' s band, has gone missing. Searching for her leads Dorothy into strange and ominous territory. And Brodie, the newest member of the extended Skelf family, comes to Hannah with a case: Something or someone has been disturbing the grave of his stillborn son. Everything is changing for the Skelfs ... Dorothy' s boyfriend Thomas is suffering PTSD after previous violent trauma, Jenny and Archie are becoming close, and Hannah' s case leads her to consider the curious concept of panpsychism, which brings new danger ... while ghosts from the family' s past return to threaten their very lives. Funny, shocking and profound, Living Is A Problem is the highly anticipated sixth instalment of the unforgettable Skelfs series – shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Novel and Theakston Old Peculier Crime Book of the Year – where life and death become intertwined more than ever before...