Books in the The Skelfs series

Three generations of women from the Skelfs family take over the family funeral home and PI businesses in the first book of a taut, gripping page-turning and darkly funny new series.***Longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Book 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 'I was addicted from the first page; gripping, gritty and darkly funny as hell' Erin Kelly 'A Dark Matter showcases a writer at the peak of his powers, except that with every book, Doug Johnstone just gets better' Val McDermid _________________ Meet the Skelfs: well-known Edinburgh family, proprietors of a long-established funeral-home business, and private investigators... When patriarch Jim dies, it's left to his wife Dorothy, daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah to take charge of both businesses, kicking off an unexpected series of events. Dorothy discovers mysterious payments to another woman, suggesting that Jim wasn't the husband she thought he was. Hannah's best friend Mel has vanished from university, and the simple adultery case that Jenny takes on leads to something stranger and far darker than any of them could have imagined. As the women struggle to come to terms with their grief, and the demands of the business threaten to overwhelm them, secrets from the past emerge, which change everything...A compelling, tense and shocking thriller and a darkly funny and warm portrait of a family in turmoil, A Dark Matter introduces a cast of unforgettable characters, marking the start of an addictive new series. _________________ 'A fiendish mystery that is also deeply moving and laced with suitably dark humour ... set to be one of the books of the year' Mark Billingham 'Emotionally complex, richly layered and darkly funny. An addictive blend of Case Histories and Six Feet Under' Chris Brookmyre 'This dark but touching thriller makes for a thoroughly enjoyable slice of Edinburgh noir' Mary Paulson-Ellis 'This enjoyable mystery is also a touching and often funny portrayal of grief, as the three tough but tender main characters pick up the pieces and carry on: more, please' Guardian 'A tense ride ... strong, believable characters' Kerry Hudson, Big Issue 'They are all wonderful characters: flawed, funny, brave - and well set up for a series. I wouldn't call him cosy, but there's warmth to Johnstone's writing' Sunday Times

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 humor.