The Opposite Of Lonely

Doug Johnstone £9.99 ORENDA BOOKS

DOUG JOHNSTONE’S beloved pitch-black Skelf series is back for its fifth outing. Set in and around a longestablished funeral home and private investigation business in Edinburgh, this crime series is darkly funny and features the endlessly fascinating, ferocious and unforgettable Skelf women.

It’s not often that we get to peek behind the curtain of a funeral directors and the insight that Johnstone provides us with is utterly fascinating and compelling. While death feels like its very much a main character in this book, the bleak subject matter, is handled with real compassion. Five books on, and this setting still feels completely unique – a hard thing to pull off in the overcrowded crime fiction market.

As the novel opens, the family are getting both businesses back on track after the recent cataclysmic events that nearly claimed their lives. The private investigation cases that they’re dealing with are as compelling and as perplexing as ever. Matriarch Dorothy investigates a suspicious fire at a travellers’ site, daughter Jenny searches for her missing sister-in-law who disappeared in tragic circumstances and granddaughter Hannah is putting her own life on the line by investigating a group of dangerous conspiracy theorists, who are targeting a retired female astronaut.

The Skelf women and their unique family dynamic are the real heart of this novel. Johnstone has created a host of characters that feel incredibly vivid and real. As the book hurtles towards its dizzying conclusion and the Skelfs face perilous professional and personal challenges, we cheer this unconventional family on all the way.

The Opposite Of Lonely is a tense and gripping read. Expertly plotted, this series is a masterclass in storytelling. Johnstone has a real gift for creating characters you can root for, and dialogue so slick, it runs off the page. Highly recommended.

“This series is a masterclass storytelling” in