A body lost at sea, arson, murder, astronauts, wind phones, communal funerals, stalking and conspiracy theories … This can ONLY mean one thing! The Skelfs are back, and things are as tense, unnerving and warmly funny as ever!

Book blurb

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 granddaughter 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

I read, Dark Matter, the first in this series and have bought a further two. I concluded my thoughts on the first book with “… the foundation for what, hopefully, will become a series going from strength to strength.” Well, it certainly has! The author is rightly collecting great praise, commendations and awards for the books in this series. Three have been shortlisted for prestigious awards and one currently in TV production which is certainly something to look forward to.

The Opposite to Lonely is no exception.

Initially the Skelf series was intended as a three book collection but the author and his publisher, Orenda Books, certainly made one of the best decisions ever when it was announced that the series would continue and more books would be published.

So here we are at number five.

The Skelfs are a family of three women – Dorothy, Jenny and Hannah – grandmother, mother and daughter they own and run a funeral business and a private detective agency. They are individually and collectively formidable. These women are exactly who you would want beside you and on your side through the ups and downs of life. They are human, caring, kind and generous. They aren’t perfect, they get into difficult situations, things go wrong but they persevere, they persist and they support and look out each other, for their friends, clients and community – whatever guise that takes – as they look to make the(ir) world a happier and healthier/greener place.

This is why they are so beloved by their readers.

So, The Opposite of Lonely opens with Dorothy overseeing a funeral. Fara is part of a travelling community and one of their number passed. They are on an island which gets cut off from the mainland at high tide. They need to be leaving or they will get stranded. As they walk back across the tide rushes in and the body is lost and taken out to sea. The coastguard has to be called to recover it.

This is the black humour that Doug Johnstone conjures up which brings a great sense of lightness to those awkward, uncomfortable and sad times that inevitably are a part of a story involving funerals.

Jenny is meeting her mother-in-law. She hasn’t seen her since the awful events of a year ago. This is the thread that most links what happened in the previous book Dark Hearts to The Opposite of Lonely. It’s always good to read a series in order but in this instance I haven’t and I had no problem with settling into this book. Also, having the other books on my TBR means I will be able to snuggle down with the Skelfs at some point before the next book is published, how lovely! Anyway, Jenny meets Violet who has changed drastically since they last met. Violet asks Jenny to find Stella, her daughter, as she hasn’t long to live. Stella went missing after taking (her brother and Jenny’s ex) Craigs body and committing arson which nearly killed Hannah and Indy.

Hannah is taken by her university supervisor to a talk being given by a Scottish astronaut – Kirsty – but it is disrupted by a man who seems to think something happened to Kirsty in space. Hannah learns that there have been other instances of disruption and other problems that are causing concern for Kirsty’s safety. Hannah agrees to look into it.

Then there’s a fire at Fara’s campground and one of the vans is burnt down. Luckily nobody is hurt. It is the van that belongs to two young women who are quite vulnerable due to their past experiences and Dorothy agrees to investigate.

The storyline has these three threads working through it and is easily followed as each chapter is headed with the name of one of the Skelfs. This also allows us to find out what is happening to each of the women and how they are coping with what happened in the last book and what is happening in this book. It’s a simple but effective approach and is beautifully executed by Doug Johnstone.

There are more characters that are central to the book Indy, Hannah’s wife, who works in the Skelf funeral business as does Archie. Then there’s Thomas who is a police officer and is Dorothy’s boyfriend. Yes Dorothy’s in her seventies but she’s a living, breathing woman who is as deserving of a relationship as anyone. Then there’s Brodie who is brought to Dorothy’s attention by Hannah and Indy – this is a sad but lovely part of the story.

Other characters like Fara and the travelling community, Kirsty and Mina, Stella each play a part as do Webster and Low the police officers who are investigating the van fire.

All this makes for a complex, at times shocking and heartbreaking story which has been brought to the reader by an author who has the deftest of touches. His writing simply flows unhindered from one thread to another and back again. He makes it so easy to read even through the difficult parts and he doesn’t shy away from them. The themes of misogyny, abuse of power, drug abuse, sexual assault, murder and how attitudes to ‘outsiders’ to ‘other’ can be manipulated, used to make it easier for bad people to do bad things. Then the balance is regained through what the Skelfs and their ever widening circle are doing no matter how small.

Dorothy, Jenny and Hannah – and the rest – are looking at greener funerals, concerned for those who die without family or friends for whatever reason setting up a community who can be called on to help and show support, making good use of the wind phone and more. They are redressing the balance in whatever ways they can and it makes you feel better – isn’t that wonderful! Isn’t that an amazing feat from the author!

All of this brings us back to the fact that The Opposite of Lonely, all the Skelf series and Doug Johnstone is deserving of all the attention and praise received. This is an excellent book and an excellent series.

If you haven’t already I urge you to read this indeed all the books in the series.

Thanks

Many thanks to Anne at RandomThingsTours for the invitation to join this wonderful BlogTour and to Orenda Books for an eCopy of The Opposite of Lonely by Doug Johnstone.

BlogTour

Why not check out these lovely blogs on the RandomTTours #BlogTour of The Opposite of Lonely by Doug Johnstone published by Orenda Books. Want to get a copy? Purchase links below.

Information

Published: Orenda Books | 14TH SEPTEMBER 2023 | PAPERBACK ORIGINAL | £9.99 | ORENDA BOOKS

Buy: Orenda Books | AmazonSmileUK | Your local bookshop | Your local library | You can order signed and dedicated copies from the author’s local bookshop, The Portobello Bookshop, whilst available.

***SHORTLISTED FOR THEAKSTON’S OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR*** (Black Hearts, 2023)

Author: Doug Johnstone is the author of 12 novels. In 2020, A Dark Matter, first in the Skelfs series, was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year and the Capital Crime Amazon Publishing Independent Voice Book of the Year award. In 2021, The Big Chill, the second in the series, was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. The Great Silence, the third in the Skelfs series, optioned for TV, is now in production with Blazing Griffin. In 2022. Black Hearts (Book four) was published and shortlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year (2023). The Space Between Us was chosen for BBC Two’s Between the Covers.

Several of Doug’s books have been bestsellers and award winners and his work has been praised by the likes of Val McDermid, Irvine Welsh and Ian Rankin. He’s taught creative writing and been writer in residence at various institutions, and has been an arts journalist for twenty years. Doug is a songwriter and musician with five albums and three 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.

Facebook: Doug Johnstone | @doug_johnstone | Instagram @writerdougj | Amazon author page: Doug Johnstone | Author website: dougjohnstone.com

Books

• A Dark MatterDoug JohnstoneSALE!
• Black HeartsDoug Johnstone
• BreakersDoug JohnstoneSALE!
• Fault LinesDoug JohnstoneSALE!
• The Big ChillDoug JohnstoneSALE!
• The Great SilenceDoug JohnstoneSALE!
• The Opposite of LonelyDoug Johnstone