The Skelfs are BACK…

Warm, tense and full of heart, Ghost Notes is another masterful instalment in Doug Johnstone’s award-winning, addictive Skelfs series, and the stakes are higher than ever…

A heart attack at a funeral, blackmail, murder, grief bots, affairs, the power of music and ghosts of every kind, who threaten the Skelfs’ very existence. The Skelfs are back in another gripping, heartfelt and irresistible mystery.

Book blurb

The Skelf women have been keeping their heads down, running the family’s funeral directors and private investigation businesses. But when a woman collapses at her husband’s funeral and is saved by Dorothy, she finds herself drawn into the murky world of ‘grief tech’ – a booming new industry that creates digital avatars of the dead.

Jenny’s latest case – a simple blackmail job for an old school friend – quickly spirals into chaos as the woman’s tangled love life pulls Jenny towards dangerous old habits. 

Meanwhile, Hannah and her wife, Indy, are confronted by the unexpected arrival of Indy’s ex-boyfriend, claiming to be dying and eager for the Skelfs to arrange his funeral. But his arrival uncovers more ghosts from the past, and threatens to upend everything they’ve built.

As their cases collide and their personal lives spiral, the Skelfs face danger from all sides. How far will they go to protect one another, and what will it cost to finally silence the ghosts? 

My thoughts

Well here we are with another instalment of The Skelfs and it’s good to be back in Edinburgh and into the world of this unusual and unique family once more. Settle back and get comfortable but not too comfortable because you know that mixing death, blackmail and unwelcome ghosts from the past is going to keep you on the edge of your seat for a ride through these pages that will be heartbreaking, joyful and full of the love that only these three women can evoke for each other, their family, their extended family and yes, even us because after all aren’t we all part of that family, that world of The Skelfs.

Dorothy, Jenny or Hannah head each chapter so we clearly know which thread we are following. Dorothy has so much empathy for her fellow humankind that even when she is being ghosted by the man she loves her default is to try and make sense of it. And when a woman, Evelyn Clayton, has a heart attack at her husband’s funeral Dorothy is quick to act and then feels obliged to find out why he committed suicide. The answer has Dorothy looking into the murky waters of grief ‘support’ in the form of avatars, bots and their commercialisation. It’s a very dark world which finds Dorothy understanding the attraction yet realising how dangerous it can be. With little that the police can do Evelyn’s young son takes things into his own hands whilst Evelyn herself becomes dangerously enamoured by the grief avatar world.

Jenny meets with an old school friend who is having an affair over which she is being blackmailed. She wants to know who the blackmailer is and asks Jenny to find out. Jenny will be drawn into her past addiction whilst being considered a suspect when those she is investigating start turning up dead. Out of it all comes an understanding and acknowledgment of herself that is hard but necessary to move forward. Knowing that there may be relapses and that she has support from her family and from one person in particular.

Hannah also has to make sense of revelations about the woman she loves and is married to when a ghost from Indy’s past appears. Hannah is drawn into Indy’s troublesome past when Yannis comes to make funeral arrangements. Hannah’s life will be threatened, her loved one’s lives will be threatened as her world is upended by these revelations and the dark world of Indy’s difficult past raises its ugly head.

There is so much more weaved through these threads that bring all the characters old and new that make The Skelf world so wonderful. A world that can be dark is balanced with the light and love of this group of characters. Those who have died alone will go to their final resting place surrounded with the kindness of strangers. How Dorothy, in particular, is able to reach out to those recently arrived or otherwise ostracised or lost in some way and extend the hand of friendship through music, occasionally to offer work or simply to listen – such a powerful thing. Jenny and Hannah too in their own ways. Helping the world to be less damaged because of the options of greener funerals which are fascinating to read about. One mystery isn’t solved entirely though, what did Schrödinger get up to?

Ghost Notes brings The Skelfs back to us and those familiar, wonderful characters bring back a huge sense of belonging that has the situations of these amazing women taking us on a rollercoaster ride of emotions that I didn’t expect nor at times quite frankly did I want! Why didn’t I expect it? This is after all The Skelfs! Of course, I shouldn’t complain, was it really a complaint? because this is the wonderfully unique, at times darkly funny yet beautiful world of The Skelfs and already I can hardly wait for the next instalment.

Meet the Skelfs Women

Doug Johnstone’s award-winning, addictive Skelfs series.

Are you new to The Skelfs series? If this is the first one you’re reading there’s nothing that will take away from enjoying the story. Then you can and I recommend you do go back through the previous books and see how Dorothy, Jenny and Hannah got to this point. Mother, daughter and granddaughter their stories yet to unfold.

Thanks

Huge thanks to Anne at RandomThingsTours for the invite to read and share my thoughts on Ghost Notes by Doug Johnstone and to Orenda Books for an eARC for the Blog Tour.

BlogTour

Why not check out these terrific blogs for more on The Skelfs in Ghost Notes by Doug Johnstone from Orenda Books then head on down to the links below to get your very own copy of Ghost Notes?

Information

Published: Orenda Books Ltd | 13 Aug 2026 | 300 pp | ISBN:9781917764377 | ISBN:978-1917764384

Buy: Orenda Books | Amazon | Hive | Bookshop.org (affiliate link) | Your local bookshop | Your local library

Author: Doug Johnstone is the author of twenty novels, many of which have been bestsellers. The Space Between Us was chosen for BBC Two’s Between the Covers, while Black Hearts was shortlisted – and The Big Chill longlisted – for Theakston Crime Novel of the Year.

Three of his books – A Dark Matter, Breakers and The Jump – have been shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize. Doug has taught creative writing or been writer in residence at universities, schools, writing retreats, festivals, prisons and a funeral home. He’s also been an arts journalist for 25 years. He is a songwriter and musician with six albums and three EPs released, and he plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, a band of crime writers. He’s also co-founder of the Scotland Writers Football Club and lives in Edinburgh with his family.

Follow Doug on X/Twitter @doug_johnstone and Instagram @writerdougj, and visit his website: dougjohnstone.com.

Books

Titles by Doug Johnstone, available from Orenda Books

Celebrating Twenty Years of Doug Johnstone in 2026 with two reissues and this NEW instalment in the bestselling Skelfs series

THE SKELFS SERIES

A Dark Matter | The Big Chill | The Great Silence | Black Hearts | The Opposite of Lonely | Living Is A Problem | Ghost Notes

The Skelfs series has been SHORTLISTED for the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Book of the Year
(three times), the Capital Crime Best Independent Voice, and Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (twice).

The Skelfs: in production for the screen with Blazing GriMin

THE ENCELADONS

The Space Between Us | The Collapsing Wave | The Transcendent Tide

STANDALONE BOOKS 

Fault Lines | Breakers | Tombstoning | The Ossians

OTHER TITLES

Gone Again | Hit and Run | Dead Beat | The Jump | Smokeheads | Crash Land