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 the darkly funny, devastatingly tense and addictive Skelfs series! Longlisted for Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year ‘Compelling, compassionate … just brilliant. This series gets better with every book. I … just brilliant. This series gets better with every book. I cannot get enough of the Skelfs’ Mark Billingham
‘Brilliantly drawn and blackly comic’ Herald Scotland
‘Confirms the Skelfs as a classic crime clan. I can’t wait for the next one’ Erin Kelly
‘I LOVE the Skelfs … The only problem with The Big Chill is that you’ll devour it so fast you’ll feel as bereft as one of the Skelfs’ clients. Doug Johnstone has murdered sleep’ Val McDermid
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Haunted by their past, the Skelf women are hoping for a quieter life. But running both a funeral directors’ and a private investigation business means trouble is never far away, and when a car crashes into the open grave at a funeral that matriarch Dorothy is conducting, she can’t help looking into the dead driver’s shadowy life.
While Dorothy uncovers a dark truth at the heart of Edinburgh society, her daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah have their own struggles. 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 professor that is fast turning deadly.
But something even more sinister emerges when a drumming student of Dorothy’s disappears and suspicion falls on her parents. The Skelf women find themselves sucked into an unbearable darkness – but could the real threat be to themselves?
Following three women as they deal with the dead, help the living and find out who they are in the process, The Big Chill follows A Dark Matter, book one in the Skelfs series, which reboots the classic PI novel while asking the big existential questions, all with a big dose of pitch-black humour.
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‘Exceptional … Johnstone seamlessly presents their stories with depth, elegance, and a delicate touch of wry humor as they get difficult jobs done with grace and kindness. This is a must for those seeking strong, authentic, intelligent female protagonists’ Publishers Weekly
‘Emotionally complex, richly layered and darkly funny. An addictive blend of Case Histories and Six Feet Under’ Chris Brookmyre
‘Johnstone’s intuitive depiction of this trinity of resilient women is never less than flawless, in this tale punctuated by emotional depth and moments of dark humour…’ Raven Crime Reads
Praise for The Skelfs 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
‘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 cha
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The Big Chill (The Skelfs Book 2)
By Doug Johnstone
5 out of 5 stars
I loved reading the book The Big Chill (The Skelfs Book 2) by Doug Johnstone. It is a story that once I started, I was hooked. I loved reading about the characters of Dorothy, Jenny, and Hannah. They are the Skelf family who runs a funeral home and a private investigation business. They are trying to heal from the past. Dorothy is worried as one of her drumming students is missing and also determined to find out the identity of the driver of the car that almost hits her. She is a woman who is intelligent, strong, and independent. Will she find her student as well as the identity of the driver? Jenny is Dorothy’s daughter. Her world is breaking as her ex-husband is making plans that could shatter her and her family’s life. Jenny is a woman who gets angry at times because of the situation she has been put in with her ex and at times doesn’t always make the best decisions. Hannah also has challenges as she tries to navigate her life. She is looking for answers. Will she find them? The author does an amazing job of making the story and the characters come to life. I felt like I was there with the characters. There are heartbreaking and emotional moments in this story. The story has twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. It is a book that had me turning pages wondering what was going to happen next. Don’t miss out on an exciting and entertaining story that you won’t want to put down until the final page. I highly recommend reading it.
Darkly funny crime writing
The wonderful characters that reunite after a college friend’s suicide reveal their character, love for each other and morals (or lack thereof). Witty and entertaining.
Quantum Immortality and Black Matter are but a few of the oblique references in this difficult book to categorise. With rich wonderful characters, morgue scenes and missing person investigations, there is a real quality and rhythm to this book. Despite this being the second book in the Skelf women series and having not read the first instalment, it was a blast of an escapade. There are three generations of women living in Edenborough, who are strong, flawed and part of a wonderful cosmopolitan city. So, not surprisingly and whilst its quirkiness isn’t for all, it’s easily a five-star rating. Doug Johnston has written a truly amazing epic that is darkly humorous, yet life affirming and a joy to behold.
I love this book! I read it after reading the first in its series about the Skelf women who are not only in the funeral business, but are also private investigators. Totally different characters than I’ve ever read about and this is something I look for all the time. I hate it when I know the plot less than halfway through the book and this one actually took me to the end. Bravo! I highly recommend this book to avid readers.
This is the second book of a series about 3 women (mother, daughter, granddaughter) who are now running the family funeral parlor and private investigation business inherited from the father. He is already dead on page 1 of book 1 so this is not a spoiler. The series is set in Scotland although the mother is American. Each of the women have their own issues as well as the issues that emerge while working together. The stories are interesting and complex and slightly dark. I can’t wait to continue the series!
The Skelf’s are my new favorite family.
Coincidences and personal involvement of every character in multiple issues makes this a bit of an unintentional parody of mysteries.
A fiendish mystery that is also deeply moving and laced with suitably dark humour. The start of a must-read series.
Showcases a writer at the peak of his powers, except that with every book, Doug Johnstone just gets better.
I was addicted from the first page; gripping, gritty and darkly funny as hell.
Emotionally complex, richly layered and darkly funny. An addictive blend of Case Histories and Six Feet Under.
Really disjointed writing. I just could not connect to the characters at all. It was a really bizarre chain of events that felt a little far-fetched. I loved the premise of this book, but it’s not quite connecting for me. The pacing is a bit up and down and I cannot concentrate on it.