The Opposite of Lonely
By Doug Johnstone
By Louise Cannon
The Skelf’s are back with unusual cases in this 5th instalment, which can also be read as a stand-alone. Discover more in the blurb and then my review below.
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 grand-daughter 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…
Review
Secrets, arson, assault, death in Edinburgh means the Skelfs are back!
If you’ve not met the Skelfs yet, they are a family who own and work in a funeral parlour and as private investigators.
Dorothy, the matriarch of the family is tasked to do a funeral at an illegal campsite, when she also meets a homeless man. Things are far from straight-forward with crime hot on the tail and getting worse and darker as time goes on.
Jenny is tasked with finding the body of her ex-husband, stolen by her unhinged sister in law.
Hannah is asked to investigate conspiracy theorists targeting a once prominent, now retired female astronaut, whom she is initially starstruck by.
The book brings up thought-provoking topics such as dying alone. which brings emotion with it. The odd thing is, there is a funeral crasher. A person, with issues of his own, just turns up to funerals, those that are not attended by anyone, so, therefore “the opposite of lonely” comes into it.
There is a lot of compassion from the funeral directors/private investigators, which counteracts the grievous crimes, giving it some warmth and heart, also some humour pricks in a bit.
The chapters are short, making for brisk reading and with all the mysterious deaths and the warmth of characters, the strong scenery, this is another great read.
Bookmarks and Stages by Lou 