Review: The Big Chill, by Doug Johnstone

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 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 immersed in an unbearable darkness – but
could the real threat be to themselves?

Fast-paced, darkly funny, yet touching and tender, the Skelf family series is a welcome reboot to the classic PI novel, whilst also asking deeper questions about family, society and grief.

Publication Date: 20th August 2020

Price: £8.99

Published By: Orenda Books

The Rosie Synopsis

The three Skelf women, Dorothy, Jenny and Hannah hope things are settling down after the horror they suffered in book 1, but it’s a vain hope. Firstly, a car crashes into a funeral Dorothy is conducting, then Craig, Jenny’s ex-husband/Hannah’s dad changes his plea, and then the old physicist helping Hannah to deal with her grief for her dead friend takes cyanide.

Dorothy is consumed with the need to find out who the joyriding corpse is, Jenny struggles with the knowledge that she, the other Skelf women and Craig’s other ex-wife, Fiona, will have to go to court to give evidence, as Craig continues to control their lives from prison. Hannah, and her girlfriend Indy are going through a rough patch and the therapy isn’t helping.

The Good

The characters are complex and interesting, utterly frustrating at times, especially Hannah and Jenny. I wanted to slap Jenny at the end for her daftness. Hannah and Indy are sweet although they clearly need some relationship counselling and Hannah should probably talk to someone about the suicidal ideation. The secondary characters, especially Archie, Thomas and Liam, are as interesting and well-developed as the main characters. The are a strange little group of people who don’t really fit anywhere except the funeral home/private investigation business.

The plot was gripping. I read most of the book in a few hours. I liked the use of three first-person narrators, giving the reader an insight into all of them while at the same time knowing things that the characters might not know. The terror of Craig’s last appearance is balanced by the gentle ending on Crow Hill.

The setting is interesting, I’ve never been to Edinburgh, but the description is enough to give you a picture and if you live there or know it well you could place the characters in the settings. It isn’t heavy handed though, no detailed descriptions of routes except where it adds tension or drama.

The Not-So-Good

Craig’s final appearance and disappearance was a bit abrupt and obviously sets him up as the ‘baddy’ of the series. I’m not sure what the point of the Abi plot was?

The Verdict

I really enjoyed this novel, and will happily read more from the author. Interesting characters and set-up, potential for high drama in future installments.

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AUTHOR THE AUTHOR

THE SKELFS ARE BACK
McIlvanney-shortlisted Doug Johnstone’s follow-up to his critically acclaimed
A Dark Matter, which introduced three generations of women from the Skelf
family, who run both a funeral home and a private investigation business.
Doug Johnstone is the author of more ten novels, most recently Breakers (2019), which has been shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year and A Dark Matter (2020), which launched the Skelfs series. Several of his 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 – including a funeral home, which he drew on to write
A Dark Matter – 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.