The Opposite of Lonely

By Doug Johnstone https://dougjohnstone.com/ @doug_johnstone

Published by Orenda Books https://orendabooks.co.uk/ @OrendaBooks

300 pages ISBN 9781914585807

Publication date 14 September 2023

The Opposite of Lonely is the fifth novel in the Skelfs series. Click on the links to see my reviews of the first book in the series A Dark Matter and the fourth one Black Hearts.

I was sent an electronic copy to enable me to take part in this Blog Tour. I would like to thank Anne at Random Things Tours @RandomTTours for the invitation to participate and of course the Author and the Publisher.

The Cover

A bold and foreboding picture of the path causeway from the mainland to Cramond Island. Together with the strap line “even death needs company…” it’s a very arresting cover.

From the blurb

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 a travellers’ site, 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…

My thoughts

If you haven’t read one the Skelf series but have been told how brilliant it is, you might be wondering what the fuss is about. How can a novel featuring three generations of women from the same family who run a funeral director business with a side line in private investigations be so good. Well firstly there is the seemingly incongruence of the two jobs, then there is the wonderfully imagined central characters, but most of all there is a certain vibe about it all. I don’t expect it will appeal to everyone but those who are attune to it love it.

The story starts with a delicious slice of black humour, which I would imagine typical of funeral directors, as a new-age funeral goes wrong as the tide moves in rapidly as the procession passes over the Cramond Island causeway. Not only does everyone get wet but the shroud wrapped corpse is washed out to sea and needs to be recovered by the coastguard.

The humour throughout may be black, but the stories never dwell on the dark or morbid side even when they are rooted in something bad. In fact, they are quite the opposite, seeming to find something positive from the bleakest of situations. Death comes to us all, fearing it or obsessing over it will not delay the tall man in the black hooded cloak carrying a scythe. So why not face him with a smile, as they say life is for living and there are more than enough worries in the modern world without the fear of death. The overall effect is rather life affirming, telling us to go out and live our best lives possible, to try and turn bad situations positive and where you can help your fellow man.

Dorothy is the matriarch of the family; she’s aged 73 but looks and acts many years younger. She’s fit and active, playing the drums in an eclectic band, that she formed, which perform with a choir formed from refugees. She’s the one that shows with age comes wisdom and teaches, love, compassion and forgiveness. She also thinks about the future, hopefully a greener one, by investing in a water cremation machine and a green burial site. Dorothy is also a collector of lost souls, which explains how Archie and Indy come to work for her (as described earlier in the series). When she becomes aware of a ‘funeral crasher’ she takes an interest. There are old people who go to funerals for something to do, the ham sandwiches and the sherry can be a draw, but this one is a young chap. His story when told is both sad and touching, and he has resorted to sleeping in his car. Dorothy is moved enough to suggest a route out of the abyss, that will recognise the lives of others.

Daughter Jenny is the family ‘mess’, whose marriage and life blew up in spectacular style resulting in a deep affair with the bottle. Jenny is the one who has had to learn how to recover her life from its lowest point with the love and help of her family. Only now taking full responsibility for herself and her actions she realises she must now live life in the moment, thereby turning herself into a woman reborn. When asked by her ex-mother-in-law, Violet, to find her daughter, Stella, who absconded with the body of her bother Craig (Jenny’s ex-husband) she is dumbfounded. Not least because Stella set fire to the Skelf’s home trapping and nearly killing Hannah and Indy. Violet has discovered she has MND (Motor Neurone Disease) and only a short time left. Can Jenny refuse a dying wish, perhaps she must learn to forgive and forget.

Granddaughter Hannah is the sensible one, at university trying to finish her PhD on Astrophysics, who is the future of the Skelfs. At times a little naïve, it is she who will bring fresh ideas and impetus. It is Hannah who reminds to stop and look at the world in all its wonder, to take everything in and never stop questioning or looking for answers. Hannah is a lesbian and is married to Indy, with their relationship bringing solidity to the storylines. When Scotland’s only female astronaut is being stalked by conspiracy theorists, Hannah is only too happy to investigate even though it ends up putting her life in danger and her marriage at risk.

The storyline cycles through these stands, never becoming confusing or boring. The prose is a delight with uplifting moments scattered throughout. There is action too and a little jeopardy amongst all the strange happenings. The reader will quickly discover that the world of the Skelfs has a slightly skewed sense of reality. It’s like stepping into a friend’s living room and noticing a beautiful picture is not quite straight but we wouldn’t want it any different.

The Opposite of Lonely is another perfect, uplifting instalment in the strange world of the Skelfs. May there be more to come.

The Opposite of Lonely can be purchased direct from the publisher here

The author

Doug Johnstone is the author of sixteen novels, many of which have been bestsellers. The
Space Between Us was chosen for BBC Two’s Between the Covers, while Black Hearts and The Big Chill were longlisted for the 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.

Don’t forget to check out all the other reviews on this Blog Tour: