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Book Cover for: The Opposite of Lonely: Volume 5, Doug Johnstone

The Opposite of Lonely: Volume 5

Doug Johnstone

A body lost at sea, arson, murder, astronauts, wind phones, communal funerals and existential angst ... This can ONLY mean one thing! The Skelfs are back, and things are as tense, unnerving and warmly funny as ever!

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 travelers' 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...

Tense, unnerving and warmly funny, The Opposite of Lonely is the hugely anticipated fifth installment in the unforgettable Skelfs series, and this time, danger comes from everywhere...

Book Details

  • Publisher: Orenda Books
  • Publish Date: Apr 23rd, 2024
  • Pages: 300
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 7.80in - 5.10in - 0.80in - 0.45lb
  • EAN: 9781914585807
  • Categories: Thrillers - CrimeMystery & Detective - Women SleuthsHumorous - Dark Humor

About the Author

Doug Johnstone is the author of twelve novels, including the Skelfs series, which has been optioned for TV. In 2021, The Big Chill, the second in the series, was longlisted for Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. In 2020, A Dark Matter, the first in the series, was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year and the Capital Crime Amazon Publishing Independent Voice Book of the Year award.

Praise for this book

Praise for the series:

'Exceptional ... a must for those seeking strong, authentic, intelligent female protagonists' Publishers Weekly

'A new outing for the Skelfs deserves dancing in the streets of Edinburgh' Val McDermid

'A total delight to be returned to the dark, funny, compulsive world of the Skelfs ... Johnstone never fails to entertain whilst packing a serious emotional punch. Brilliant!' Gytha Lodge, author, Little Sister

'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

'A tense ride strong, believable characters' Kerry Hudson, Big Issue

'The power of this book, though, lies in the warm personalities and dark humour of the Skelfs, and by the end readers will be just as interested in their relationships with each other as the mysteries they are trying to solve' Scotsman

'A thrilling, atmospheric book, set in the dark streets of Edinburgh. Move over Ian Rankin, Doug Johnstone is coming through!' Kate Rhodes, author, Crossbones Yard

'This enjoyable mystery is also a touching and often funny portrayal of grief ... more, please' Guardian

'Wonderful characters: flawed, funny and brave' Sunday Times

"The squeamish may balk at the details of modern corpse disposal (and drugs, drumming and dogging) but others will find them more than fascinating. Doug Johnstone's trademark gallows humour - in what has become a brilliant series - does not preclude compassion. He may view humans as "haunted meat, waiting to die" but the persistence of love in the Skelf household, no matter what fate flings at it, is both reassuring and life-affirming." --The Times