A Dark Matter

A Dark Matter

Paperback Published on: 23/01/2020
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Bookseller Reviews

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A Dark Matter
Fantastic
An absolute cracking novel which had me hooked with the first sentence. It's about a family of undertakers called the Skelfs. After Jim Skelf dies (he mak... READ MORE
Sally Boocock
A Dark Matter
Intuitive and gripping...
So, where to begin with A Dark Matter, as Doug Johnstone once again shows the complexity and diversity of his writing, making him one of the most accompli... READ MORE
Raven88
A Dark Matter
A genuinely surprising writer...
So, where to begin with A Dark Matter, as Doug Johnstone once again shows the complexity and diversity of his writing, making him one of the most accompli... READ MORE
Raven88

Synopsis

Shortlisted for the The McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2020 Three generations of women from the Skelfs family take over the family funeral home and PI businesses in the first book of a taut, gripping page-turning and darkly funny new series. Meet the Skelfs: well-known Edinburgh family, proprietors of a long-established funeral-home business, and private investigators... When patriarch Jim dies, it's left to his wife Dorothy, daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah to take charge of both businesses, kicking off an unexpected series of events. Dorothy discovers mysterious payments to another woman, suggesting that Jim wasn't the husband she thought he was. Hannah's best friend Mel has vanished from university, and the simple adultery case that Jenny takes on leads to something stranger and far darker than any of them could have imagined. As the women struggle to come to terms with their grief, and the demands of the business threaten to overwhelm them, secrets from the past emerge, which change everything... A compelling, tense and shocking thriller and a darkly funny and warm portrait of a family in turmoil, A Dark Matter introduces a cast of unforgettable characters, marking the start of an addictive new series.

  • Publisher: Orenda Books
  • ISBN: 9781912374984
  • Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm

Customer Reviews

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A Dark Matter
A very Dark Matter indeed
Meet the Skelfs - three generations of Edinburgh women who run a funeral parlour and, by default, a private investigation company from the same room as the... READ MORE
Chris Scotland
A Dark Matter
So much about this book to love
I'm grateful to Orenda Books for letting me have a free advance e-copy of A Dark Matter. I loved this book for a number of reasons, not all of which may g... READ MORE
Blue Book Balloon
A Dark Matter
A Dark Matter, by Doug Johnstone
When I heard that Doug Johnstone has a writer-in-residency post at an Undertakers, I thought “That will be interesting. I wonder what will come of that”.... READ MORE
David Kenvyn
A Dark Matter
Dark humoured thriller read
The Skelf's - Dorothy - Widow of Jim, Mother to Jenny. Jenny - ex-journalist, Mother to Hannah, ex-wife to Craig, whos now in prison for the murder of Hann... READ MORE
Pennster
A Dark Matter
Funny!
Ok so first a confession.... I received an early copy of The Big Chill by Doug in the post on Saturday, at which point I realised this book was sitting in ... READ MORE
Fiona Sharp
A Dark Matter
BIZARRE
I'd have bet money on this book being written by a fifty year old bitter divorced female author (maybe that's great writing). The story is slow and somewha... READ MORE
Dave H
A Dark Matter
An interesting premise and strong lead characters
Apart from being slightly distracted that the family name/ series name (The Skelfs) sounds like a villains from the Marvel comic book universe I really enj... READ MORE
Lisey P
A Dark Matter
A Brilliant compulsive start to a new series
I loved reading this book and was hooked from the first page, the opening scene and throughout the story. The mix of funerals and investigations was compul... READ MORE
Sarah C