Blog Tour: Living is a Problem – Doug Johnstone

The Skelf women are back on an even keel after everything they’ve been through. But when a funeral they’re conducting is attacked by a drone, Jenny fears they’re in the middle of an Edinburgh gangland vendetta.

At the same time, Yana, a Ukrainian member of the refugee choir that plays with Dorothy’s band, has gone missing. Searching for her leads Dorothy into strange and ominous territory. And Brodie, the newest member of the extended Skelf family, comes to Hannah with a case: Something or someone has been disturbing the grave of his stillborn son.

Everything is changing for the Skelfs … Dorothy’s boyfriend Thomas is suffering PTSD after previous violent trauma, Jenny and Archie are becoming close, and Hannah’s case leads her to consider the curious concept of panpsychism, which brings new danger, while ghosts from the family’s past return to threaten their very lives…

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

My thoughts: Skelfs, Skelfs, Skelfs!!

Yep, my favourite undertakers/PI family are back and they’ve got a few cases on their whiteboards. Jenny is following the drones that attack two of their funerals, Dorothy is looking for a missing member of her choir, a Ukrainian refugee, and Hannah is trying to help Brodie, whose infant son’s grave has been tampered with.

Then there’s the ongoing fallout of the previous violent case with Thomas’ former colleagues causing trouble. Could it be connected to any of these new cases?

The dead still need to be tended to, and the body of a homeless Biffy Clyro fan (tattoos that also give the book its title, help the team find some friends of the deceased), and a few more of the new methods they’re using, which I find endlessly fascinating as I agree that there has to be a more ecologically sound way to bury the dead. One of my friend’s is a funeral director for one of the big firms and I am keen to talk about this with him.

I love the Skelfs, I think they’re fantastic and the books are so full of little details and moments. I love the fact they have a wind phone in the garden so people can talk to their loved ones (it’s a genuinely lovely concept from Japan) and I was fascinated by the panpsychism that Hannah is exploring, something I’ve bookmarked to research later.

Doug Johnstone is one of the most interesting writers working at the moment between the Skelfs and the alien creatures of the Enceledon series. His books are enjoyable and sometimes funny but also full of ideas and concepts that make you think. Brilliant stuff.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.