A bit slow

First in the Skelf series - not sure it is a good hook though - a bit slow, and some of the antics of the 70 year old matriarch are a stretch of the imagination to say the least (no spoilers).

Nearly every chapter has some description about what the cat is doing, what it might be thinking - all of which is totally superfluous.

The underlying murder was in fact quite an interesting plot - but the wading through Hannah and Jenny's thoughts to get there was a trudge.

Might give another one a go - the funeral director/private investigator combination maybe deserves a second chance.

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Has me hooked!

I know this has been out for a few years, but I've only just gotten round to reading it. Fantastic descriptions and truly believable characters. Looking forward to reading the others in the series. Met Doug recently and we chatted about this book and his others including the alien octopus in the north of Scotland lol.

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Too graphic on the work of funeral directors

had I of realised that description of the work of funeral directors ran through the whole story, I would have returned it after the first couple of chapters

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1 person found this helpful

Boring. Like pushing treacle uphill.

I feel like I’ve just read a load of tosh. An unbelievable story with a few mind boggling moments. Johnstone has gone for the shock factor, and in my eyes it doesn’t work.

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Darkly refreshing

i liked the unusualness of the two businesses. i disliked some of the tmi of the anatomy descriptions of the corpses. overall it was very well strung together. Never resd anything like it. I was fascinated.

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A great book and audiobook

I lived reading the book a while ago and the audiobook was equally enjoyable. A great book to listen to while out walking , linking in with memories of the Edinburgh places mentioned. Looking forward to reading the next book.

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2 people found this helpful

Great story, full of compassion.

it was tense and tender, with a murder at its heart it was still a tale of love, loss and relationships.. A great novel.

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Different

A bit different from the normal run of the mill crime thrillers. I enjoyed it.

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Great listen

It was a treat to have a book with all female heroes, especially because they were 3 generations of one family. I thought that was an extra special touch and made the book unique in the Scottish Noir genre. The story moves along at a brisk pace and there's intrigue and secrets aplenty to keep the listener engaged. The women are all likeable characters with realistic human frailties. I understand this is possible book 1 in a new series and so I shall definitely keep my eye out for any book written by Doug Johnstone and narrated by Sarah Barron as it was a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging listen

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2 people found this helpful

Mixed feelings

I certainly liked the strong female characters and the storyline. The unusual setting of the funeral parlour with the detective agency is, as far as I’m aware, the first of its kind in a novel. My only reservation is constant dwelling on the dead in their mortuary and the descriptions of the work undertaken there. Yes I used that word deliberately.
Whilst listening to this novel I kept wondering if I really wanted to continue with it but I’m honest enough to realise that that may well be because September is a difficult month for me personally and that I might have had a different reaction to this novel another time of the year. I enjoyed Sarah Barron’s narration, she has a very pleasant voice and did a good job on this audiobook.

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