Book Review
Title. The Great Silence
Author. Doug Johnstone
Publisher. Orenda Books
“Grim locations that can ease the pain and find the truth and it’s fun”
After a ‘grim’ few days I decided I wanted to read something cheerful. I have read Doug Johnstone’s Skelf stories before and know they will take me to a good place. If you have an inkling of the subject matter you may wonder at my state of mind. I can explain.
The Skelf family have been in business for a century or so. They are undertakers where all the family are involved although they have recently invited Archie in to do the embalming. He’s good at it. A kind of expert they say! So in the context of their trade they deal with the dead, make them pleasant to look at, offer condolences, support and practical advice to the bereaved. They also arrange the service which can take place at the grave side. They can do everything.
The family all have their histories and stories to tell which can be read in the two previous books, A Dark Matter and The Big Chill. The Skelf women work together, support each other and the strength of the family love is always around.
They are also private investigators after all one would need suspense, intrigue and dramas outside of the funeral parlor. The jobs they take on are all of that and the consequences are extreme. There is a surprise even when taking Einstein, Dorothy’s little dog, into parkland for a walk. Everything is not what it seems.
The narration is split between Dorothy, the grandmother and matriarch of the family, Jenny her daughter, and Hannah, Jenny’s daughter. Each one has chapters to unfold their separate traumas and investigations. That’s both simple and an excellent way of breaking up the narrative. I like it that way.
The facets in this book come to their various conclusions including one issue that could be final or not? I found it an enjoyable, entertaining read; it made me laugh out loud and I now know about Cotard’s Syndrome!
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