Review of BLACK HEARTS by Doug Johnstone

 3.5 Stars

I decided to pay another visit to the Skelf women (Dorothy, Jenny, and Hannah) to learn the latest about the goings -on in their Edinburgh funeral directing /private investigating business. 

As in the previous three books in the series, the women are involved in several cases.  Dorothy helps an old man who believes the spirit of his dead wife is abusing him and a young man who believes his missing father faked his death.  Hannah is being stalked by Laura Abbott, a strange young woman who causes friction between Hannah and Indy.  And Jenny must deal with Violet and Stella, her ex-husband’s mother and sister, both of whom are having difficulty coming to terms with Craig’s death.

Each chapter is from the point of view of one of the Skelf women.  Jenny’s chapters were the ones I did not enjoy reading.  She spirals out of control, engaging in increasingly self-destructive behaviour.  I felt pity for her since she can never forget or escape from Craig, but I couldn’t help becoming impatient and annoyed with her.  She seems so selfish; even Dorothy tells her, “’You have to try to imagine what it’s like to be other people.’”  She acts like a teenager, not a woman in her forties. 

The title is very appropriate.  There is more than one seriously damaged person.  Unfortunately, they cause some situations which I found extreme and far-fetched.  Two individuals who are both damaged and dangerous are too extreme in their behaviour to be believable.  I was troubled by the implication that mental illness of a type that causes violent reactions is genetic. 

What also bothered me is that the characters do not behave in keeping with their traits which have been well established in the books.  Hannah, for instance, mishandles the Laura situation over and over again, on one occasion not even mentioning something that would have helped her relationship with her wife.  Considering her previous experiences, I believe she would be more wary and forceful.  Likewise, Jenny, even after witnessing a person’s violent and duplicitous actions, doesn’t suspect any ulterior motives?  These intelligent women seem to be much less so.

The novel examines how people respond to death and how they grieve:  “Grief came in infinite forms, there were as many different ways to mourn as there were people.  . . Some wailed and gnashed their teeth, others quietly sobbed, laughed nervously or openly, stood like statues, simmered like pressure cookers.”  The opening with its physical fight over an open grave foreshadows that unhealthy grieving will dominate the narrative.

Of course, there is a positive note in the closing image of “the three of them, their roots and branches intertwining with each other, supporting and nurturing, forever interlinked.” 

I enjoyed the book but not as much as the previous two.  The Skelf women are placed in extreme situations designed merely to build suspense at the expense of character consistency.