4 stars
This is the sixth in the Skelfs series about the three Skelf women, funeral service directors/private investigators and “magnets for trouble, for grief and trauma and stress and violence.”
As in the previous books, chapters alternate among the three women. Dorothy, the matriarch, is asked to find Yana, a Ukrainian refugee, widow, and member of the choir that sings with Dorothy’s band. She has gone missing, leaving behind her two children. When Jenny, Dorothy’s daughter, oversees a funeral which is attacked by a drone, she fears the beginning of a gangland vendetta but discovers the target may be the Skelfs themselves. Hannah, Jenny’s daughter, is asked by Brodie, the newest member of the Skelf team, to investigate who has been disturbing his son’s grave.
And of course there are the personal lives of the protagonists. Dorothy’s friend Thomas is now retired from the police force but is suffering from PTSD after the violent trauma in The Opposite of Lonely. Jenny’s relationship with Archie, a stabilizing force in her life, seems to be evolving into something more intimate. Hannah becomes interested in panpsychism, the theory that consciousness is “a measurable, physical entity” which is “inherent in everything.”
A visit with Dorothy, Jenny, and Hannah is always enjoyable. Over the series, it has been interesting to see the evolution of their personalities. In particular, it is great to see Jenny move away from being, as she acknowledges, “a self-centred and self-destructive bitch.” She now tries to be more like her mother, to help others and be more empathetic, though she still describes herself as “a sarcastic and confused middle-aged cow”: “Be more Dorothy, Jenny thought for the millionth time.”
Again the importance of connection is emphasized: “every tiny interaction of your life mattered” and people should try “connecting to each other as if your lives depended on it.” The advice offered is that “No one knows what you were carrying, what you had inside you. No one can every really know someone else, that’s the truth. So how can we judge anyone?” Hannah speculates further, emphasizing the connection between the living and the dead: “What of this dead person’s consciousness, where did it go? If consciousness was in everything, in every atom, quark and electron, eventually this person would be scattered across the universe. Would those atoms retain a memory of what it was like to be them? Did that mean that everyone on the planet was one big brain?” And Dorothy agrees: “What disrespected the dead was living in a way that denied the connection between people and the planet, the living and the dead.”
Johnstone’s books are not just entertaining but also informative. The Skelfs decide that they will no longer embalm the dead. They encourage the use of coffins made of “biodegradable stuff like willow, cardboard, bamboo and wool” and “resomations, natural burials, mushroom suits, human composting, planting trees.” I had heard of water cremation but not about mushrooms suits. Though I’m not so certain about human composting: “Jenny looked at the food on the table, imagined that all this had been grown and fertilised by the remains of loved ones. What better way to celebrate the deceased than by consuming them, making them a part of you.”
My one quibble is overuse of the trope of police incompetence. More than once the police are slow to react or to believe. Would an emergency operator not take someone’s call seriously? There’s a hit and run but “police officers showed eventually” and “said there would be CCTV, but didn’t seem in a hurry to check it”? And I find it difficult to believe that Don Webster is still working in the police department given the charges he faces. There’s even a suggestion of police corruption: “a cop arresting a cop at a cop’s funeral, good luck with that.”
As one would expect, there is considerable suspense because, more than once, the women find themselves in a dangerous situation. But the book also has a multi-layered plot, endearing characters, wonderfully detailed descriptions of Edinburgh, and thematic depth. I definitely recommend it and look forward to the next installment in the Skelfs series.
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