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A Dark Matter

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A Dark Matter

By: Doug Johnstone
Narrated by: Sarah Barron
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Summary

Meet the Skelfs: well-known Edinburgh family, proprietors of a long-established funeral-home business, and private investigators....

When patriarch Jim dies, it's left to his wife Dorothy, daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah to take charge of both businesses, kicking off an unexpected series of events. Dorothy discovers mysterious payments to another woman, suggesting that Jim wasn't the husband she thought he was.

Hannah's best friend Mel has vanished from university, and the simple adultery case that Jenny takes on leads to something far darker than any of them could have imagined. As the women struggle to come to terms with their grief, and the demands of the business threaten to overwhelm them, secrets from the past emerge, which change everything....

©2020 Doug Johnstone (P)2020 Isis Publishing Ltd Crime Fiction Detective Fiction Genre Fiction Mystery Private Investigators Psychological Marriage Suspense Crime
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to others in this series. The characters are well portrayed and although there dark themes the end is uplifting so the overall effect is not depressing.

Very enjoyable listen

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Great thriller. The unexpected ending had me having to think properly about what was happening!

Brilliant

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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

Great listen

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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.

A bit slow

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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.

Boring. Like pushing treacle uphill.

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