The Big Chill

Haunted by recent events, the Skelf women are hoping for a quieter life. But running both a funeral-directors and a PI business means trouble is never far away, and when a car crashes into the open grave at a funeral that Dorothy is conducting, she can't help looking into the dead driver's shadowy life.

While Dorothy begins to uncover a dark truth at the heart of Edinburgh society, her daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah have their own struggles to deal with. Jenny's ex-husband Craig is making plans that could shatter the Skelf women's lives, and the increasingly obsessive Hannah has formed a friendship with an elderly teacher that is fast turning deadly.

Something even more sinister lurks around the corner when a drumming student of Dorothy's disappears and suspicion falls on her parents. The Skelf women find themselves immersed in an unbearable darkness - but could the real threat be to them?

Following three generations of women, as they deal with the dead, help the living and find out who they are in the process, The Big Chill reboots the classic PI novel while asking big existential questions, all with a fabulous dose of pitch-black humour.

“"This is a must for those seeking strong, authentic, intelligent female protagonists."-- Publishers Weekly , starred review”

"This is a must for those seeking strong, authentic, intelligent female protagonists."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"'This enjoyable mystery is also a touching and often funny portrayal of grief, as the three tough but tender main characters pick up the pieces and carry on: more, please." --Guardian
"A fiendish mystery that is also deeply moving and laced with suitably dark humour. The start of a must-read series." --Mark Billingham, author, Lazybones
"A lovely, sad tale, beautifully told and full of understanding." --Times
"A new series from the criminally underrated Johnstone. His warm portrait of the tough, indomitable Skelf women is gripping and blackly humorous." --Observer
"A tense ride." --Big Issue
"Emotionally complex, richly layered and darkly funny. An addictive blend of Case Histories and Six Feet Under." --Chris Brookmyre, author, Places in the Darkness
"Flawed, funny, brave--and well set up for a series. I wouldn't call him cosy, but there's warmth to Johnstone's writing." --Sunday Times
"I was addicted from the first page; gripping, gritty and darkly funny as hell." --Erin Kelly, author, He Said/She Said
"Showcases a writer at the peak of his powers, except that with every book, Doug Johnstone just gets better." --Val McDermid, author, A Darker Domain

Doug Johnstone is the author of eleven novels. In 2019 his thriller Breakers was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year. Several of his books have been bestsellers and award winners, and his work has been praised by the likes of Val McDermid, Irvine Welsh and Ian Rankin. He's taught creative writing and been writer in residence at various institutions, and has been an arts journalist for twenty years. Doug is a songwriter and musician with five albums and three EPs released, and he plays drums for the Fun Lovin' Crime Writers, a band of crime writers. He's also player-manager of the Scotland Writers Football Club. He lives in Edinburgh.

Haunted by recent events, the Skelf women are hoping for a quieter life. But running both a funeral-directors and a PI business means trouble is never far away, and when a car crashes into the open grave at a funeral that Dorothy is conducting, she can't help looking into the dead driver's shadowy life.While Dorothy begins to uncover a dark truth at the heart of Edinburgh society, her daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah have their own struggles to deal with. Jenny's ex-husband Craig is making plans that could shatter the Skelf women's lives, and the increasingly obsessive Hannah has formed a friendship with an elderly teacher that is fast turning deadly.Something even more sinister lurks around the corner when a drumming student of Dorothy's disappears and suspicion falls on her parents. The Skelf women find themselves immersed in an unbearable darkness - but could the real threat be to them?Following three generations of women, as they deal with the dead, help the living and find out who they are in the process, The Big Chill reboots the classic PI novel while asking big existential questions, all with a fabulous dose of pitch-black humour.

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