BOOK TOUR x Random Things Tours: Black Hearts by Doug Johnstone

Genre: Crime | Mystery | Domestic Drama

Release Date: Expected 29th September 2022

Publisher: Orenda Books 

The women of the Skelf family know grief. They live with ghosts, their own and the ghosts of others. Between running a funeral directors and private investigators together, they've all been to the ends of life and returned home again. But now, death might be circling too close.

What what seemed like a normal funeral, matriarch Dorothy finds herself witnessing a graveside brawl and taking on a new case to find someone presumed dead. Her daughter Jenny is trying to stay safe from the ghosts of the past that have resurfaced while the family take on a mysterious case of man being abused by his own ghosts. Hannah is the new obsession for a dangerous young woman who might just kill her relationship with her wife … or just kill her. 

But with everything going on, there's one thing the family can agree on - darkness is closing in, and it feels a lot like death. And they'll need to work together if they want to outrun it. 

"Grief came in infinite forms, there were was many ways to mourn as there were people."

The fourth instalment in the Skelf series, Black Hearts is actually my first introduction to the series but easily stands out on it's own merit as a standalone novel. We meet the three Skelf women, three generations each as strong and bold as each other with their own distinct voices that are developed instantly even if you've not read them before. 

Each individual storyline ebbs and flows until they join together and we learn the sources of the Skelfs own grief and darkness, the reasons they watch over their shoulders. These different stories merge slowly together, first letting us get to know each person as they live their individual lives and try to help the tortured souls they find along the way.

This is gritty mystery full of crime, betrayal and fear - but it's also a remarkably told tale about the subtle and chaotic affects of grief and loss. Johnstone approaches the subject with sensitivity and elegance, seamlessly weaving together a tale that is both poignant but also morbidly funny and relatable at the same time. An electrifying mystery with a touching portrayal of the darker aspects of the human condition.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

About The Author:

Doug Johnstone is the author of twelve novels, most recently The Great Silence, described as ‘A novel [that] underlines just how accomplished Johnstone has become’ by the Daily Mail. He has been shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year three times, and the Capital Crime Best Independent Voice one; The Big Chill was longlisted for Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. 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.

Thank you to Random Things Tours and Orenda Books for inviting me to take part in this tour. I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review. 

CW: death, funerals, references to cancer and illness, sexual content.