The Great Silence by Doug Johnstone

Good morning! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things blog tour for Doug Johnstone's latest Skelfs mystery, The Great Silence. 

Dorothy, Jenny, and Hannah—three generations of Skelf women at the helm of both a flourishing funeral home and a PI business. And boy do they have their work cut out of them!

When Dorothy, or rather her dog, discovers a dismembered, embalmed foot on their morning walk, it kicks off the first in a string of new investigations for the family. But the foot and the associated big cat on the loose (it's a whole thing!) are the least of their worries when Jenny's ex husband pops his head out of whatever hidey hole he's been squirreled away in. 

Craig, a killer on the loose since escaping prison, has been making their lives hell for quite some time now. And he's not finished. As Jenny continues her search for him, he's always two steps ahead wreaking havoc. 

Meanwhile, Jenny has graduation with top honors and is engaged! About to start a new job that involves planetary discovery, she takes on a case of her own that could involve aliens!? Not really. A fellow researcher is certain someone is pulling one over on him and Jenny has agreed to look into the mess. 

If that were all the family was dealing with, it'd be enough. But the cases and the bodies keep piling in and it's all they can do to keep up with the boom in business!

I'm ashamed to say that this is my introduction to the Skelfs! I've been eyeballing this series for a while and really should have started from the beginning, but it can't be helped now. 

And starting from the beginning is definitely my recommendation here. 

The series kicked off in 2019 with A Dark Matter, followed last year by The Big Chill, and this third in the series plays off of all the events of the previous two. By no means is it hard to follow—at all—but it definitely means I've got a lot of knowledge of the whodunits and whydunits of the previous mysteries. 

All that aside, I really enjoyed my intro to this quirky family! And you'd have to be quirky to run a funeral home, much less a funeral home AND a PI business. 

Dorothy is in her mid seventies. Active and sprightly, she teaches drum lessons, has taken in a teen with a complicated past, is in the midst of a new relationship with a younger man, and runs two businesses quite effectively! Plus, she managed to wrangle both her daughter and granddaughter into helping with both businesses as well. 

Jenny is going through some things. Understandably. In her forties and living with her mother (don't worry, it's a BIG house), she's still reeling from the events that recently transpired with her ex. And she's determined to see him back behind bars where he belongs! Jenny is jaded and hurt while also trying to protect the people around her. Honestly, you kind of want to give her a hug (but kinda not because I think she might punch you!). 

And then there's Hannah. After finding out her father was a killer, juggling multiple jobs, and a healthy relationship, she gets a degree with honors! Only to have her big day ruined by the realization that her father isn't done with them yet. Which is why she and her fiancé find themselves also living in house Skelf once again. 

These are some seriously capable ladies!

The Great Silence deals with some darker matter, but overall the book has a healthy dose of humor running through it (and I completely appreciate the pop culture references peppered throughout—that Bill and Ted line wasn't lost on me!). Plus there are the mysteries themselves, one of which involves an escape panther and body parts...

The Great Silence is great fun and I cannot wait to read more about the Skelfs and their oddball adventures!