Living is a Problem

Drones, gangland vendettas, a missing choir singer, disturbances in the cemetery, PTSD, panpsychism, and secrets from the past … This can ONLY mean one thing! The Skelfs are back, and things are as nail-biting, tense and warmly funny as ever!

`The persistence of love in the Skelf household, no matter what fate flings at it, is reassuring and life-affirming´ The Times

`The Skelfs feel like family – their joys are my joys, their pains are my pain … Edinburgh's favourite family, bringing darkness and delight´ Val McDermid

`Another wonderful entry in one of the finest crime series out there. I remain a happily hopeless Skelfaholic´ Mark Billingham

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The Skelf women are back on an even keel after everything they've been through. But when a funeral they're conducting is attacked by a drone, Jenny fears they're in the middle of an Edinburgh gangland vendetta.

At the same time, Yana, a Ukrainian member of the refugee choir that plays with Dorothy's band, has gone missing. Searching for her leads Dorothy into strange and ominous territory.

And Brodie, the newest member of the extended Skelf family, comes to Hannah with a case: Something or someone has been disturbing the grave of his stillborn son.

Everything is changing for the Skelfs … Dorothy's boyfriend Thomas is suffering PTSD after previous violent trauma, Jenny and Archie are becoming close, and Hannah's case leads her to consider the curious concept of panpsychism, which brings new danger … while ghosts from the family's past return to threaten their very lives.

Funny, shocking and profound, Living Is a Problem is the highly anticipated sixth instalment of the unforgettable Skelfs series – shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Novel and Theakston Old Peculier Crime Book of the Year – where life and death become intertwined more than ever before…

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`A series that keeps getting better and better. Readers have come not only to know the Skelf family but care for them too, which makes their increasingly dangerous predicaments all the more thrilling´ Scots Whay Hae

Praise for The Skelfs series

**SHORTLISTED for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Book of the Year**

**SHORTLISTED for the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Novel**

`Some of the best female characters in crime fiction´ Sarah Hilary

`If you loved Iain Banks, you’ll devour the Skelfs series´ Erin Kelly

`An addictive blend of Case Histories and Six Feet Under´ Chris Brookmyre

`Wonderful characters: flawed, funny and brave´ Sunday Times

`Underlines just how accomplished Johnstone has become´ Daily Mail

`Johnstone never fails to entertain whilst packing a serious emotional punch´ Gytha Lodge

`An engrossing and beautifully written tale´ Herald Scotland

`One of the greats of Scottish crime fiction´ Luca Veste

`Gripping and blackly humorous´ Observer

`A must for those seeking strong, authentic, intelligent female protagonists´ Publishers Weekly

Doug has taught creative writing, 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. He lives in Edinburgh.