Ghost Notes (Skelfs Book 7), Doug Johnstone

A heart attack at a funeral, blackmail, murder, grief bots, affairs, the power of music and ghosts of every kind, who threaten the Skelfs’ very existence. The Skelfs are back in another gripping, heartfelt and irresistible mystery. ‘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‘AI remain a happily hopeless Skelfaholic’ Mark Billingham______The Skelf women have been keeping their heads down, running the family’s funeral directors and private investigation businesses.

But when a woman collapses at her husband’s funeral and is saved by Dorothy, she finds herself drawn into the murky world of ‘grief tech’ – a booming new industry that creates digital avatars of the dead. Jenny’s latest case – a simple blackmail job for an old school friend – quickly spirals into chaos as the woman’s tangled love life pulls Jenny towards dangerous old habits. Meanwhile, Hannah and her wife, Indy, are confronted by the unexpected arrival of Indy’s ex-boyfriend, claiming to be dying and eager for the Skelfs to arrange his funeral. But his arrival uncovers more ghosts from the past, and threatens to upend everything they’ve built.

As their cases collide and their personal lives spiral, the Skelfs face danger from all sides. How far will they go to protect one another, and what will it cost to finally silence the ghosts?