paronomaniac's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Infidelity, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abortion, Animal cruelty, and Pregnancy
scott_you_reading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
csdaley's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. It was dark and twisted and yet full of humanity. Maybe my favorite new mystery series in the last few years and look forward to reading the next one.
mckeanja's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
murrayviolet's review against another edition
2.0
Score: 2.5/5 reduce to 2/5
Three female members of the Skelfs, Dorothy, Jenny and Hannah, were cremating Jim in their backyard. Jim was Dorothy's husband, Jenny's father, and Hanna's grandfather. The Skelfs family business was a funeral home and a private investigator. One day, while Dorothy was packing Jim's belonging, she found that Jim had secretly transferred money to a mysterious woman without confronting Dorothy. Hannah discovered that her close friend had disappeared, so she had to investigate this. Jenny was hired to investigate an adultery case. The Skelfs women must solve all those mysteries and their own.
I sometimes laugh at myself because whenever I see books on Kindle that cost less than A$3, I just can’t control myself. I saw A Dark Matter was on discount on Kindle for A$1.59. I read the synopsis, and it was interesting. Thus, I bought the book. Not just the first book of the series but also the second and third books. After I finished reading the first one, I was filled with many feelings.
The book was alternated between three perspectives, Dorothy, Jenny and Hanna. Apart from their own problems, each woman must deal with business problems as well. Jenny couldn't accept her husband having an affair. Hanna's best friend went missing, so she had to find where she was. Dorothy tried to figure out why Jim sent money to an anonymous woman every month. I wondered how the writer would combine many mysteries and not mess up the whole thing. It turned out that the writer did a good job. However, I didn't like the three women's personalities in this book.
Jenny and Hanna were extremely feminist and had negative views of men. Jenny’s husband cheated on her; thereby, she disliked men and blamed men for literally everything. To quote Jenny, “men were the fucking enemy, their bad behavior excused by society, women going along with it.” This idea shows how toxic Jenny’s mind is. First of all, any gender can have bad behaviors and society doesn’t agree with bad behaviors, except for stupid people. Secondly, Jenny was a hypocrite. She sexually abused a man, which she thought wasn’t a big deal. I was so tired of Jenny's nasty perspective. To make it worse, Hanna, Jenny's daughter, had the same personality as her. To quote Hannah, "Harry Potter was before her time, she preferred The Hunger Games, stronger women for a start." Since when is Hermione not a strong female protagonist? Everyone who watched Harry Potter knows that Hermione is smarter and more powerful than most characters. When Hannah tried to gather information from males, she became verbally violent. But when males couldn’t stand it any longer and fought back, Hannah was pissed and said all males are misogynists. What a ridiculous lady. Dorothy was the only character I could bear. Dorothy was upset about the situation, but she had consciousness. However, she used the connection to get her way during the investigation, which I think it’s completely wrong. Plus, her behavior can be a little strange sometimes.
This is a character-driven novel, and that almost overtook the plot. I still liked the mysteries and how dark they were. I also like the excitement towards the end. I was rooting for every lady, even though they were jerks.
A Dark Matter is the first book of The Skelfs series. Right now, there are four books, but I only got three. The truth is, I don't want to read the rest. I can't bear the characters’ disgusting personalities. I don't know what to do with the other two books I bought. Next time I see cheap books on Kindle, I will hold myself harder. If you don’t have any problems reading a novel like this, go for it. I’m sure you will enjoy it.
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Three female members of the Skelfs, Dorothy, Jenny and Hannah, were cremating Jim in their backyard. Jim was Dorothy's husband, Jenny's father, and Hanna's grandfather. The Skelfs family business was a funeral home and a private investigator. One day, while Dorothy was packing Jim's belonging, she found that Jim had secretly transferred money to a mysterious woman without confronting Dorothy. Hannah discovered that her close friend had disappeared, so she had to investigate this. Jenny was hired to investigate an adultery case. The Skelfs women must solve all those mysteries and their own.
I sometimes laugh at myself because whenever I see books on Kindle that cost less than A$3, I just can’t control myself. I saw A Dark Matter was on discount on Kindle for A$1.59. I read the synopsis, and it was interesting. Thus, I bought the book. Not just the first book of the series but also the second and third books. After I finished reading the first one, I was filled with many feelings.
The book was alternated between three perspectives, Dorothy, Jenny and Hanna. Apart from their own problems, each woman must deal with business problems as well. Jenny couldn't accept her husband having an affair. Hanna's best friend went missing, so she had to find where she was. Dorothy tried to figure out why Jim sent money to an anonymous woman every month. I wondered how the writer would combine many mysteries and not mess up the whole thing. It turned out that the writer did a good job. However, I didn't like the three women's personalities in this book.
Jenny and Hanna were extremely feminist and had negative views of men. Jenny’s husband cheated on her; thereby, she disliked men and blamed men for literally everything. To quote Jenny, “men were the fucking enemy, their bad behavior excused by society, women going along with it.” This idea shows how toxic Jenny’s mind is. First of all, any gender can have bad behaviors and society doesn’t agree with bad behaviors, except for stupid people. Secondly, Jenny was a hypocrite. She sexually abused a man, which she thought wasn’t a big deal. I was so tired of Jenny's nasty perspective. To make it worse, Hanna, Jenny's daughter, had the same personality as her. To quote Hannah, "Harry Potter was before her time, she preferred The Hunger Games, stronger women for a start." Since when is Hermione not a strong female protagonist? Everyone who watched Harry Potter knows that Hermione is smarter and more powerful than most characters. When Hannah tried to gather information from males, she became verbally violent. But when males couldn’t stand it any longer and fought back, Hannah was pissed and said all males are misogynists. What a ridiculous lady. Dorothy was the only character I could bear. Dorothy was upset about the situation, but she had consciousness. However, she used the connection to get her way during the investigation, which I think it’s completely wrong. Plus, her behavior can be a little strange sometimes.
This is a character-driven novel, and that almost overtook the plot. I still liked the mysteries and how dark they were. I also like the excitement towards the end. I was rooting for every lady, even though they were jerks.
A Dark Matter is the first book of The Skelfs series. Right now, there are four books, but I only got three. The truth is, I don't want to read the rest. I can't bear the characters’ disgusting personalities. I don't know what to do with the other two books I bought. Next time I see cheap books on Kindle, I will hold myself harder. If you don’t have any problems reading a novel like this, go for it. I’m sure you will enjoy it.
Connect with Biblioteca di VIolet via:
YouTube
jodybecca's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was so well done!! Truly a delight to read. I couldn’t put it down.
Johnstone weaves together 3 separate mysteries throughout the narrative of 3 generations of strong women residing in a funeral parlor/private investigator service located in Edinburgh. Johnstone himself is from Edinburgh, & the rich culture & geography of the city is beautifully woven into the storyline. The author’s background in nuclear physics can also be seen in detail throughout the novel with many neat little references.
This was my first Johnstone novel. I found the writing truly exceptional. The connections to everyday life & very real stigmas & quiet power imbalances in today’s world are delicately addressed quite tastefully. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book (& already have,) & plan to read more of his work.
Johnstone weaves together 3 separate mysteries throughout the narrative of 3 generations of strong women residing in a funeral parlor/private investigator service located in Edinburgh. Johnstone himself is from Edinburgh, & the rich culture & geography of the city is beautifully woven into the storyline. The author’s background in nuclear physics can also be seen in detail throughout the novel with many neat little references.
This was my first Johnstone novel. I found the writing truly exceptional. The connections to everyday life & very real stigmas & quiet power imbalances in today’s world are delicately addressed quite tastefully. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book (& already have,) & plan to read more of his work.
kath61's review against another edition
3.0
Most of this made for innocuous reading, and it was based on an interesting premise. I felt it was far too deliberately 'woke' and the climax of the story made me laugh, it was all so ridiculous. I prefer thrillers with more genuine tension. The characters needed more fleshing out to become believable but perhaps that will develop further on in the series. I enjoyed the existentialist thoughts which gave a little more depth.