Tombstoning by Doug Johnstone

Wishing a very happy publication day to Doug John's for Tombstoning! Well, more a happy republication day, as this is actually a 20th anniversary release of Doug's first published novel. Any regular visitor to the blog will have realised I'm a Doug Johnstone fan - you only have to search his name on here to find reviews of a good number of his books. But the first of those was Breakers, published in 2019, and I hadn't read anything from before then, so was excited to get into Tombstoning. Many thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb

Your best mate just fell off a cliff in mysterious circumstances. You were the last person to see him alive. What do you do?

If you're David Lindsay from Arbroath, you leg it – and don’t go back. Not for fifteen years.

Then Nicola Cruickshank – yes, that Nicola, the girl you always fancied but never had the guts to speak to – gets in touch. She wants you back for a school reunion. At the very place it happened. Of course you say yes. Not to lay ghosts to rest, but because you still fancy Nicola.

The thing is, if you are David Lindsay, then returning to Arbroath isn’t going to bring closure. Because when someone else tumbles off the cliffs – an act the locals now call tombstoning – David has a choice: run away again, or finally find out why people around him keep dying…

My Review

It was interesting going back in time, back to the beginning of someone's writing career, when you only know their work from the last few years. I needn't have worried. The story is as taut and tense as I would expect, whilst being very character driven. Doug Johnstone is a great observer of people. 

Following the death of his best friend, Colin, David Lindsay left Arbroath for Edinburgh and never looked back. He's not made a huge success of his life, killing time in an unfulfilled job and drinking too much. But going back to Arbroath would bring all the memories back, and he doesn't want that. His mind is changed, though, by Nicola, his crush at school, who is helping organise a school reunion. He doesn't want to go but when he gets together with Nicola, they hit it off, so he agrees to head back to Arbroath for the reunion. Unfortunately, that's not all that happens whilst he is there. 

David wasn't a character I was quick to like. He drinks way too much, and isn't doing much with his life. But the email from Nicola changes things. Gives him a focus. I really liked Nicola - she's authentic, lovely, focused, more dynamic, doing something with her life whilst bringing up a young daughter, but missing the wilder side of her teenage life. And whilst a return to Arbroath brings back memories of Colin and his demise, particularly for David, they're both impacted by a further death. But what we see in the aftermath of this tragic event is a growth of sorts for David. He doesn't shy away from the hard stuff, far from it. 

Tombstoning is a layered tale. Whilst it's a crime story with mystery and tension, it's as much about friendships, relationships, the heady teenage years, the responsibilities of adulthood, it's about growing up, and it's about doing the right thing. It's about hope. It's about all these things and more, and I'm delighted it's been re-released. Loved it. 

The Author

Doug Johnstone is the author of nineteen novels, many of which have been bestsellers. The Space Between Us was chosen for BBC Two’s Between the Covers, while six of his
books have been shortlisted or longlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year or the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year. Doug has taught creative writing or been writer in residence at universities, schools, writing retreats, festivals, prisons and a funeral directors. He’s also been an arts journalist for twenty-five years. He is a songwriter and musician with ten albums released, and drummer for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers. He’s also co-founder of the Scotland Writers Football Club.