A queue at the Edinburgh Festival witness a supposed act of “road rage” so begins a wonderfully convoluted plot with twists and turns, humour and surprises which, very satisfactorily, goes round and round. It is the second outing for Jackson Brodie (Case Histories being the first) and it is irresistible, really very good indeed. Intelligent, addictive, beautifully written and thrilling.
Case Histories, once again featuring ex-cop turned private investigator Jackson Brodie.It is summer, it is the Edinburgh Festival. People queuing for a lunchtime show witness a road-rage incident an incident which changes the lives of everyone involved. Jackson Brodie, ex-army, ex-police, ex-private detective, is also an innocent bystander until he becomes a suspect. With Case Histories, Kate Atkinson showed how brilliantly she could explore the crime genre and make it her own. In One Good Turn she takes her masterful plotting one step further. Like a set of Russian dolls each thread of the narrative reveals itself to be related to the last. Her Dickensian cast of characters are all looking for love or money and find it in surprising places. As ever with Atkinson what each one actually discovers is their true self.Unputdownable and triumphant, One Good Turn is a sharply intelligent read that is also percipient, funny, and totally satisfying.From the Hardcover edition.
'An absolute joy to read…the pleasure of One Good Turn lies in the ride, in Atkinson’s wry, unvanquished characters, her swooping, savvy, sarcastic prose and authorial joie de vivre.' Guardian
‘The most fun I've had with a novel this year' Ian Rankin, Guardian (Books of the Year)
‘Delivers everything a good book should have. It's a fantastic detective story and a wonderful piece of writing…has taken the crime genre to another level’ Daily Express
'This is a detective novel packed with more wit, insight and subtlety than an entire shelf-full of literary fiction. The plot is an incidental pleasure in a book crammed with quirky humour and cogent reflections on contemporary life. Highly recommended.' Marie Claire
Author
About Kate Atkinson
Kate Atkinson won the Whitbread (now Costa) Book of the Year prize with her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, and has been a critically acclaimed writer ever since. Her four bestselling novels featuring former detective Jackson Brodie became the BBC television series Case Histories, starring Jason Isaacs. Her latest novel Life After Life was shortlisted for several prestigious literary prizes including the Women’s (formerly Orange) and the Costa Novel Prize. She was appointed MBE in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Kate Atkinson was born in York and now lives in Edinburgh.
