About this title: The scene is set in Cambridge, with three case histories from the past: A young child who mysteriously disappeared from a tent in her back garden; An unidentified man in a yellow jumper who marched into an office and slashed a young girl through the throat; and a young woman found by the police sitting in her kitchen next to the body of her ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780316010702ISBN:0316010707
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Softcover, as shwon, covers sort of weary & with some creasing, but--spine NOT creased, NO stains, tears, writing, in tight & clean book. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 310 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Very Good. 0316010707 Great condition Soft Cover book, clean pages, mild creases to spine, light edge/corner rubs, this book is GREAT! Shop & Save With US. read more
"This is the best book I've read by Kate Atkinson to date. It's a mystery, but not a traditional one and way beyond the quality of most of the genre. Make no mistake, I'm an inveterate mystery reader, so I'm not slamming the genre. This book has a very interesting structure, which starts with a description of 3 cold cases, before introducing our hero the detective. There is definitely a plot that moves right along and has some surprises, but the book is largely character-driven. Unlike Kate Atkinson's other books, this one is fairly kind to its characters; at least the ones that aren't murdered. Atkinson's ability to evoke character with a salient detail is impressive so she is able to make them come to life without a lot of exposition. I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying the resolution is satisfying without being too neat. If you're interested in Kate Atkinson, this would be a good one to start with."
"I should have a whole shelf just dedicated to stuff my friend Simon recommends. For three years, I think the bulk of my reading has been either directly or indirectly based on his suggestions.
As usual, this recommendation dd not disappoint. In this case, it was the author, rather than a particular title, which came recommended. I chose this one more or less at random; because it was readily available at the library and become I like mysteries.
The story (stories) are enthralling and (or, perhaps, because) the characters are so meticulously drawn that I found myself deeply concerned with their outcome. I found the conclusion(s) very satisfying. One thing that surprised me, though, was a relative lack of "British-ness".
Part of the basis for Simon's recommendation was that he knew I was an anglophile. Here, except for obvious things like place names, the British author writing about Briton was not really pervasively -- uh, British. There seemed to be a lot of generic (read from my perspective: American) references. Down to the protagonist's taste in music and brand names of candy.
On reflection, I think it was the tone, usage and grammar which seemed generic. It's possible, my reading being weighted by much older authors and books written at least 30 years ago, I imagine England stuck in a bubble - an anachronistic land. This is mostly just me babbling though. Not a review. And what makes it essentially British, I guess, is the scale of the thing. To experience the diversity of characters and environments the protagonist does in an American setting the protagonist would have had to rack up a lot of frequent flier miles. And the interconnectivity of the characters would have been less believable.
Highly recommended to anyoen who enjoys good books, good mysteries, great characters, and Great Briton."
"CASE HISTORIES (PI-Jackson Brodie-England-Cont) - VG Atkinson, Kate - 1st in series Doubleday, 2004, UK Hardcover - ISBN: 0385607997
First Sentence: How lucky were they?
Ex-cop Jackson Brodie has three cases on which he is working. In 1970, Olivia, the youngest of three sisters disappears after she and another sister spent the night in their backyard tent. Their father has now died. When cleaning out his desk, the two middle sisters find Olivia's favorite toy. What happened to Olivia? In
1979, an overwhelmed wife and mother reaches the breaking point with disastrous results. Her sister wants Jackson to find Tanya, the niece she promised to care for. In 1997, a businessman's daughter was murdered during her first day of work in her fathers' author. Who killed her?
Along with the three cases, Jackson has his own issues including an ex-wife and Binky Rain, a 90-year-old lady who believes someone is stealing her cats, and accidents that are not accidental.
Ms. Atkinson's book was an absolute delight to read. Think macramé; lots of different colored and textured threads skillfully woven together to create a wonderful end product. It may bother some, but I love her use of parenthetical phrases and her imagery. All the elements are there; humor, pathos, suspense, tragedy, emotion, irony and a small touch of paranormal.
Her books are character driven, and a range of characters there is. We get to know them all but particularly Jackson is revealed to us as the story unfolds. There are two sisters who are classic in the way one goads the other with behavior and occasional crass references.
In some ways, this isn't the easiest book to read just from the way it is structured, and it's not a gripping page-turner in the usual sense. It is, however, a page-turner in that I became so involved with the stories, I had to know what would happen next and resolution to each case. Atkinson has an unusual and compelling style that is wry, slightly noir and absolutely wonderful."
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