On a beautiful summer day, crowds lined up outside a theater witness a sudden act of extreme road rage: a tap on a fender triggers a nearly homicidal attack. Jackson Brodie, ex-cop, ex-private detective, new millionaire, is among the bystanders.The event thrusts Jackson into the orbit of the wife of an unscrupulous real estate tycoon, a washed-up comedian, a successful crime novelist, a … novelist, a mysterious Russian woman, and a female police detective. Each of them hiding a secret, each looking for love or money or redemption or escape, they all play a role in driving Jackson out of retirement and into the middle of several mysteries that intersect in one sinister scheme.
Kate Atkinson “writes such fluid, sparkling prose that an ingenious plot almost seems too much to ask, but we get it anyway,” writes Laura Miller for Salon. With a keen eye for the excesses of modern life, a warm understanding of the frailties of the human heart, and a genius for plots that turn and twist, Atkinson has written a novel that delights and surprises from the first page to the last.
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I love all of Kate Atkinson’s books – but this one is my favorite and I think that’s because of the characters. Each of these books is a treasure in terms of language and structure, plots are wonderful and here you will fall in love with Edinburgh as much as you’ll fall in love with York in the other books. A superb book from a brilliant author!
A set piece. It all starts with a car crash. The turns are built on the characters present at the time. A fun read. And, finally, whodunit.
“One Good Turn” by Kate Atkinson is a fun, quirky mystery that satisfies on many levels. The story unfolds in its own good time, with engaging characterization. I really enjoyed the way the author took her time developing the characters. The reader learns more about each of the players (and there are a few) as they are brought together through a …
This book made me laugh out loud more often than anything I have read since Mark Twain’s “Roughing It,” Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22,” and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle.” I realize that is brilliant company, but I fully intend it to be. Add to Kate Atkinson’s sometimes sly, sometimes side-splitting humor an irresistible plot with unforgettable …
I love anything this author writes. Wonderful characters great suspense and always a satisfying ending
Best book I have read in years. It started me on my Jackson Brodie obsession. I just finished Big Sky, the 5th with Brodie. Stephen King said this book was the best mystery he had read the year it came out.
Dark and gritty, I didn’t really find any of the characters all that likable. But what I did appreciate was the way all the characters fit together, some in obvious ways, revealed early, other in ways that were more surprising but a good twist. I did, kind of, feel that as the last piece clicked into place, it was a bit underwhelming, but the …
One of my favourite crime novels. I adore Jackson Brodie, the perennial “Ex” man: ex-army, ex-police, ex-private detective. He’s the guy you’d want on your side in a tight spot.
I loved the storyline and the ending made me punch the air. I still grin about it now.