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Jackson Brodie #2
One Good Turn
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.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2006
4008 people are currently reading
17257 people want to read
About the author
Kate Atkinson
72 books12.2k followersKate Atkinson was born in York and now lives in Edinburgh. Her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and she has been a critically acclaimed international bestselling author ever since.
She is the author of a collection of short stories, Not the End of the World, and of the critically acclaimed novels Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Case Histories, and One Good Turn.
Case Histories introduced her readers to Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, and won the Saltire Book of the Year Award and the Prix Westminster.
When Will There Be Good News? was voted Richard & Judy Book Best Read of the Year. After Case Histories and One Good Turn, it was her third novel to feature the former private detective Jackson Brodie, who makes a welcome return in Started Early, Took My Dog.
She is the author of a collection of short stories, Not the End of the World, and of the critically acclaimed novels Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Case Histories, and One Good Turn.
Case Histories introduced her readers to Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, and won the Saltire Book of the Year Award and the Prix Westminster.
When Will There Be Good News? was voted Richard & Judy Book Best Read of the Year. After Case Histories and One Good Turn, it was her third novel to feature the former private detective Jackson Brodie, who makes a welcome return in Started Early, Took My Dog.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,213 reviews
April 29, 2019
In this second of the Jackson Brodie series, Kate Atkinson’s writing once again brings a fascinating cast of characters to our attention in a plot that has hidden links and connections on all fronts.
I like how we discover so much about the characters in this novel. If there is more, beyond the usual 3-D for characters, then it is definitely found in this novel. In just a few sentences we receive a great deal of information about the characters, but Ms Atkinson doesn’t stop there. As I became immersed in the story, all of the characters were revealed in depth – partly through their interactions with others, and partly through their thoughts and reminiscences.
[Martin] hadn’t completely ruled out the possibility that one day he might experience a conversion – a sudden lifting of the veil, an opening of his heart – although he thought it more likely that he was damned to be for ever on the road to Damascus, the road most travelled.
****
Pam wasn’t what Gloria would have called a friend, just someone she had known for so long that she had given up trying to get rid of her. Pam was married to Murdo Miller, Gloria’s own husband’s closest friend. Graham and Murdo had attended the same Edinburgh school, an expensive education that had put a civil polish on their basically loutish characters. They were now both much richer than their fellow alumni, a fact which Murdo said, ‘Just goes to show.’ Gloria thought that it didn’t go to show anything except, possibly, that they were greedier and more ruthless than their former classmates.
These are just a couple of examples of how I was drawn into the character’s lives – their thoughts, feelings, and relationships. And above all, this novel is filled with relationships. In August 2017 I read my first Josephine Tey novel, ‘The Man in the Queue’. There is a faint echo – a nod of recognition perhaps, or maybe pure coincidence – in this novel. It begins with a queue for a comedy performance at the Edinburgh festival. A festival celebrant steps out in front of a car driving past the queue, the driver of the car slams on his brakes and just misses the fellow but the car behind him slams into his vehicle. The driver of that car then gets out and starts swinging – knocks down the driver of the first car, takes a bat to the windows of his car, and then just as he is about to club the driver sprawled on the ground, a fellow steps out of the queue and throws his briefcase with his laptop in it, spins the assailant around and he loses his balance.
In that short opening sequence, we already meet 3 characters who have important roles in this novel. There are also three or four other characters in the novel who are in the queue for the comedy act. This tight opening then starts to unfurl as we follow the lives and thoughts of the various participants – including some of the police officers who eventually show up after some of the principals have left the scene.
So now we have all these streamers of lives floating in the Edinburgh breezes, and with her typical brilliance, Ms Atkinson pulls them all together until, at the end, all of the connections become clear – to the characters in the book, and to us, the readers.
I haven’t yet mentioned Jackson Brodie, but he is definitely there, definitely involved in this story and the characters, too, and I can’t wait to see how the changes he undergoes in this novel resolve in the next one.
I like how we discover so much about the characters in this novel. If there is more, beyond the usual 3-D for characters, then it is definitely found in this novel. In just a few sentences we receive a great deal of information about the characters, but Ms Atkinson doesn’t stop there. As I became immersed in the story, all of the characters were revealed in depth – partly through their interactions with others, and partly through their thoughts and reminiscences.
[Martin] hadn’t completely ruled out the possibility that one day he might experience a conversion – a sudden lifting of the veil, an opening of his heart – although he thought it more likely that he was damned to be for ever on the road to Damascus, the road most travelled.
****
Pam wasn’t what Gloria would have called a friend, just someone she had known for so long that she had given up trying to get rid of her. Pam was married to Murdo Miller, Gloria’s own husband’s closest friend. Graham and Murdo had attended the same Edinburgh school, an expensive education that had put a civil polish on their basically loutish characters. They were now both much richer than their fellow alumni, a fact which Murdo said, ‘Just goes to show.’ Gloria thought that it didn’t go to show anything except, possibly, that they were greedier and more ruthless than their former classmates.
These are just a couple of examples of how I was drawn into the character’s lives – their thoughts, feelings, and relationships. And above all, this novel is filled with relationships. In August 2017 I read my first Josephine Tey novel, ‘The Man in the Queue’. There is a faint echo – a nod of recognition perhaps, or maybe pure coincidence – in this novel. It begins with a queue for a comedy performance at the Edinburgh festival. A festival celebrant steps out in front of a car driving past the queue, the driver of the car slams on his brakes and just misses the fellow but the car behind him slams into his vehicle. The driver of that car then gets out and starts swinging – knocks down the driver of the first car, takes a bat to the windows of his car, and then just as he is about to club the driver sprawled on the ground, a fellow steps out of the queue and throws his briefcase with his laptop in it, spins the assailant around and he loses his balance.
In that short opening sequence, we already meet 3 characters who have important roles in this novel. There are also three or four other characters in the novel who are in the queue for the comedy act. This tight opening then starts to unfurl as we follow the lives and thoughts of the various participants – including some of the police officers who eventually show up after some of the principals have left the scene.
So now we have all these streamers of lives floating in the Edinburgh breezes, and with her typical brilliance, Ms Atkinson pulls them all together until, at the end, all of the connections become clear – to the characters in the book, and to us, the readers.
I haven’t yet mentioned Jackson Brodie, but he is definitely there, definitely involved in this story and the characters, too, and I can’t wait to see how the changes he undergoes in this novel resolve in the next one.
December 27, 2007
it took me long enough to finish this one, which says a lot. i'm the person who will willingly give up sleep, food, social interaction and general human-like activities to read a good book.
i really liked kate atkinson's case histories. it's been awhile since i read it, but it left enough of an impression that i was willing to dive into this one with little knowledge of what it was about, or what people thought of it. all in all, it had a very slow start for me. in fact, that was the biggest obstacle - the first 100 pages or so left me unmotivated to continue. once i was in the middle things picked up, but by the end i was just waiting to get to the last page.
i love a good mystery, but something was lacking here. the characters were odd, and not exactly in a good way. things were made needlessly complicated with too many characters, and behind the sheen of the mystery, there was a distinct lack of sincerity in this book that i found in case histories and really missed here. i didn't find myself particularly caring about the secret behind all the seemingly random events that were actually tied together; and without that, there wasn't much to grab onto.
i really liked kate atkinson's case histories. it's been awhile since i read it, but it left enough of an impression that i was willing to dive into this one with little knowledge of what it was about, or what people thought of it. all in all, it had a very slow start for me. in fact, that was the biggest obstacle - the first 100 pages or so left me unmotivated to continue. once i was in the middle things picked up, but by the end i was just waiting to get to the last page.
i love a good mystery, but something was lacking here. the characters were odd, and not exactly in a good way. things were made needlessly complicated with too many characters, and behind the sheen of the mystery, there was a distinct lack of sincerity in this book that i found in case histories and really missed here. i didn't find myself particularly caring about the secret behind all the seemingly random events that were actually tied together; and without that, there wasn't much to grab onto.
April 21, 2019
Kate Atkinson continues her Jackson Brodie crime fiction series in her own original style of indepth characterisation, case studies if you will, and with plentiful doses of wit and humour. There is a road rage occurrence outside a Fringe Theatre at the Edinburgh Festival, a theatre in which Brodie's actress girlfriend, Julia, is performing. Amongst numerous others, Brodie, in a queue observes the incident. What we get from the author is a major focus on the circumstances and interior lives of a random range of characters, including Brodie, a crime fiction writer, a female police detective sergeant, and the spouse of a rich builder under investigation. None are known to each other, but as the narrative continues, coincidences arise, it appears good acts come back to bite and connections begin to emerge. Through circuitous routes, the characters stumble towards who they are, even if that is not what they are seeking. A great read and a great series. Thanks to Random House Transworld.
November 25, 2021
Jackson Brodie Book 2: With the Edinburgh festival in the background, Atkinson takes a road rage incident as the starting point for numerous individual stories (each chapter from the point of view of one of the cast) that start to come together and centre around the main story of the collapse of a property empire. We get to follow the property empire's ignored wife; a successful writer of mainstream idealised crime fiction; a very smart Russian woman looking to make the most of her one-time dependent situation; a single mother chief inspector; and our anti-hero Jackson Brodie accompanying his artist partner, as she works the Festival. Quite a good novel, with some great human insight, nice dark humour and such an original way of looking at crime fiction cases. 7 out of 12.
2021 read
2021 read
July 18, 2019
5★
“Somehow it seemed unlikely it was a coincidence. What had Jackson said? A coincidence is just an explanation waiting to happen.”
Kate Atkinson is one of my favourite writers, and the quote above describes the nature of her Jackson Brodie mysteries. There are seemingly random incidents and events involving separate characters around whom Atkinson builds back stories. Not for every character, but for the ones we’re going to become interested in, even if we don’t know why.
Jackson is in Edinburgh with girlfriend Julia for the Fringe Festival, where she is performing in a low-budget, (dreadful) play which Jackson has helped to bankroll with his unexpected windfall inheritance. With his windfall, he’d also bought a place in France, which he now considers home, but he still misses his young daughter and ex-wife, although we don’t see them this time around.
While Julia’s rehearsing, he’s amusing himself with the sights of Edinburgh and stumbling across things you and I wouldn’t. A dead body, for example.
But I’m ahead of myself. The book opens with a case of road rage. Serious road rage, and it happens in the middle of the day, right in front of people queuing to go into various festival events, and Jackson, who was just leaving Julia’s theatre.
Ray is the driver of the first vehicle.
“He looked in the rear-view mirror. A blue Honda Civic, the driver climbing out – big guy, slabs of weightlifter muscle, gym-fit rather than survival-fit, he wouldn’t have been able to last three months in the jungle or the desert the way that Ray could have done. He wouldn’t have lasted a day.”
We get some back story on Ray. Then there’s Martin. Martin has chucked his laptop at the driver of the second car who is just about to beat Ray to death, jungle training or no jungle training. Martin has shocked himself.
Atkinson gives us a fair bit of Martin’s background – a timid child, a quiet man, but a surprisingly successful author of cosy mysteries under pseudonym, Alex Blake. We learn a lot about Martin, while waiting to see what’s happening in the road, but I never mind Atkinson’s diversions. I like her people too much. And she brings us back to the incident.
“Martin tried to make himself an anonymous figure in the queue, tried to pretend he didn’t exist. He closed his eyes. He had done that at school when he was bullied, clinging to an ancient, desperate magic – they wouldn’t hit him if he couldn’t see them.”
Also nearby is Gloria, whom we will come to know very well later. She’s been dragged along by a friend to a comedy show she’s not looking forward to, but she’s fine with lining up to wait.
“Queuing was like life, you just shut up and got on with it. It seemed a shame she had been born just too late for the Second World War, she possessed exactly the kind of long-suffering spirit that wartime relied on.”
Again, we are diverted into Gloria’s life with her husband who became rich building dodgy houses. And again, I didn’t mind the diversion.
So where’s former detective Brodie? He’s been trying to escape the rather dingy venue where Julia and the cast are gathered to rehearse.
“Theatre for Jackson, although of course he would never say this to any of them, was a good pantomime, preferably in the company of an enthusiastic child.”
He’s ‘escaped’ outside just in time to see the action. Martin’s laptop has clipped the shoulder of the attacker, who’s just driven off, while self-described superman Ray is curled up bashed and bleeding on the ground. Martin is talking to him as the police arrive, so Jackson isn’t needed.
By this time, we know a fair bit about several people, none of whom know each other and each of whom we will follow (with interest, I must add), to find out how they become connected to Jackson and Julia.
I read this several years ago, and while I remembered some scenes, it was just as much fun this time around. Because Atkinson writes such whole people, it’s good to see them again. She ties up all the plot threads nicely, and if you were watching it like an old movie, you’d find yourself saying things like “Look behind you! See that guy? That’s the guy you’re looking for!!”
But of course, only we know that because we read someone’s story. There’s no way Jackson Brodie would know it. In this case, what he said in the opening quotation applies.
“A coincidence is just an explanation waiting to happen.”
I must say, the sights of Edinburgh are nice, but because it’s Festival time and there is no accommodation available, the hotels we see are dreadful.
“He was not alone in his shoebox cell, however. The first night he was there he got up to go to the bathroom and almost stood on a cockroach pasturing on his bedroom carpet.”
Detective Sergeant Louise Monroe is a major character, interesting as a woman, a single mother with a surly 14-year-old son and an ancient cat. Her love life has been stifled, now that her son is a teen and she has no privacy to speak of. She adores him but has no idea how to handle him. (Who does?)
“They said love made you strong but in Louise’s opinion it made you weak. It corkscrewed into your heart and you couldn’t get it out again, not without ripping your heart to pieces.
. . .
The front door crashed open and was slammed shut again. Archie’s passage through the house was marked by the noise of things thrown and dropped and walked into. He was like the ball in a pinball machine. He exploded into the kitchen, nearly falling over his own feet. After he was born the midwife said, ‘Boys wreck your house, girls wreck your head.’ Archie seemed intent on doing both.”
I’ve included so much of the background because this is not a quick pot-boiler mystery. This is a wonderful, complete work of fiction, and even if you can’t find the first in the series, Case Histories, you can certainly enjoy this one anyway. They are more fun read in order, but rules are meant to be broken, aren’t they?
“Somehow it seemed unlikely it was a coincidence. What had Jackson said? A coincidence is just an explanation waiting to happen.”
Kate Atkinson is one of my favourite writers, and the quote above describes the nature of her Jackson Brodie mysteries. There are seemingly random incidents and events involving separate characters around whom Atkinson builds back stories. Not for every character, but for the ones we’re going to become interested in, even if we don’t know why.
Jackson is in Edinburgh with girlfriend Julia for the Fringe Festival, where she is performing in a low-budget, (dreadful) play which Jackson has helped to bankroll with his unexpected windfall inheritance. With his windfall, he’d also bought a place in France, which he now considers home, but he still misses his young daughter and ex-wife, although we don’t see them this time around.
While Julia’s rehearsing, he’s amusing himself with the sights of Edinburgh and stumbling across things you and I wouldn’t. A dead body, for example.
But I’m ahead of myself. The book opens with a case of road rage. Serious road rage, and it happens in the middle of the day, right in front of people queuing to go into various festival events, and Jackson, who was just leaving Julia’s theatre.
Ray is the driver of the first vehicle.
“He looked in the rear-view mirror. A blue Honda Civic, the driver climbing out – big guy, slabs of weightlifter muscle, gym-fit rather than survival-fit, he wouldn’t have been able to last three months in the jungle or the desert the way that Ray could have done. He wouldn’t have lasted a day.”
We get some back story on Ray. Then there’s Martin. Martin has chucked his laptop at the driver of the second car who is just about to beat Ray to death, jungle training or no jungle training. Martin has shocked himself.
Atkinson gives us a fair bit of Martin’s background – a timid child, a quiet man, but a surprisingly successful author of cosy mysteries under pseudonym, Alex Blake. We learn a lot about Martin, while waiting to see what’s happening in the road, but I never mind Atkinson’s diversions. I like her people too much. And she brings us back to the incident.
“Martin tried to make himself an anonymous figure in the queue, tried to pretend he didn’t exist. He closed his eyes. He had done that at school when he was bullied, clinging to an ancient, desperate magic – they wouldn’t hit him if he couldn’t see them.”
Also nearby is Gloria, whom we will come to know very well later. She’s been dragged along by a friend to a comedy show she’s not looking forward to, but she’s fine with lining up to wait.
“Queuing was like life, you just shut up and got on with it. It seemed a shame she had been born just too late for the Second World War, she possessed exactly the kind of long-suffering spirit that wartime relied on.”
Again, we are diverted into Gloria’s life with her husband who became rich building dodgy houses. And again, I didn’t mind the diversion.
So where’s former detective Brodie? He’s been trying to escape the rather dingy venue where Julia and the cast are gathered to rehearse.
“Theatre for Jackson, although of course he would never say this to any of them, was a good pantomime, preferably in the company of an enthusiastic child.”
He’s ‘escaped’ outside just in time to see the action. Martin’s laptop has clipped the shoulder of the attacker, who’s just driven off, while self-described superman Ray is curled up bashed and bleeding on the ground. Martin is talking to him as the police arrive, so Jackson isn’t needed.
By this time, we know a fair bit about several people, none of whom know each other and each of whom we will follow (with interest, I must add), to find out how they become connected to Jackson and Julia.
I read this several years ago, and while I remembered some scenes, it was just as much fun this time around. Because Atkinson writes such whole people, it’s good to see them again. She ties up all the plot threads nicely, and if you were watching it like an old movie, you’d find yourself saying things like “Look behind you! See that guy? That’s the guy you’re looking for!!”
But of course, only we know that because we read someone’s story. There’s no way Jackson Brodie would know it. In this case, what he said in the opening quotation applies.
“A coincidence is just an explanation waiting to happen.”
I must say, the sights of Edinburgh are nice, but because it’s Festival time and there is no accommodation available, the hotels we see are dreadful.
“He was not alone in his shoebox cell, however. The first night he was there he got up to go to the bathroom and almost stood on a cockroach pasturing on his bedroom carpet.”
Detective Sergeant Louise Monroe is a major character, interesting as a woman, a single mother with a surly 14-year-old son and an ancient cat. Her love life has been stifled, now that her son is a teen and she has no privacy to speak of. She adores him but has no idea how to handle him. (Who does?)
“They said love made you strong but in Louise’s opinion it made you weak. It corkscrewed into your heart and you couldn’t get it out again, not without ripping your heart to pieces.
. . .
The front door crashed open and was slammed shut again. Archie’s passage through the house was marked by the noise of things thrown and dropped and walked into. He was like the ball in a pinball machine. He exploded into the kitchen, nearly falling over his own feet. After he was born the midwife said, ‘Boys wreck your house, girls wreck your head.’ Archie seemed intent on doing both.”
I’ve included so much of the background because this is not a quick pot-boiler mystery. This is a wonderful, complete work of fiction, and even if you can’t find the first in the series, Case Histories, you can certainly enjoy this one anyway. They are more fun read in order, but rules are meant to be broken, aren’t they?
August 24, 2022
Oh my. I knew I enjoyed this series the first time I read it but I did not really remember why. On this reread I recall that the first reason is Jackson Brodie himself. He is an absolute teddy bear and silly Julia does not recognise a really good man when she sees one.
Secondly of course is the writer's skill. She draws detailed, apparently unrelated, characters and throws them into a succession of different scenes. As the book progresses the reader gets glimpses of coincidences and possible solutions but you have to wait right to the end to find out all of the facts. And some of them turn out to be very surprising indeed.
The Edinburgh setting for this book does it no harm either. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting many of the sights with Jackson and was entertained by his impressions of the Fringe Festival.
I really enjoyed it all and am ready now for book three.
Secondly of course is the writer's skill. She draws detailed, apparently unrelated, characters and throws them into a succession of different scenes. As the book progresses the reader gets glimpses of coincidences and possible solutions but you have to wait right to the end to find out all of the facts. And some of them turn out to be very surprising indeed.
The Edinburgh setting for this book does it no harm either. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting many of the sights with Jackson and was entertained by his impressions of the Fringe Festival.
I really enjoyed it all and am ready now for book three.
March 9, 2015
I am tempted to write this review as "nah," and leave it at that, but I want to do better by it.
I am rating this really low! Surprisingly low. I don't hate this author. This isn't terrible writing. (Possibly, it is rather better writing than the Tana French book I just finished; at least nobody is described as having "hidden levels" in their "X-box game he calls a brain." Left that bit out of my last review, didn't I. Ah.)
"Multiple points of view" does not communicate enough about what this book puts you through. It is a loose bucket of noodles and that bucket is your plot. Enjoy the jumble of noodles. Sometimes bits touch, but all the chapters are so spaced apart, you'll never remember why it matters. You'll think, "I think I'm supposed to be surprised that these two people know each other, but I don't even remember who this second person was the first time." There are at least foooour major povs? A total of SIX, but I guess mainly the four. It's way too many, and they are almost all awful. Martin is just awful. Gloria is pretty awful. Louise is not awful! I liked Louise! Too bad the company she is in. It would have been a good book if we actually learned anything about her.
Because Jackson, our hero. He's awful! And, okay. Partly, I suppose, that is okay. He's a screwed-up anti-hero quasi-detective guy, right? Angst town. This is supposedly appealing. But nothing is given to us for our pains with him here. Talk of his (unseen) daughter and a rehash of his family pain -- exactly the same information we knew from reading his first book -- is all that makes him sympathetic, and that isn't okay. If we have to hear him having all these stupid thoughts about women, watch him making all these really stupid decisions with no explanation, if we have to wait it out while he bores us out of our skulls, we need to know why this man is ours. He is our protagonist, somehow, despite not appearing particularly more than the other third-person perspectives. But what the hell is he here for.
Because every, each one of the chapters is so strangely pointless. How is this possible? These people, they are supposed to be getting us deeper in this twisty interconnected plot noodle thing, but actually they don't! Hardly at all. It is weak weak sauce. The author essentially sets each chapter to wander through the thoughts of all of these people she's created, stream of consciousness less like the good literary kind that reveals existentialist dread and more like someone's really boring diary entry about frozen dinners. Setting up characters, giving them voices, and showing us the everyday of their worlds: this is, I suppose, how you would describe the job of a novelist. Kate Atkinson is doing that job. And then she is going home at 5:00 whether she finished her work for the day or not. Did she write this book on vacation? I don't get it.
This book, though technically a mystery, does not put two clues on one page (thus making us care about making any plot connections whatsoever) until page 290. 290! A dead body (page 100) does not a mystery make. Even a second dead body doesn't make it so. You're supposed to make SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS HAPPEN. And at the end, you cannot just have characters from different threads showing up in the same place and saying stuff. You're supposed to make A STORY TIE UP. I mean, good mysteries are hard, sure; I definitely wouldn't be able to do it. I am also not publishing bestsellers. So duh.
I need to share an example so I do not sound so crazy. There are so many run-on sentences in this book, and I truly don't know how this happened. Just add some semicolons and you've got literature, I swear. The paragraphs will also just wander off in a completely unnecessary direction, and then you are spending your time reading something you would never in a million years wonder or care about:
ETC. ETC. OMG ETC. Who cares. Also what did Ms. Heller ever do to you? She seemed perfectly nice in the last chapter aside from being constantly described as ugly, which hardly seems fair. Also, Louise's annoying colleague who's constantly described as fat and insinuated to be snacking at all times. It's a narrative device! Making people we're not supposed to like reported as unattractive. Too bad that is the same sophisticated device that makes Barbie dolls a thing.
Basically, this was no fun at all. I will, however, read the third book eventually. I already own it, for one thing, but I also need a tiebreaker. Case Histories was so lovely, to me. It has, perhaps, the same structural weaknesses as this book, but just a little fractured weakness and not an all-out house-falling-to-pieces waste-of-time disaster. Also, actually, it was not a very good mystery. Just a good book. I can't figure you out, Kate Atkinson. But I will try.
I am rating this really low! Surprisingly low. I don't hate this author. This isn't terrible writing. (Possibly, it is rather better writing than the Tana French book I just finished; at least nobody is described as having "hidden levels" in their "X-box game he calls a brain." Left that bit out of my last review, didn't I. Ah.)
"Multiple points of view" does not communicate enough about what this book puts you through. It is a loose bucket of noodles and that bucket is your plot. Enjoy the jumble of noodles. Sometimes bits touch, but all the chapters are so spaced apart, you'll never remember why it matters. You'll think, "I think I'm supposed to be surprised that these two people know each other, but I don't even remember who this second person was the first time." There are at least foooour major povs? A total of SIX, but I guess mainly the four. It's way too many, and they are almost all awful. Martin is just awful. Gloria is pretty awful. Louise is not awful! I liked Louise! Too bad the company she is in. It would have been a good book if we actually learned anything about her.
Because Jackson, our hero. He's awful! And, okay. Partly, I suppose, that is okay. He's a screwed-up anti-hero quasi-detective guy, right? Angst town. This is supposedly appealing. But nothing is given to us for our pains with him here. Talk of his (unseen) daughter and a rehash of his family pain -- exactly the same information we knew from reading his first book -- is all that makes him sympathetic, and that isn't okay. If we have to hear him having all these stupid thoughts about women, watch him making all these really stupid decisions with no explanation, if we have to wait it out while he bores us out of our skulls, we need to know why this man is ours. He is our protagonist, somehow, despite not appearing particularly more than the other third-person perspectives. But what the hell is he here for.
Because every, each one of the chapters is so strangely pointless. How is this possible? These people, they are supposed to be getting us deeper in this twisty interconnected plot noodle thing, but actually they don't! Hardly at all. It is weak weak sauce. The author essentially sets each chapter to wander through the thoughts of all of these people she's created, stream of consciousness less like the good literary kind that reveals existentialist dread and more like someone's really boring diary entry about frozen dinners. Setting up characters, giving them voices, and showing us the everyday of their worlds: this is, I suppose, how you would describe the job of a novelist. Kate Atkinson is doing that job. And then she is going home at 5:00 whether she finished her work for the day or not. Did she write this book on vacation? I don't get it.
This book, though technically a mystery, does not put two clues on one page (thus making us care about making any plot connections whatsoever) until page 290. 290! A dead body (page 100) does not a mystery make. Even a second dead body doesn't make it so. You're supposed to make SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS HAPPEN. And at the end, you cannot just have characters from different threads showing up in the same place and saying stuff. You're supposed to make A STORY TIE UP. I mean, good mysteries are hard, sure; I definitely wouldn't be able to do it. I am also not publishing bestsellers. So duh.
I need to share an example so I do not sound so crazy. There are so many run-on sentences in this book, and I truly don't know how this happened. Just add some semicolons and you've got literature, I swear. The paragraphs will also just wander off in a completely unnecessary direction, and then you are spending your time reading something you would never in a million years wonder or care about:
"E. M. Heller (what kind of a name was that?) was just plain odd, she was either a badly put-together woman or she was a man in drag. Transvestism was a mystery to Jackson, he had never in his life worn a single item of female clothing, apart from once borrowing a cashmere scarf from Julia when they were going for a walk and being troubled all afternoon..."
ETC. ETC. OMG ETC. Who cares. Also what did Ms. Heller ever do to you? She seemed perfectly nice in the last chapter aside from being constantly described as ugly, which hardly seems fair. Also, Louise's annoying colleague who's constantly described as fat and insinuated to be snacking at all times. It's a narrative device! Making people we're not supposed to like reported as unattractive. Too bad that is the same sophisticated device that makes Barbie dolls a thing.
Basically, this was no fun at all. I will, however, read the third book eventually. I already own it, for one thing, but I also need a tiebreaker. Case Histories was so lovely, to me. It has, perhaps, the same structural weaknesses as this book, but just a little fractured weakness and not an all-out house-falling-to-pieces waste-of-time disaster. Also, actually, it was not a very good mystery. Just a good book. I can't figure you out, Kate Atkinson. But I will try.
December 20, 2016
I love Kate Atkinson and I particularly love her Jackson Brodie series.
A series of seemingly unrelated incidents draw the retired Jackson into a tangled web, earning him his first criminal conviction, and galvanising him into action.
An excellent read.
A series of seemingly unrelated incidents draw the retired Jackson into a tangled web, earning him his first criminal conviction, and galvanising him into action.
An excellent read.
August 10, 2025
Take 8-10 different threads and weave them together for what turned out to be a thoroughly intricate mystery.
Enjoyed my second Jackson Brodie novel, although this one took a bit longer to get into. So much going on and lots of overlapping characters. Literally starts with a bang— car crash complete with road rage.
Yet a thoroughly satisfying ending— Ms Atkinson is a maestro of mystery!!
You’ll meet an interesting collection of characters— Martin is slightly pathetic but don’t underestimate him. Gloria is a goddess— but just of what you’ll need to read more to discover. Nameless lonely Russian girls and one big mean dude… plus police, publicists and one disappointing actress.
And then…That ending… yup, that ending.
(reviewed 12/16/22)
Enjoyed my second Jackson Brodie novel, although this one took a bit longer to get into. So much going on and lots of overlapping characters. Literally starts with a bang— car crash complete with road rage.
Yet a thoroughly satisfying ending— Ms Atkinson is a maestro of mystery!!
You’ll meet an interesting collection of characters— Martin is slightly pathetic but don’t underestimate him. Gloria is a goddess— but just of what you’ll need to read more to discover. Nameless lonely Russian girls and one big mean dude… plus police, publicists and one disappointing actress.
And then…That ending… yup, that ending.
(reviewed 12/16/22)
July 30, 2020
Ex-detective, ex-army, ex-PI, Jackson Brodie is now enjoying living off his unexpected inheritance in France. Julia, his girlfriend, visits often from the UK and they have enjoyed traveling together but she is still pursuing an acting career and seemingly not interested in a more permanent relationship. Jackson is in Edinburgh, accompanying Julia to the Edinburgh Festival where she has a part in an avant-garde production in the Fringe. Queuing to get into a venue Jackson (and many others) witness an incidence of extreme road rage. This sparks off a series of coincidences that spiral Jackson into a vortex of seemingly random events including murders, near drownings, muggings and Jackson's arrest for assault. A number of unrelated people, including a young Russian woman, a lonely crime writer and the wife of a millionare builder will gradually be drawn together with increasingly close connections until all the events fit together, like the Russian Matryoshka dolls in the novel. As Jackson himself remarks to a police detective, "A coincidence is just an explanation waiting to happen."
Peopled by Kate Atkinson's wonderful characters, this was an engaging and often humorous read. Jackson is just delightful but he deserves better than Julia, who doesn't seem to care nearly enough for him. I really enjoyed Gloria, the wife of a corrupt millionaire builder of dodgy houses, with her pragmatic view of life, as well as DS Louise Monroe with her wayward teenage son and ancient cat, who falls a little in love with Jackson, despite him being "a witness, a suspect and a convicted felon."
I'm looking forward to seeing what Jackson does next.
Peopled by Kate Atkinson's wonderful characters, this was an engaging and often humorous read. Jackson is just delightful but he deserves better than Julia, who doesn't seem to care nearly enough for him. I really enjoyed Gloria, the wife of a corrupt millionaire builder of dodgy houses, with her pragmatic view of life, as well as DS Louise Monroe with her wayward teenage son and ancient cat, who falls a little in love with Jackson, despite him being "a witness, a suspect and a convicted felon."
I'm looking forward to seeing what Jackson does next.
January 10, 2012
This is the second novel in the series of which ex-soldier, ex-police officer and newly wealthy ex-private detective Jackson Brodie is the chief protagonist. Just as in the first book in the series, Case Histories, the story is told from the point of view of a number of different characters, whose lives intersect with and whose actions directly and indirectly affect each other.
A recurrent image in the novel is that of Matryoshka dolls – the Russian dolls which fit inside each other. The image is particularly appropriate to describe the way in which the various strands of the plot come together and like Matryoska dolls, Atkinson's characters are intricate and colourful.
The mystery is really not the point of this novel, although there is a final twist which was satisfying, if not a huge surprise. What I enjoyed most are the language and the characters. Atkinson gives her characters individual and very quirky voices and uses internal monologues to great effect. Atkinson’s prose is clean and crisp. She also uses humour particularly well and there are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments.
I love the fact that Atkinson does not write straightforward crime novels, even though the plot centres on traditional crime fiction themes. If Atkinson writes to a formula, then it is her own formula, not a set of rules for mystery writers. I’m very much looking forward to the next book in the series. Jackson Brodie is a most attractive character and it will be a while before I tire of either him or of Atkinson’s style.
Another fun buddy read with my friend Jemidar.
March 17, 2011
ONE GOOD TURN by Kate Atkinson begins with a road rage incident involving one crazy guy beating a man with a baseball bat and another man, a wimpy writer of popular crime novels, knocking the crazy guy down with his laptop computer. From there we meet all sorts of seemingly unrelated characters who all become connected.
It's actually a pretty good and simple story. But here's what I guess happened.
My guess is that Atkinson had a pretty good short story. Someone (publisher, editor, agent, whoever) told her she had to give them a book-length novel. So she took this perfectly good short story and padded it. And the result is ONE GOOD TURN.
Open this book to almost any page (except the last few), and you'll see it. One line, occasionally one or two paragraphs, of the story sandwiched between paragraphs of padding. Whatever happens reminds a character of something else that reminds the character of something else. Then back to the story soon to be followed by more padding.
I had intended to read another book by Atkinson. Now I won't.
It's actually a pretty good and simple story. But here's what I guess happened.
My guess is that Atkinson had a pretty good short story. Someone (publisher, editor, agent, whoever) told her she had to give them a book-length novel. So she took this perfectly good short story and padded it. And the result is ONE GOOD TURN.
Open this book to almost any page (except the last few), and you'll see it. One line, occasionally one or two paragraphs, of the story sandwiched between paragraphs of padding. Whatever happens reminds a character of something else that reminds the character of something else. Then back to the story soon to be followed by more padding.
I had intended to read another book by Atkinson. Now I won't.
May 12, 2011
I love Kate Atkinson's mischievous, self-deprecating, knowing wit - who else but a supremely confident writer, on her fifth novel, the second to feature Jackson Brodie, could introduce a character as 'a walking cliché', or have a dissatisfied wimpy writer of jolly crime fiction as a main protagonist, or be unafraid to point up how weird it is that all the characters keep meeting each other, how connected they are, like Russian dolls, layer within layer, doll within doll. And how does she turn a sound crime story into literary fiction? Well, partly through that self-reference, that nod to the fictionality of what she's doing, and partly by caring enough about the individuals who people her tales to give them a truly authentic back story, and to spend some time on creating it. And still never losing pace. And at the same time, she keeps you guessing as to the intended victim, and the contracting party of the hit man who appears to have been forgotten. There he is at the beginning, but then we lose sight of him until right at the end - re-enter contract killer - and the shock is not only who he kills, but who's paying him. Wow!
June 24, 2020
I don't know if I liked this book or was appalled by it. A little bit of both.
This was a confusing mishmash of characters and the book takes forever to get going.
Jackson and Julia are toxic as anything. There's a scene we get via Jackson and we learn about him and Julia and I just wanted to scream and drop the book right there. Also I don't even know what to say about Jackson. Or we supposed to feel sorry for him due to his sister or brother? Cause he sucks a lot I realized. And he really didn't investigate much in this one, just had remarkable coincidences happening.
Louise (inspector) was more interesting than Jackson and her interest in him didn't even seem believable.
Good lord, Martin. I just....I am going to need to sit and think on him a bit.
Gloria is also as terrible as her husband Graham I have to say. I just think it's hilarious she doesn't realize it. Or maybe she does when you get to that ending.
The writing was eh and the flow was so bad that I started to just want something to happen. And then there's just plot holes left unaddressed by the end of this book.
I needed a yarn wall at the 60 percent mark because seeing how everything and everyone was linked was a lot and I started to think the whole thing was just ridiculous after a while.
This was a confusing mishmash of characters and the book takes forever to get going.
Jackson and Julia are toxic as anything. There's a scene we get via Jackson and we learn about him and Julia and I just wanted to scream and drop the book right there. Also I don't even know what to say about Jackson. Or we supposed to feel sorry for him due to his sister or brother? Cause he sucks a lot I realized. And he really didn't investigate much in this one, just had remarkable coincidences happening.
Louise (inspector) was more interesting than Jackson and her interest in him didn't even seem believable.
Good lord, Martin. I just....I am going to need to sit and think on him a bit.
Gloria is also as terrible as her husband Graham I have to say. I just think it's hilarious she doesn't realize it. Or maybe she does when you get to that ending.
The writing was eh and the flow was so bad that I started to just want something to happen. And then there's just plot holes left unaddressed by the end of this book.
I needed a yarn wall at the 60 percent mark because seeing how everything and everyone was linked was a lot and I started to think the whole thing was just ridiculous after a while.
July 31, 2011
I remember a scolding from one of my high school English teachers to the effect that my classmates and I should only read books that made us better people and stop wasting our time with the other stuff. I'm not sure Atkinson's Jackson Brodie novels would rise to her standard. They're probably frustrating for mystery readers who value focused, logical plots and a clear sense of right and wrong in a novel, too. But I love these books. Atkinson's writing, her characters, and her observations of the world are wonderful in every way - sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes disturbing, sometimes melancholy, always smart. The plots ramble all over the place and rely on coincidence and irony too much by half, but I have such a good time with the reading that I don't care. This particular novel took me a few chapters to get into - Atkinson has a bad habit of introducing a character caught up in a dramatic moment and then freezing the action for too many pages while she lays out the character's backstory. I also had a hard time sorting out the characters at first - they all talk to themselves in the same quirky voice, which makes them hard to distinguish on the page. But once the story gets going, it's riveting, and all along the way, Atkinson's writing is a joy to read. "One Good Turn" is a great pick for vacation reading, or a long plane ride - any environment that allows uninterrupted reading.
Read
April 28, 2012Abandoned after 100 pages. The cover blurb reads, "The most fun I've had with a novel this year" - Ian Rankin. What I want to know is, what on earth was he *doing* with it?!
April 5, 2021
I continue to be baffled by these books but maybe more so by why I keep reading them. I'm honestly doing this to myself.
I think that this idea that Jackson Brodie only ever finds interconnected mysteries in groups of 4 is funny theory, but in practice, I keep being really bothered by the convenience of it all. I can't seem to suspend my disbelief far enough to make any single Brodie mystery work. It got worse here because there were so many characters and points of view and pretty much all of them are terrible. And I feel bad saying that because truly the thing is that they are treated and viewed terribly by the author and by our supposed hero.
Jackson Brodie spends so much time thinking badly about women that it's a wonder he has time to solve mysteries at all.
April 25, 2008
One Good Turn is Atkinson's second novel to feature a character named Jackson Brodie, though I didn't realize it was part of a series until I had finished the book. That didn't seem to impact the story. The book is sort of a mystery, but it doesn't completely belong to the genre. There is a detective, and a crime, and a series of plot twists and turns, but I don't think the author was trying to write a piece of genre fiction. Had she tried to do just that, she may have been more successful; as it is, the book falls flat.
The novel is not a mystery, but it's not a particularly enlightening piece of literature either, nor is it a portrait of especially intriguing characters. Like in Atkinson's novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum, the characters here each play a part in a much larger drama, the full extent of which is not revealed until the final act. There is a plot, and the story could have been captivating, but the problem is that Atkinson never allows us to be completely swept away in it. Her characters are flat, which makes the intricate plot seem silly. She tries to inject her characters with life, but instead fills them with sarcastic comments and absurd (but not quite comic) thoughts that reveal more about the author than the characters. Atkinson is just too present in the novel. She's on every page, shouting to the reader "Hey, this is just a book! Don't believe this crazy plot. Don't be fooled by the outrageous characters. They aren't real!" Which of course they aren't. But that's not why I'm reading.
I suppose one could argue that an author might purposely remind her readers of the fictional elements of her work in order to reveal a truth. Perhaps by drawing a reader into the story world, then exposing it as mere fiction, the author draws attention in an illuminating way to the contrast between fiction and reality. I don't believe this is Atkinson's aim in One Good Turn. Here, there's no balance between the larger-than-life plot and reality, making the story seem absurd and the characters merely characters. Thus, I found the novel neither enlightening nor enjoyable.
The novel is not a mystery, but it's not a particularly enlightening piece of literature either, nor is it a portrait of especially intriguing characters. Like in Atkinson's novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum, the characters here each play a part in a much larger drama, the full extent of which is not revealed until the final act. There is a plot, and the story could have been captivating, but the problem is that Atkinson never allows us to be completely swept away in it. Her characters are flat, which makes the intricate plot seem silly. She tries to inject her characters with life, but instead fills them with sarcastic comments and absurd (but not quite comic) thoughts that reveal more about the author than the characters. Atkinson is just too present in the novel. She's on every page, shouting to the reader "Hey, this is just a book! Don't believe this crazy plot. Don't be fooled by the outrageous characters. They aren't real!" Which of course they aren't. But that's not why I'm reading.
I suppose one could argue that an author might purposely remind her readers of the fictional elements of her work in order to reveal a truth. Perhaps by drawing a reader into the story world, then exposing it as mere fiction, the author draws attention in an illuminating way to the contrast between fiction and reality. I don't believe this is Atkinson's aim in One Good Turn. Here, there's no balance between the larger-than-life plot and reality, making the story seem absurd and the characters merely characters. Thus, I found the novel neither enlightening nor enjoyable.
August 27, 2019
[3.6] On my vacation, I decided to pick up one of the Jackson Brodie novels I haven't yet read. This one is quite good - a slow starter - but as usual Kate Atkinson pulled together all the disparate strings. Very engaging but didn't reach the heights of #3 - "When Will There Be Good News."
March 16, 2014
(Probably more of a 3 and 1/2 stars rating)
Though I'm technically giving the two Brodie novels I've read the same amount of stars, I liked the first one (Case Histories) more, mostly (I think) for what seemed more like 'realism' than what's found in this sequel.
Atkinson's sly, ironic humor is still in full force, maybe even more so with her characters' commentaries on their own reality versus that of 'real' fiction. I was bothered by two events being concealed (perhaps this is one reason I don't generally read murder mysteries), though I thought the big, surprising reveal at the end was great. For me to disclose one of those two concealed events would be a spoiler, but the other (the existence of a third backed-up copy of a character's novel) seemed to serve no purpose.
The setting of Edinburgh in August was fun. I could envision my 1993 trip there -- unlike Brodie, I attended the Tattoo but none of the Fringe events; like Brodie, I felt I knew the Royal Mile after one day. The meandering, easygoing rendering of the characters' thoughts was extremely well-done; but the style of multiple, complete sentences being joined by just commas was distracting. For me, this novel could've been called the case of the missing semicolons.
Though I'm technically giving the two Brodie novels I've read the same amount of stars, I liked the first one (Case Histories) more, mostly (I think) for what seemed more like 'realism' than what's found in this sequel.
Atkinson's sly, ironic humor is still in full force, maybe even more so with her characters' commentaries on their own reality versus that of 'real' fiction. I was bothered by two events being concealed (perhaps this is one reason I don't generally read murder mysteries), though I thought the big, surprising reveal at the end was great. For me to disclose one of those two concealed events would be a spoiler, but the other (the existence of a third backed-up copy of a character's novel) seemed to serve no purpose.
The setting of Edinburgh in August was fun. I could envision my 1993 trip there -- unlike Brodie, I attended the Tattoo but none of the Fringe events; like Brodie, I felt I knew the Royal Mile after one day. The meandering, easygoing rendering of the characters' thoughts was extremely well-done; but the style of multiple, complete sentences being joined by just commas was distracting. For me, this novel could've been called the case of the missing semicolons.
November 5, 2020
3.5 stars
Jackson is not a man suited to retirement (and being in his 40’s he is way to young to do nothing) so he is secretly thrilled when he runs into trouble at the Edinburgh Festival.
Like the matryoshka dolls found in one of the character’s homes, this series consist of layers within layers, adventures in adventures, secrets inside more secrets. All the characters in this story are linked in some way and as the tale progresses you see the threads connecting.
Kate Atkinson shines with this type of writing.
The story is also at times quite funny but not in a slap stick way. More in a British apologetically accidental way.
The only thing I think the story could have done with a little less was Martin’s obsessive and elaborate daydreams about a fictitious perfect wife, kids, and little house in the countryside. But that did not kill my enjoyment of the overall story.
Full of gangsters with big dogs, dodgy housing estates, Russians, jilted wives, thespians and of course murder.
Recommended for anyone wanting to read a smart, well written and interesting crime series.
Jackson is not a man suited to retirement (and being in his 40’s he is way to young to do nothing) so he is secretly thrilled when he runs into trouble at the Edinburgh Festival.
Like the matryoshka dolls found in one of the character’s homes, this series consist of layers within layers, adventures in adventures, secrets inside more secrets. All the characters in this story are linked in some way and as the tale progresses you see the threads connecting.
Kate Atkinson shines with this type of writing.
The story is also at times quite funny but not in a slap stick way. More in a British apologetically accidental way.
The only thing I think the story could have done with a little less was Martin’s obsessive and elaborate daydreams about a fictitious perfect wife, kids, and little house in the countryside. But that did not kill my enjoyment of the overall story.
Full of gangsters with big dogs, dodgy housing estates, Russians, jilted wives, thespians and of course murder.
Recommended for anyone wanting to read a smart, well written and interesting crime series.
November 11, 2022
Reading Atkinson, you sympathize with the heroes, sometimes you laugh - laughter is no less effective way of emotional discharge than fear or empathy. You often rejoice and congratulate yourself, recognizing quotes, more often you do not recognize, but you understand that this phrase is not for nothing. And this is also cool, so you, the reader, are not being held here for a jerk. She owns many instruments, without pedaling any one technique, like the bestial cruelty of killing, or the romanticization of maniacs.
Однажды в Эдинбурге
Тут ее заметил и Экройд, патологоанатом.
— Ты пропустила столько интересного: желудок, легкие, печень, — сообщил он. Экройд был немного придурок.
Вот эти нюансы, вроде "был немного придурок" о патологоанатоме, который пытается хохмить в стиле полицейских из сериалов или, несколькими абзацами раньше, о тех же сериалах и в связи с той же ситуацией аутопсии, когда в фильмах судмедэксперт, вскрывая тело, приговаривает какую-нибудь чушь, вроде: "Кто ж тебя так, милая?" В то время, как в реальной жизни для того, кто работает труп - это материал и ничего больше. Оболочка, переставшая быть человеком, когда из нее ушла жизнь.
Такие нюансы у Кейт Аткинсон обнажают и отменяют штампованную фальшь, делают достоверными самые невероятные совпадения в ее книгах. Не потому, что отключают критическое осмысление, а потому, что думаешь: "Да ведь и в жизни чего только не бывает" Она возвращает детективу остроту, смыленную клишированием, у нее преступление не только повод поломать голову над загадкой, но момент мощной эмоциональной вовлеченности.
Читая Аткинсон, сочувствуешь героям, иногда смеешься - смех не менее действенный способ эмоциональной разрядки, чем страх или сопереживание. Часто радуешься и поздравляешь себя, опознавая цитаты, чаще не опознаешь, но понимаешь, что вот эта фраза неспроста. И это тоже круто, значит тебя, читателя, не держат здесь за придурка. Она владеет многими инструментами, не педалируя какого-то одного приема, вроде звериной жестокости умерщвлений, или романтизации маньяков.
Эдинбург, фестиваль, какой-то из летних, судя по всему театральный. Шотландская столица славится своими летними фестивалями. Джейсон Броуди тут с Джулией. Они как-бы вместе, его утрированная тяга к семейственности, столь не свойственная реальным мужчинам, но такая обаятельная у персонажа, не находит у нее отклика. Пока ее день занят репетициями, а вечера представлениями, он томится бездельем. Работать теперь нет необходимости, в финале первой книжки забавная и противная старушенция кошатница оставила ему в наследство состояние. Но к праздности Джейсон не приучен, и вот он слоняется по городу, достопримечательности и всякое такое.
Успешный. но страшно неуверенный в себе писатель детективщик стоит в очереди на стендап. Оно бы ему и на фиг не нужно, но жилец оставил билет на свое выступление, неловко обидеть. Жилец, постоялец, гость, нахальное чмо, которое свалилось как снег на голову: "Я у тебя остановлюсь на пару дней". У всех есть такие знакомые. Гостевание растянулось на месяц, милая гостиная Мартина превратилась в свинарник, но градус бешенства, необходимый, чтобы выставить его, еще не достигнут.
В это время на дорогу перед маленькой машинкой выскакивает пьяный пешеход, она тормозит, ей в зад въезжает внедорожник, из которого вылетает громила с бейсбольной битой, сбивает с ног водителя и с руганью начинает крушить стекла-фары автомобильчика, а потом замахивается, чтобы нанести совсем уж смертельный удар. И тут с тротуара, где очередь, ему в голову летит что-то тяжелое твердое прямоугольное. Ноутбук Мартина, ну не мог он спокойно смотреть, как убивают человека.
На то же представление собиралась Глория, супруга успешного застройщика, да что успешного, у него крупнейшее в Шотландии жилищное строительство, империя. Они должны были пойти с мужем, и другой супружеской парой, но муж что-то задерживается. А потом ей звонят, чтобы сообщить, что у него обширный инфаркт. о котором сообщила бывшая с ним в это время молодая женщина. Которая, против ожиданий, не пытается скрыться, а знакомится с Глорией. Красотку зовут Татьяна, она доминатрикс: "Не думаете ли вы, что я с ними сплю?" (на самом деле как раз думаем,но не в этом случае, уж больно хороша была Танюша, как такой не поверить?
Вот такая завязка. А дальше будет еще интереснее.
Однажды в Эдинбурге
Тут ее заметил и Экройд, патологоанатом.
— Ты пропустила столько интересного: желудок, легкие, печень, — сообщил он. Экройд был немного придурок.
Вот эти нюансы, вроде "был немного придурок" о патологоанатоме, который пытается хохмить в стиле полицейских из сериалов или, несколькими абзацами раньше, о тех же сериалах и в связи с той же ситуацией аутопсии, когда в фильмах судмедэксперт, вскрывая тело, приговаривает какую-нибудь чушь, вроде: "Кто ж тебя так, милая?" В то время, как в реальной жизни для того, кто работает труп - это материал и ничего больше. Оболочка, переставшая быть человеком, когда из нее ушла жизнь.
Такие нюансы у Кейт Аткинсон обнажают и отменяют штампованную фальшь, делают достоверными самые невероятные совпадения в ее книгах. Не потому, что отключают критическое осмысление, а потому, что думаешь: "Да ведь и в жизни чего только не бывает" Она возвращает детективу остроту, смыленную клишированием, у нее преступление не только повод поломать голову над загадкой, но момент мощной эмоциональной вовлеченности.
Читая Аткинсон, сочувствуешь героям, иногда смеешься - смех не менее действенный способ эмоциональной разрядки, чем страх или сопереживание. Часто радуешься и поздравляешь себя, опознавая цитаты, чаще не опознаешь, но понимаешь, что вот эта фраза неспроста. И это тоже круто, значит тебя, читателя, не держат здесь за придурка. Она владеет многими инструментами, не педалируя какого-то одного приема, вроде звериной жестокости умерщвлений, или романтизации маньяков.
Эдинбург, фестиваль, какой-то из летних, судя по всему театральный. Шотландская столица славится своими летними фестивалями. Джейсон Броуди тут с Джулией. Они как-бы вместе, его утрированная тяга к семейственности, столь не свойственная реальным мужчинам, но такая обаятельная у персонажа, не находит у нее отклика. Пока ее день занят репетициями, а вечера представлениями, он томится бездельем. Работать теперь нет необходимости, в финале первой книжки забавная и противная старушенция кошатница оставила ему в наследство состояние. Но к праздности Джейсон не приучен, и вот он слоняется по городу, достопримечательности и всякое такое.
Успешный. но страшно неуверенный в себе писатель детективщик стоит в очереди на стендап. Оно бы ему и на фиг не нужно, но жилец оставил билет на свое выступление, неловко обидеть. Жилец, постоялец, гость, нахальное чмо, которое свалилось как снег на голову: "Я у тебя остановлюсь на пару дней". У всех есть такие знакомые. Гостевание растянулось на месяц, милая гостиная Мартина превратилась в свинарник, но градус бешенства, необходимый, чтобы выставить его, еще не достигнут.
В это время на дорогу перед маленькой машинкой выскакивает пьяный пешеход, она тормозит, ей в зад въезжает внедорожник, из которого вылетает громила с бейсбольной битой, сбивает с ног водителя и с руганью начинает крушить стекла-фары автомобильчика, а потом замахивается, чтобы нанести совсем уж смертельный удар. И тут с тротуара, где очередь, ему в голову летит что-то тяжелое твердое прямоугольное. Ноутбук Мартина, ну не мог он спокойно смотреть, как убивают человека.
На то же представление собиралась Глория, супруга успешного застройщика, да что успешного, у него крупнейшее в Шотландии жилищное строительство, империя. Они должны были пойти с мужем, и другой супружеской парой, но муж что-то задерживается. А потом ей звонят, чтобы сообщить, что у него обширный инфаркт. о котором сообщила бывшая с ним в это время молодая женщина. Которая, против ожиданий, не пытается скрыться, а знакомится с Глорией. Красотку зовут Татьяна, она доминатрикс: "Не думаете ли вы, что я с ними сплю?" (на самом деле как раз думаем,но не в этом случае, уж больно хороша была Танюша, как такой не поверить?
Вот такая завязка. А дальше будет еще интереснее.
August 15, 2021
(3.5) I love this authors style. My only issue with this book is that there’s quiet a few characters (each with their own seemingly separate storylines) going on at once. The way she slowly unveils how they’re all connected is pure talent, it was just a lot to keep track of this time. Now I listened to the audiobook so maybe it was me.. Maybe I was a little scatterbrained (totally possible,) but occasionally I’d have to actually pause the book & review my mental map of who’s who, what they’re up to & how they’re “involved.” It’s not that the story is confusing, it’s just a lot of parts to keep track of- up until the point where you’re able to see the whole picture. Her writing is so good that I enjoyed what I was reading, even though at some points I wasn’t quite sure what it had to do with the rest of the book! Now looking back though, it was a great story! So I’m still a big fan, I’m going to jump into the next in the series ASAP!
September 13, 2009
I stopped reading this book halfway through, which is very unusual for me. I had been very entertained by it initially -- loved Atkinson's astringent wit, her hilariously apt metaphors, her willingness to say the things we usually just think but daren't say aloud. And the story was suspenseful, a page turner. Yet there came a point where I didn't want to read any more of it. The same sharp-eyed malice that had entertained me initially eventually got on my nerves. I remember having the same reaction to Atkinson's first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum -- that there was something ill-natured, and even cruel, about her authorial voice. Too many characters are given to too many hostile observations, and they all sound suspiciously alike.
September 5, 2007
One Good Turn was a decent read. Good for lazy summer days, it's one step up from your typical beach book, but far from being great literature. I've also read Atkinson's Case Histories (also decent), but I guess it didn't make all that much of an impact, as I was almost halfway through the book before I realized that One Good Turn has the same characters as Case Histories. Then I also realized that One Good Turn follows pretty much the same formula as Case Histories, which is: take a mystery, employ multiple narrative perspectives, focus so much on the characters to the point of ignoring the mystery, culminate in a vaguely unsatisfying end. What saved this book is Atkinson's sharp wit - I found myself laughing out loud at some of her zingers. This also let me overlook the characters that bordered on cliche and the ending, which I think was supposed to be a twist, but I was more like, Eh. I'd recommend this book to anyone who doesn't really have anything better to read, but don't go out of your way to read it.
July 30, 2012
Great knack for putting the reader into the minds of a small set of characters on parallel tracks and then step by step bringing them into surprising intersections with the unfolding of the mystery. Getting there is more than half the fun. Sporadic mayhem in this Edinburgh setting stirs the four main characters to transform their lives, each already resilient from tragedies in their past. They include: Martin, a mild reclusive writer of cosy mystery novels, who bravely intercedes in road rage incident; Jackson Brodie, a former detective in town for his girlfriend's performance in an existential play at the summer festival; Louise, a local hard-boiled police detective troubled by her delinquent son; and Gloria, whose husband ends up in a coma after a night with a Russian prostitute. We are treated to their vibrant inner life of compassion, humor, and self-doubts, as each seem at first to be punished for their attempts do "one good turn" for another.
February 10, 2008
I was really disappointed by this book. This is the follow up to Case Histories, which was a great and engaging book with interesting characters. This one is written in the same style, with lots of interlocking stories, but in this one I didn't care about any of the characters, with maybe the exception of Jackson, but even he irritated me for the bulk of the book. And Julia, who I thought was annoying but fun in Case Histories, was just completely unlikeable in this book.
January 7, 2018
Well this is another confusing one...
Ms. Atkinson seems to have a style that I've not encountered before. Take one incident, populate it with a half-dozen or so characters of various ages, temperaments, personalities, backgrounds, etc., then let them drop sort of loose. Jump from one character to the other as they go about their day and slowly - as if you're pulling the drawstring of a large bag - scoop them all up into one big pot (or purse), shake freely and then open the bag and let everything fall out. Plop!
This was the style of this book, and of Atkinson's first novel, 'Case Studies.' I do enjoy reading her, but I'm gonna admit her brain works differently than mine. Using an omni-POV, and a rambling style in which there's a lot of 'thought,' (everyone thinks a lot in her books), and a lot of tell-tell-tell, she gets her story done. In this one the triggering incident is a case of road rage: one guy hits another guy's car, then goes at him with a bat; someone else intervenes and from there...
They all drop into that (at first) open, loose drawstring bag. It's an entertaining read, and I've got to admit nobody does this style better. It had to have been a job to write it, though, keeping track of so many outlines, timelines, and who's-doing-what-to-whom at any given time.
Jackson Brodie, former police detective, is her MC, but at times he's just a sort of layabout, letting things happen TO him; but still, he's likeable. So since I like this (very unusual) writing style and Jackson himself, I'll keep up with the series.
Four stars.
Ms. Atkinson seems to have a style that I've not encountered before. Take one incident, populate it with a half-dozen or so characters of various ages, temperaments, personalities, backgrounds, etc., then let them drop sort of loose. Jump from one character to the other as they go about their day and slowly - as if you're pulling the drawstring of a large bag - scoop them all up into one big pot (or purse), shake freely and then open the bag and let everything fall out. Plop!
This was the style of this book, and of Atkinson's first novel, 'Case Studies.' I do enjoy reading her, but I'm gonna admit her brain works differently than mine. Using an omni-POV, and a rambling style in which there's a lot of 'thought,' (everyone thinks a lot in her books), and a lot of tell-tell-tell, she gets her story done. In this one the triggering incident is a case of road rage: one guy hits another guy's car, then goes at him with a bat; someone else intervenes and from there...
They all drop into that (at first) open, loose drawstring bag. It's an entertaining read, and I've got to admit nobody does this style better. It had to have been a job to write it, though, keeping track of so many outlines, timelines, and who's-doing-what-to-whom at any given time.
Jackson Brodie, former police detective, is her MC, but at times he's just a sort of layabout, letting things happen TO him; but still, he's likeable. So since I like this (very unusual) writing style and Jackson himself, I'll keep up with the series.
Four stars.
September 14, 2021
4/5
Atkinson has written a bunch of engaging character sketches of people connected by a road rage incident. The crime like the first book in the series is again incidental to her richly drawn characters. The plot is driven by happenstance and is mainly background noise that does not interest the author. She makes bitter lives appear bittersweet with her understated wit that observes the mundane and reproduces it with such cynical flair that I can excuse the mystery being the weakest aspect of a crime book.
Successful crime novelist Martin surprises himself when he averts a road rage incident from escalating into murder. He writes cozy mysteries under a pseudonym, he is cowardly and invisible. Jackson Brodie, the series is named after him simply because he crops up in every book not because he has more pages than other POV characters, has found money and love at the end of the first book and now realizes he was better off without both. He saw the road rage incident but did not stick around to help the cops. He still gets dragged into the mess because he discovers dead girls who disappear before the cops could come. The cop is single mother Louise with a teenage son and a cat. She loves the cat more, wise choice. My favorite of the main characters is bored housewife of 38 years Gloria Hatter who had mentally switched off three decades ago. When she learns her husband had a heart attack while with a Russian dominatrix she goes to the hospital, has a chat with the prostitute. Upon learning he just paid her to get spanked she is amazed that torturing her husband could be such a lucrative career. She would have done it for free.
All the middle aged point of view characters have the kind of neuroses that harmlessly nibble away at the back of their minds. Then before they realize what’s wrong, those benign troubles are eating away chunks of mental peace and are just a regular part of their life. I inadvertently ended up describing growing old and that’s one of the many things Atkinson touches upon. Pam wasn’t what Gloria would have called a friend, just someone she had known for so long that she had given up trying to get rid of her. Except she does it much better than me. She is English so class difference has to figure. They had more money and were further up the social ladder, but they had the same basic low expectations of life. Atkinson takes dour, regular life, spins surreal conversations around them that showcase how most people repress so much of what they feel. And it is often pathetic and funny at the same time.
Some might find it slow and self-indulgent. Though the main narrative covers a short four days, it did not seem to get going till the last third. It is probably best read in small installments where you can enjoy the quirky prose without wondering why coincidences carry the plot. It might not be for everyone but if you give Atkinson’s writing a chance you will find it carries a rare practical wisdom and infectious charm that is missing in most crime fiction.
Quotes: She had gone straight from youth to old age and had somehow managed to omit the good bit in between.
Mr. Brodie. That’s how Julia used to address him, in the early days, making his surname suggestive and intimate as if he were a character in a Regency romance. Now she said “Jackson” sharply, like someone who knew him too well.
Atkinson has written a bunch of engaging character sketches of people connected by a road rage incident. The crime like the first book in the series is again incidental to her richly drawn characters. The plot is driven by happenstance and is mainly background noise that does not interest the author. She makes bitter lives appear bittersweet with her understated wit that observes the mundane and reproduces it with such cynical flair that I can excuse the mystery being the weakest aspect of a crime book.
Successful crime novelist Martin surprises himself when he averts a road rage incident from escalating into murder. He writes cozy mysteries under a pseudonym, he is cowardly and invisible. Jackson Brodie, the series is named after him simply because he crops up in every book not because he has more pages than other POV characters, has found money and love at the end of the first book and now realizes he was better off without both. He saw the road rage incident but did not stick around to help the cops. He still gets dragged into the mess because he discovers dead girls who disappear before the cops could come. The cop is single mother Louise with a teenage son and a cat. She loves the cat more, wise choice. My favorite of the main characters is bored housewife of 38 years Gloria Hatter who had mentally switched off three decades ago. When she learns her husband had a heart attack while with a Russian dominatrix she goes to the hospital, has a chat with the prostitute. Upon learning he just paid her to get spanked she is amazed that torturing her husband could be such a lucrative career. She would have done it for free.
All the middle aged point of view characters have the kind of neuroses that harmlessly nibble away at the back of their minds. Then before they realize what’s wrong, those benign troubles are eating away chunks of mental peace and are just a regular part of their life. I inadvertently ended up describing growing old and that’s one of the many things Atkinson touches upon. Pam wasn’t what Gloria would have called a friend, just someone she had known for so long that she had given up trying to get rid of her. Except she does it much better than me. She is English so class difference has to figure. They had more money and were further up the social ladder, but they had the same basic low expectations of life. Atkinson takes dour, regular life, spins surreal conversations around them that showcase how most people repress so much of what they feel. And it is often pathetic and funny at the same time.
Some might find it slow and self-indulgent. Though the main narrative covers a short four days, it did not seem to get going till the last third. It is probably best read in small installments where you can enjoy the quirky prose without wondering why coincidences carry the plot. It might not be for everyone but if you give Atkinson’s writing a chance you will find it carries a rare practical wisdom and infectious charm that is missing in most crime fiction.
Quotes: She had gone straight from youth to old age and had somehow managed to omit the good bit in between.
Mr. Brodie. That’s how Julia used to address him, in the early days, making his surname suggestive and intimate as if he were a character in a Regency romance. Now she said “Jackson” sharply, like someone who knew him too well.
January 15, 2009
Stephen King recommended this author in a book column that he writes for Entertainment Weekly. (It was lying around at work and I needed something to read!)I took his recommendation seriously because in his column he went on to recommend "...and all the books of Robert Goddard."
I love to come across new authors. Years ago I just happened upon Goddard and avidly read several of his tomes before I ran out of the energy needed to handle the underlying sinisterness of his stories.
Now I get to go through all the books of Kate Atkinson. She writes with a light touch while telling a great, inter-connected story which covers policing, single-parenting, bad art, corporate corruption, & the exploitation of sex workers. An episode of road-rage starts the One Good Turn of the title into many more good turns. But the good turns are interspersed with some pretty nasty deeds including murder. Read her soon so we can start a fan club. Linda
Note April 15, 2010. I was reviewing my reviews and found that my review of Atkinson's One Good Turn gave me no clue of the story that so fascinated me. So for my aging brain, I've added the Amazon review.
Amazon.com Review
Kate Atkinson began her career with a winner: Behind the Scenes at the Museum, which captured the Whitbread First Novel Award. She followed that success with four other books, the last of which was Case Histories, her first foray into the mystery-suspense-detective genre. In that book she introduced detective Jackson Brodie, who reopened three cold cases and ended up a millionaire. A great deal happened in-between.
In One Good Turn Jackson returns, following his girlfriend, Julia the actress, to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh. He manages to fall into all kinds of trouble, starting with witnessing a brutal attack by "Honda Man" on another man stuck in a traffic jam. Is this road rage or something truly sinister? Another witness is Martin Canning, better known as Alex Blake, the writer. Martin is a shy, withdrawn, timid sort who, in a moment of unlikely action, flings a satchel at the attacker and spins him around, away from his victim. Gloria Hatter, wife of Graham, a millionaire property developer who is about to have all his secrets uncovered, is standing in a nearby queue with a friend when the attack takes place. There is nastiness afoot, and everyone is involved. Nothing is coincidental.
Through a labyrinthine plot which is hard to follow because the points of view are constantly changing, the real story is played out, complete with Russians, false and mistaken identities, dead bodies, betrayals, and all manner of violent encounters. Jackson gets pulled in to the investigation by Louise Monroe, a police detective and mother of an errant 14-year-old. There might be yet another novel to follow which will take up the connection those two forge in this book. Or, Jackson might just go back to France and feed apples to the local livestock.
I love to come across new authors. Years ago I just happened upon Goddard and avidly read several of his tomes before I ran out of the energy needed to handle the underlying sinisterness of his stories.
Now I get to go through all the books of Kate Atkinson. She writes with a light touch while telling a great, inter-connected story which covers policing, single-parenting, bad art, corporate corruption, & the exploitation of sex workers. An episode of road-rage starts the One Good Turn of the title into many more good turns. But the good turns are interspersed with some pretty nasty deeds including murder. Read her soon so we can start a fan club. Linda
Note April 15, 2010. I was reviewing my reviews and found that my review of Atkinson's One Good Turn gave me no clue of the story that so fascinated me. So for my aging brain, I've added the Amazon review.
Amazon.com Review
Kate Atkinson began her career with a winner: Behind the Scenes at the Museum, which captured the Whitbread First Novel Award. She followed that success with four other books, the last of which was Case Histories, her first foray into the mystery-suspense-detective genre. In that book she introduced detective Jackson Brodie, who reopened three cold cases and ended up a millionaire. A great deal happened in-between.
In One Good Turn Jackson returns, following his girlfriend, Julia the actress, to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh. He manages to fall into all kinds of trouble, starting with witnessing a brutal attack by "Honda Man" on another man stuck in a traffic jam. Is this road rage or something truly sinister? Another witness is Martin Canning, better known as Alex Blake, the writer. Martin is a shy, withdrawn, timid sort who, in a moment of unlikely action, flings a satchel at the attacker and spins him around, away from his victim. Gloria Hatter, wife of Graham, a millionaire property developer who is about to have all his secrets uncovered, is standing in a nearby queue with a friend when the attack takes place. There is nastiness afoot, and everyone is involved. Nothing is coincidental.
Through a labyrinthine plot which is hard to follow because the points of view are constantly changing, the real story is played out, complete with Russians, false and mistaken identities, dead bodies, betrayals, and all manner of violent encounters. Jackson gets pulled in to the investigation by Louise Monroe, a police detective and mother of an errant 14-year-old. There might be yet another novel to follow which will take up the connection those two forge in this book. Or, Jackson might just go back to France and feed apples to the local livestock.
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