When Will There Be Good News? discussion

I may be missing something, but at the end of the book when the brother Billy states that he sold Joanna a gun - did she kill Decker?

I think you are right. It's easy to miss that little comment from Billy about the gun.

I think she talked him into killing himself, and gave him the gun.

I agree with you, Sheila.

I'm with Sheila. Joanna wouldn't kill anyone, but she definitely had it in for Decker and she probably talked him into it and made it easy (with billy's gun) for him to do it.

Decker found religion in jail and maybe Joanna's visit to him in jail with her son made him feel sufficiently guilty to take his own life. I got the impression he asked her to get him a gun so he could kill himself. Took Jackson's ID so he could meet with Joanna without being trailed by the police. Exactly why he did it in Jackson's flat has me a bit puzzled, though!

I think the fact that Decker used Jackson's flat was just an opportunity that presented itself to Decker once he had hold of his phone and ID's etc.

Just finished this book. I found it strange that Decker turned up at Jackson's. Joanna wants a certain quality of life, a murderess not. But Atkinson likes to play with the idea that murderers are in a constant struggle with their bad deeds and the truth that they can not be undone nor will it all go away. Sometimes the price is paid, meaning the murderer can not live with horror. There are individuals who did not understand the burden that comes with their actions and later realize they actually care. Joanna would not make this slip. Of this I am sure.

Sheila wrote: "I think she talked him into killing himself, and gave him the gun."
I agree with Shiela, but there were loose ends.

I still cannot figure out how the ID switch of Jackson and Decker happened.

What about the cover photo: girl with one boot on and one book off. ??

Mary Helene wrote: "I still cannot figure out how the ID switch of Jackson and Decker happened."

on the train, when the crash was happening?

I think that Joanna couln´t kill Decker because Decker phoned(he had Jackson´s Mulberry) to Joanna´s phone and Louise answered it...Joanna was already kidnapped,she probably took the gun to the man when he got out of jail.

I found the Decker conclusion to be just so much tacking on. That loose threat could have been left to dangle in my opinion.