Product Description

Kate Atkinson's brilliant new novel, bringing back Jackson Brodie from the bestselling Case Histories.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1184 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-02
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Harlan Coben
'Kate Atkinson is an absolute must read. I love everything she writes.'

Guardian
An absolute joy to read...Atkinson's wry, unvanquished characters, her swooping, savvy, sarcastic prose and authorial joie de vivre.'

Observer
'Very funny...Manages to be that rarest of things - a good literary novel and a cracking holiday read.'

Customer Reviews

Awful characters saved by clever plot
My feelings about this book are mixed. I almost gave up on it because despite being introduced to dozens of characters in the first 100 pages, I didn't care about a single one of them. Fortunately after that the plot began to take over and I thought the multi-layered 'Russian Doll' theme was very original and worked really well. So 5 stars for the plot and 1 star for the characters gives 3 stars over all.

I don't get it!
I read this and was left baffled by all its rave reviews, including those on its cover. I can't understand what all the fuss is about. It's a somewhat incredible story involving a selection of characters who are boring/cliched/unpleasant/all of the above. I didn't care two hoots about any of them! It's set in Edinburgh but there is little sense of place, so that doesn't help. I'm bemused by its 'literary' label, since here we have a writer who doesn't understand about the subjunctive tense and relies a great deal on telling rather than showing, especially at the start. Disappointing!

A Jolly Murder Mystery
Is the subtitle of this latest enjoyable novel from Kate Atkinson. This is so much more than a crime novel and in my opinion it is wrong to see it as belonging to this genre.
The author is an expert at weaving complicated tales and `One Good Turn' is no exception. Taking place over just four days the action is fast and furious. At first I found it difficult to keep track of both the characters and the situations as they were introduced. The fairly large cast of characters and the incidents described initially appear to be unrelated but a gradual disclosure of information shows that they are all linked. Coincidence upon coincidence, incident upon incident which all seem to stack together like the Russian Stacking Dolls that keep appearing, along with the witty style of writing should keep you guessing.
To some readers it may seem that these coincidences are highly improbable! Let's remember though that this is a novel for our entertainment that sets out to amuse. I think very successfully.
The plots and twists along the way all come together in an ending that certainly took me by surprise!