Product Description

Literary crime from a master storyteller.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #610 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-02
• Binding: Paperback
• 399 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Case Histories continues a winning streak for Kate Atkinson which began when her impressive novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum won the Whitbread First Novel Award. Since that book, Atkinson has gleaned a keen following of readers who are prepared to follow in the surprising directions the unpredictable author takes us on. And Atkinson--so far--hasn't let us down.

The perfectly judged prose that distinguished Human Croquet is fully in evidence in Case Histories, and a new frisson here comes from the genre-stretching that Atkinson is indulging in. In some ways, this book could almost be seen as a new take on the crime novel (not the first genre one would expect the author to tackle), but the crime elements here Atkinson uses are peripheral. The protagonist here is a former police inspector who now makes a living as a private investigator. Jackson Brodie is making ends meet in a sweaty Cambridge summer and trying to deal with his own failed marriage. But if his life is adrift, perhaps Brodie can justify his existence via his belief that he can do some good for the people he encounters in his job. But he is to find that he will be irrevocably changed by those he is trying to help.

As a vividly created cast of characters surround the beleaguered Brodie, all the novelistic skills that shone in Atkinson's earlier books are fully in play. Those deluded into thinking they've picked up something resembling a standard private eye novel will find something much more rich and strange; Atkinson goes from strength to strength.--Barry Forshaw

Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly
'Not just the best novel I read this year...but the best mystery of the decade.'

Synopsis
Cambridge is sweltering, during an unusually hot summer. To Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, the world consists of one accounting sheet - lost on the left, found on the right - and the two never seem to balance. Jackson has never felt at home in Cambridge, and has a failed marriage to prove it. Surrounded by death, intrigue and misfortune, his own life haunted by a family tragedy, he attempts to unravel three disparate case histories and begins to realise that in spite of apparent diversity, everything is connected...

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Confusion
I really enjoyed this book of the lost and found centred around cases taken on by ex-policeman now PI, Brodie. Atkinson takes you into her characters musings on life after death and loss with witty observations. The cases are poignant, sad, inevitable and it is not just Brodie who is confused by the end. Not everything is tied up neatly leading to more confusion. Major and minor characters are rounded and full of life, even the sad ones.

Gripping and superbly written
Couldn't put this down! A gripping and superbly written novel, combining the excitement and tension of a crime novel with a wonderful literary style. I really enjoyed it and will eagerly await new work by her.
The different strands which make up the plot are so skillfully and cleverly interwoven gradually as the novel progresses. A great read. Have since read 'One Good Turn' and loved that too.

Wonderfully entertaining
I love Kate Atkinson books, having only recently discovered her other novel, One Good Turn which is the predecessor to Case Histories. I love the way she interweaves comedy and intrigue and I have to say Jackson Brodie is my new hero. Highly recommended.