One Good Turn

It's summertime in Scotland and Paul Bradley is coming into Edinburg when someone in a Honda Civic rear ends him. He gets out of his car, while the giant of a man in the Honda Civic gets out too. The big man has a wooden bat in his hand and proceeds to beat Paul to a pulp right in front of a gaggle of people who were lined up for the lunchtime show at the Edinburg Festival. The man would have killed Paul had not mild mannered crime novelist Martin Canning thrown his laptop at the assailant, hitting him in the shoulder. Jackson Brodie, who used to be a cop and then a private investigator, but is a man of leisure now, as he's inherited two millon pounds, is one of those who witnesses Paul's beating. His police instincts want to kick in, but he tells himself not to get involved, but he just can't stay out of it and this sets him on a course that will intersect with several very interesting characters, each with their own secrets in this delightful novel. I loved the characters in this book, especially sixty-year-old Gloria Hatter, whose husband dies of a heart attack while he's in bed with another woman. Martin Canning, who writes under the name Alex Blake, is a great character too, a meek at heart guy who writes about a female private investigator. And there is Detective Louise Monroe who doesn't quite believe Jackson's story when he attempts to rescue a drowning woman who was already dead. And, of course, there is Paul Bradley. Just who is he really? Martin, the crime writer, went to the hospital with Bradley, just to make sure he was okay, and then went with him to his hotel, where he is drugged, then robbed. When he comes too he finds that a man has been murdered in his house, which had been ransacked and his latest manuscript is missing. There is a lot going on in this story, but it's all very easy to follow, because the characters are so finely drawn and the plot is so tightly written. This is a very good story with plenty of twists along the way which lead to a surprising ending. Highly recommended. Reviewed by Sara Hackett, who just adore's her husband Jack Priest's books Ragged Man, Gecko & Night Witch.

It's summertime in Scotland and Paul Bradley is coming into Edinburg when someone in a Honda Civic rear ends him. He gets out of his car, while the giant of a man in the Honda Civic gets out too. The big man has a wooden bat in his hand and proceeds to beat Paul to a pulp right in front of a gaggle of people who were lined up for the lunchtime show at the Edinburg Festival. The man would have killed Paul had not mild mannered crime novelist Martin Canning thrown his laptop at the assailant, hitting him in the shoulder. Jackson Brodie, who used to be a cop and then a private investigator, but is a man of leisure now, as he's inherited two millon pounds, is one of those who witnesses Paul's beating. His police instincts want to kick in, but he tells himself not to get involved, but he just can't stay out of it and this sets him on a course that will intersect with several very interesting characters, each with their own secrets in this delightful novel. I loved the characters in this book, especially sixty-year-old Gloria Hatter, whose husband dies of a heart attack while he's in bed with another woman. Martin Canning, who writes under the name Alex Blake, is a great character too, a meek at heart guy who writes about a female private investigator. And there is Detective Louise Monroe who doesn't quite believe Jackson's story when he attempts to rescue a drowning woman who was already dead. And, of course, there is Paul Bradley. Just who is he really? Martin, the crime writer, went to the hospital with Bradley, just to make sure he was okay, and then went with him to his hotel, where he is drugged, then robbed. When he comes too he finds that a man has been murdered in his house, which had been ransacked and his latest manuscript is missing. There is a lot going on in this story, but it's all very easy to follow, because the characters are so finely drawn and the plot is so tightly written. This is a very good story with plenty of twists along the way which lead to a surprising ending. Highly recommended.

As the old saying goes 'One Good Turn Deserves Another' and in this case someone observes an attack, saves the life of the attackee and trouble comes in spades. Kate Atkinson re-introduces us to Jackson Brodie, whom we first met in 'Case Histories'. He has inherited 2 million pounds, has quit his job, but it seems his job has not quit him. Along with him comes Julia, whom we also met in 'Case Histories'. Both have a murdered sibling in common, and they have become lovers. Julia divulges very little- she is a clam- while we come to know Jackson a bit better. Into this mix comes varied and sundry characters- all well described and more than interesting, and all well vested in this story. All of these people are hiding something, all looking for something, and all are integral to the whole. All are inter-connected as the story develops, and we are left to ponder their interests. Paul Bradley- the victim who was attacked Martin, a mystery writer who is thrust into a series of real-life crimes. Jackson, whom we have met before; a former police officer who finds and loses the body of a young girl, then stumbles into several other violent events. Louise, a senior police officer, who doesn't believe all of Jackson's explanation, but finds him very interesting. Gloria, the wife of a home builder, who "often felt that her life was a series of rooms that she walked in to when everyone else had just left." Honda Man- the attacker- not of one but many of these characters JoJo- the Russian who seems to materialize suddenly When 'Paul Bradley' is rear-ended by a Honda driver who gets out and bashes Bradley unconscious with a baseball bat, Jackson is a reluctant witness. Other bystanders include crime novelist Martin Canning, and tart-tongued Gloria Hatter, who's plotting to end her 39-year marriage to a shady real estate developer. Jackson walks away from the incident, but keeps running into trouble, including a dead body that only he can see, the Honda man and tight-lipped inspector Louise Monroe. Everyone has a secret infidelity, unprofessional behavior, murder, which adds depth to this story. After Martin misses a visit from the Honda man, he enlists Jackson as a bodyguard, pulling the characters into an orbit before they collide on Gloria Hatter's lawn. Along the way, pieces of plot fall through the cracks and the final event unfolds. The characters are absorbing and Kate Atkinson has offered us another superb story. 'One Good Turn', in my opinion, is the most intriguing book thus far. "Despite Atkinson's promise of "boxes within boxes, dolls within dolls, worlds within worlds", the finale, when the cast are maneuvered together for a violent climax and the inevitable expostulations of "You? Here? Why?" The pleasure of One Good Turn lies in the ride, in Atkinson's wry, unvanquished characters, her swooping, savvy, sarcastic prose and authorial joie de vivre. In the end it is Jackson Brodie we remember and hope to meet again, gunning down th

Case Histories, Atkinson's previous novel, began with three separate stories of death and disappearance. In the world of mystery novels, those stories are supposed to wind up connected. While the lives of the survivors do become intertwined, the 'solutions' of the mysteries remain separate and random. There is no grand denouncement. The end of Case Histories is much like life itself: you can accept it has meaning, reject everything as random, curse the universe or move on. One Good Turn does something else--you might even say it deliberately does the opposite. Without giving anything away, all the strands come together into a single picture. But Atkinson has not abandoned the literary novel for mystery conventions, There is an element of farce at work here - people coming and going, incredible coincidences, concealed intentions. (The `stage' is Edinburgh during the annual theater festival, which should be taken as a hint of Atkinson's intentions.) The farcical elements are lightly handled, but they are the key to accepting the coincidences that drive the story. Also, Atkinson's characters never behave as if they are in on the joke. The danger and disappointments are real to them. All in all, One Good Turn is an interesting, extremely well written balancing act. It is a mystery, a literary novel and an experiment. I think the element of farce should have been a little more pronounced, but at the very least it is always highly entertaining. Even if it may not quite achieve what it set out to do, One Good Turn will probably be one of the best novels you'll read this year.