Jackson Brodie
One Good Turn
The second novel featuring Jackson Brodie
It is summer, it is the Edinburgh Festival. People queuing for a lunchtime show witness a road-rage incident – a near-homicidal attack 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 murder suspect.
As the body count mounts, each member of the teeming Dickensian cast’s story contains a kernel of the next, like a set of nesting Russian dolls. They are all looking for love or money or redemption or escape: but what each actually discovers is their own true self.
“Love was the hardest thing. Don’t let anyone ever tell you different.”
Reviews
An absolute joy to read…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.
Guardian
Atkinson is frequently very funny…while the tone stays light, the plot continues to darken….manages to be that rarest of things – a good literary novel and a cracking holiday read.
Observer
Atkinson, while having fun with the murder-mystery genre, slyly slips us a muted tragedy.
Sunday Telegraph
High suspense and rattling pace…charged with adrenalin and a spry humour.
Financial Times
Thrillingly addictive…In One Good Turn Atkinson proves quite unique in her ability to fuse emotional drama and thriller…Imagine a Richard Curtis film scripted by Raymond Chandler, both a little enlivened by the collaboration…The mix is embodied by Brodie. Like all good detectives, he is a hero for men and women alike.
The Times
An entertaining read, brimming with wry humour.
Mail on Sunday
Delivers everything a good book should have. It’s a fantastic detective story and a wonderful piece of writing…has taken the crime genre to another level.
Daily Express
This is a detective novel packed with more wit, insight and subtlety than an entire shelf-full of literary fiction. The plot is an incidental pleasure in a book crammed with quirky humour and cogent reflections on contemporary life. Highly recommended.
Marie Claire
While Kate Atkinson could give a masterclass on creating believable and intriguing characters, she also knows more than a thing or two about plotting…another class act.
Mirror
One story nests within another, like the set of Russian dolls that Martin owns…Kate Atkinson has that priceless Ancient Mariner ability that keeps the reader turning the pages.
Spectator
Whatever she does is done to the highest of literary standards. She has produced an engrossing, enjoyable, complex novel packed with intriguing characters, vividly imagined scenes and a compelling plot.
Times Literary Supplement
An extraordinary tapestry that is both hilarious, poignant and unexpected…Atkinson at her peak: full of wit, surprises and humanity. Not to be missed.
Sunday Express
