Case histories introduces us to a convincing mix of unconventional families and. Case histories is so exuberant, so empathetic, that it makes most murdermystery pageturners feel as lifeless as the corpses theyre strewn with. Case histories book austin public library bibliocommons. Case histories book johnson county library bibliocommons.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read case histories. This was the first kate atkinson novel ive read, and i know she has a series of jackson novels, so i wonder if the other cases come up in future novels, even though we, as. Case histories book hillsborough county public library. Case histories 2004 is a detective novel by british author kate atkinson and is set in cambridge, england. Im signing up for an even earlier work, and plan to follow that up with more jackson brodie novels. This wonderfully crafted, intricately plotted novel is heartbreaking, uplifting, full. Case histories book aurora public library bibliocommons. Case histories is the literary equivalent of a triple axel. It introduces jackson brodie, a former police inspector and now private investigator. Its the sort of novel you have to start rereading the minute youve finished it guardian the first jackson brodie novel. Some of the other characters are more fully turned out, and the multipronged plot is ingeniously tied up. In fact, it serves to keep in check what in her other books could seem an excessive selfconsciousness. Case histories is the first book in atkinsons jackson brodie series. Excop turned private investigator jackson brodie takes on three cases involving past crimes occurring in and around london.
Her work is often celebrated for its wit, wisdom and subtle characterisation, and the surprising twists and plot turns. Cambridge is sweltering, during an unusually hot summer. Case histories started early, took my dog tv episode. Initially each episode was aired in two 60 minute sections. Olivia disappears and no trace of her is found for. The first book in kate atkinsons jackson brodie mysteries series. It stars jason isaacs, who had also narrated the abridged audiobook adaptation, as protagonist jackson brodie. Case histories jackson brodie, book 1 by kate atkinson. The handsome investigator whom kate atkinson introduced in 2004s case histories, played by jason isaacs on the bbc series, hasnt appeared in a new book since 2011.
Olivia land, youngest and most beloved of the land girls, goes missing in the night and is never seen again. But in the end this is a clever detective novel, no less but no more. The scene is set in cambridge, with three case histories from the past. This was the first kate atkinson novel ive read, and i know she has a series of jacksonmore thats the conclusion i came away with as well, angela.
The plot revolves around three seemingly unconnected family tragedies the disappearance of a threeyearold girl from a garden. Surrounded by death, intrigue and misfortune, his own life haunted by a family tragedy, jackson attempts to unravel three disparate case histories. In case histories, she presents a similar story but this time with more mystery. I read it once for pleasure and then again just to see how it was done. Case histories, the first in the series, is heartbreaking in a way the others arent. I was enamored with her novel, behind the scenes at the museum and her depiction of family life.
Started early, took the dog is a better book to read or listen to if youre not sure youll read the whole series. A triumphant new novel from awardwinner kate atkinson. A young child who mysteriously disappeared from a tent in her back garden. This is the kind of book you shove in peoples faces, saying you gotta read this. Unfortunately, my craving for a good mystery was not satisfied. Stephen king atkinson is very good indeed, and she makes her. This novel, the first of the series, is indeed about case histories. I chose this novel because i was in the mood for a good mystery, plus i recently read life after life, also by kate atkinson, and liked the authors writing style. A new mother finds herself trapped in a hell of her own making with a very needy baby and a very demanding husband until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape. In the first two histories, parents love children with such deep and abiding love. Case histories is a british crime drama television series based on the jackson brodie novel series by kate atkinson.
Case histories is a detective novel by british author kate atkinson and is set in cambridge, england. Case histories case histories, part 1 tv episode 2011. A beautiful young office worker falls victim to a maniacs. The case histories in this book are intriguing, locked together in ways that are not too unlikely, and overall the book is very darkly comic. Case histories 2004 was described by stephen king as the best mystery of the decade. Case histories is a wonderfully tricky book the lifelike characters are what make it such a compelling hybrid. The occasional small wrong touch stands out all the more because it is so wellconceived and written, and if parts stretch it all too far the attempts on brodiess life, for one and the resolution is just a tad too unbelievably agreeable, the bulk of the book is an exceptional entertainment. I love kate atkinsons storytelling, her writing, the way she plays with time and twists the genre. Plot driven as case histories is, it works because ms. It winds up having more depth and vividness than ordinary thrillers and more thrills than ordinary fiction, with a constant awareness of perils swirling beneath its surface. Our reading guide for case histories by kate atkinson includes a book club discussion guide, book. Not just the best novel i read this year, but the best mystery of the decade. Jackson swims into the diminishing ripples of the three cases all.
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. Case histories started early, took my dog tv episode 20 on imdb. After a chance encounter, sisters julia and amelia land hire private detective jackson brodie to look into the case of their younger sister, olivia, who vanished 30 years ago. The book won the saltire book of the year award and the prix westminster. Case histories jackson brodie, book 1 by kate atkinson book cover. To jackson brodie, formar 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. Normally, in detective novels, the reader sees things through the eyes of the detective, who is usually the main or only protagonist, and tries to solve the case alongside him or her. Case histories is a wonderfully tricky book, much more so than. A noirish hall of mirrors filled with mysteries the new. Piper templeton thats the conclusion i came away with as well, angela. Kate atkinson is the bestselling author of 10 books behind the scenes at the museum, human croquet, emotionally weird, not the end of the world, case histories, one good turn, when will there be good news. Eventually, the patterns in case histories grow bigger and more complex. Thirty years later, two of her surviving sisters unearth a shocking clue to olivias disappearance among the clutter of their childhood home.
Atkinson has since published four additional novels featuring. An astonishingly complex and moving literary detective story that made me sob but also snort with laughter. An unidentified man in a yellow jumper who marched into an office and slashed a young girl through the throat. Case histories winds up having more depth and vividness than ordinary thrillers and more thrills than ordinary fiction. The three case histories that open this novel feature sharply drawn, complex characters. Case histories by kate atkinson books the guardian. Surrounded by death, intrigue and misfortune, his own life haunted by a family tragendy, jackson. After two selfindulgent detours, atkinson proves that her whitbread awardwinning debut, behind the scenes at the museum 1996, was no fluke with a novel about three interconnected mysteries.
A beautiful young office worker falls victim to a maniacs apparently random attack. First come the lands, the four daughters of a remote, unlikable cambridge math professor. Janet maslin, new york times case histories is so exuberant, so empathetic, that it makes most murdermystery pageturners feel as lifeless as the corpses theyre strewn with. Here in case histories, its the detective novel, and it gets the better of her not by much, but still. Kate atkinsons marvelous first novel, behind the scenes at the museum, distinguished her. In the first case, two middleaged sisters are haunted by the disappearance of their sister olivia at age three. Buy a cheap copy of case histories book by kate atkinson. The second case introduces a retired lawyer who is obsessed with solving the brutal killing of his grown. Leslie mcgill, kansas city star case histories is so exuberant, so empathetic, that it makes most murdermystery pageturners feel as lifeless as the corpses theyre strewn with. The plot revolves around three seemingly unconnected family tragedies the. When she disappears from a tent during a backyard slumber party, none of the land sisters will ever be the same. In case histories, kate atkinson gives us a detective story unlike any other ive read.