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tamracielle's review
4.0
I liked this, but not as well as the other two Kate Atkinson books I've read - Life After Life, and A God in Ruins. I feel like there could have been better closure on the "Case Histories" of some of her characters. Some things are left to conjecture. But that is okay, I suppose. This is the first book in the Jackson Brodie mystery series, and I plan to read more of them.
madmissmedic's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
janada59's review
1.0
This book was not written for me at all. I found the characters all pretty terrible, and did not find that the mysteries wove together in any significant way. Add to that the racist, homophobic, misogynistic, and fatphobic statements throughout the book and I'm left wondering why I bothered to finish it.
jenniekay24's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
setiff23's review
5.0
Great puzzle, fun albeit morally grey characters, engaging from start to finish!
testaroscia's review
4.0
I don't know why but I kept being reminded of David Mitchell if he had decided to write a Crime novel. Atkinson has a wonderful relaxed turn of phrase and is witty without being forced that i found. Like DM, the POV tend to swirl around and sometimes i was a bit lost on catching up with names but Im sold on Kate Atkinson
tiadawson26's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
literally_jayqwellin's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
angorarabbit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
TW: Postpartum depression is particularly graphic and disturbing, chapter 3 was particularly hard to read. I skimmed the latter portion of chapter 25 which depicted stalking. The racial slur was very out of the blue and had nothing to do with the plot. There is limited diversity, a minor character was described as black but there was nothing else about him.
TLDR: Great characterisation for the most part. This is not a detective novel but a multifamily drama.
Bloopholes: If you mean to kill someone, after knocking them unconsciousness wouldn’t you finish the job unless you were disturbed.?
Context: I loved Life After Life, I wanted to throw A God in Ruins at the wall.I had previously attempted this novel but stalled out at chapter 3.
Ms. Atkinson writes the internal dialogue of young girls like no other author I’ve read. She falls a little when it comes to adults, particularly males. I thought the characterisation of the male protagonist was excellent but the other males where all a bit weak or absent. One man seemed to be characterised partly by his weight. Two female children are interesting as children but as adults are tiresome and a bit unbelievable.
That being said I do have some problems with the plot besides the bloophole already mentioned.
Rule 1 of Knox’s Decalogue is broken. Other mysteries are fairly easy it work out ahead of the reveal. There is also a ghost of Dickens with a surprise legacy that bails out a character.
The next one really bugged me and I’m apologise that I cant express myself better. The representation of a possible Ace character. Their disgust/facimation of sex is based on childhood trauma and not on their possible orientation. Once they have an organism then they suddenly become Bi? Really? I’m not sure it works like that.
Lastly for all the males and children in this book we do not have the viewpoint of any male children.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia, Body shaming, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Death, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Abortion, Alcohol, Cancer, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racial slurs
The racial slur was superfluous. The Acephobia is based on my reading of the possible orientation of one of the characters. Chapter three is a graphic depiction of untreated postpartum depression. Multiple characters suffer mild to severe childhood trauma.bhnmt61's review
4.0
Private detective Jackson Brodie keeps having cold cases dropped in his lap- none of which have much hope of being solved. And things aren’t going so well with his ex, either. I read this years ago, but although I remembered that I liked it, I couldn’t remember it at all. I checked it out of the library so I could flip through it to remind myself of what happened before I moved on to the rest of the series, but it is so well-written, before I knew it I was sucked in to the story. I read almost the entire thing. It drags a little in the middle but otherwise a terrific book.