Atkinson, Kate: Case Histories

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I came to Kate Atkinson's Case Histories after seeing several episodes of the PBS Mystery series based on the book. The series, which stars Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter's Lucius Malfoy!), is excellent. The book, I'm happy to report, is at least as good. But different. Unusually, I can't say whether I prefer the story as it develops in the novel or its slightly altered version on screen. In this first novel in the series Jackson Brodie, ex-cop turned private eye, divorced father of an eight-year-old girl, works on several old cases--the disappearance of a little girl from her backyard in 1970, the murder of a teen in her father's law office in 1994, and so on. The stories tend to touch on the theme of familial love--children who are loved too little or, if it's possible, too much; the devastating long-term effects of violent death on a family. Jackson himself is not immune: his life was upended when he was twelve. The tragedy haunts him as he solves other people's crimes.

It's a lovely book, occasionally heart-breaking. My fervent hope is that the other books in the series match up to this one, as I want to enjoy Jackson's company for a long time to come.

Comments

[Amy]

1.

I didn't realize that Brody was Malfoy, lol! Anyway, the word "lovely" is not something you often hear applied to detective fiction, which makes me think this book may be worth looking at.

[Debra Hamel]

2.

:-) It's weird to see him with more than the one facial expression. And he's surprisingly charming when not Malfoy.