A Kate Atkinson book can be depended upon to not follow too many rules. Each story is different, even if it is more or less a sequel. ONE GOOD TURN is a good example. Two years after Case Histories, we once again meet Jackson Brodie, now a retired millionaire, visiting in Edinburgh during its famous arts festival.
Out side of a theatre that is featuring a slightly has-been comic, a minor automobile accident causes a nearly fatal road rage incident. As the reader gets to know the participants and witnesses, it is hard to see what any of them have in common. We meet a befuddled, mild mannered author of successful young adult mysteries, an unscrupulous real estate tycoon and his wife, a comic who has seen better days, a dedicated policewoman with a troubled son, some colorful theatre personell and various shady characters.
Jackson Brodie is in Edinburgh to support his actress girlfriend in what he sees as a terrible play. Unwillingly, he gets pulled into the action when he finds a murdered girl floating in the surf. The ex-policeman, ex private investigator now finds himself the main suspect in what appears to be a completely isolated case.
An Atkinson plot takes twists and turns that keep a reader on her mental toes. I always picture her working space covered with little notes posted all over her walls so that she can make it easier for her reader. ONE GOOD TURN has a large cast of characters but, unless the author wants you to be confused, each one is a clear individual. This makes trying to decide who is a good guy and who isn't a real challenge.
As with any good suspense novel, it is hard to talk about this book without giving too much away. I will say that the clues are there and yet the end of the book came as a surprise to me. It has been fun to go back through the story to see how the author led me along, completely engrossed by the action and characters and still have a surprise ... after I thought that everything was solved.
If good character suspense written by an author who knows how to use the English language is your cup of tea, Kate Atkinson is waiting for you to discover her books.
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