Book Reviews & Lists

This mystery novel is the first in a series by Atkinson. I had heard about it several times before I put a request in our interlibrary loan system to read it. The book doesn’t follow a typical mystery novel structure where a death occurs and the detective puts the clues together and solves the case. It feels more like a novel that has mysterious undertones.  Retired policeman Jackson Brody is at the center of three very disparate cases that do not seem to be related in any way.  Case #1:  Thirty years before the book began young Olivia Land went missing and was never seen again.  Her sisters enlist Brodie’s help after their father’s death to figure out what happened to their sister. Case #2: Theo’s daughter Laura was killed in an office shooting fifteen years before.  He calls upon Brodie to find the killer so that he can start to heal emotionally.  Case #3:  Michelle makes a fatal mistake and jeopardizes her infant’s life.  Where is she after all of these years?  Brodie follows up on the clues and finds that the cases are more entangled than he thought.  I liked the frank realism of Brodie’s thoughts, and was intrigued enough to order rest of the series, One Good Turn and When Will There Be Good News?  I love being able to read through a series, but when you’re done you have to wait another year for the next one!