rom the Publisher
A triumphant new novel from award-winner Kate Atkinson: a breathtaking story of families divided, love lost and found, and the mysteries of fate.

Case One: Olivia Land, youngest and most beloved of the Land girls, goes missing in the night and is never seen again. Thirty years later, two of her surviving sisters unearth a shocking clue to Olivia's disappearance among the clutter of their childhood home. . .

Case Two: Theo delights in his daughter Laura's wit, effortless beauty, and selfless love. But her first day as an associate in his law firm is also the day when Theo's world turns upside down. . .

Case Three: Michelle looks around one day and finds herself trapped in a hell of her own making. A very needy baby and a very demanding husband make her every waking moment a reminder that somewhere, somehow, she'd made a grave mistake and would spend the rest of her life paying for it--until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape.

As Private Detective Jackson Brodie investigates all three cases, startling connections and discoveries emerge. Inextricably caught up in his clients grief, joy, and desire, Jackson finds their unshakable need for resolution very much like his own.

Kate Atkinson's celebrated talent makes for a novel that positively sparkles with surprise, comedy, tragedy, and constant, page-turning delight.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but after a pang and twinge I always get when i read of a child's death or when a child goes missing, I was really absorbed in this book. Three unrelated cases with the detective Jackson Brodie linking them all-- fascinating how Atkinson interweaves the characters and stories. Nothing is entirely quite like it seems and the back and forth telling of tales really serves the stories well. It is a well told tale, though nothing shocking. The dark sides of life do work their way throughout and are not confined to the edges of the story. EAch of the various characters are well drawn, from the Land sisters, to poor Michelle and her parson.

Jackson, himself, is an interesting character-- caught in midlife, yearning for a new existence (France, maybe?) The author made me laugh when she wrote tha the:

was at that dangerous age when men suddenly notice that they're going to die eventually, inevitably, and there isn't a damn thing they can do about it, but that doesn't stop them from trying, whether it's shagging anything that moves or listening to early Bruce Springsteen and buying a top-of-the-range motorbike ... thus considerably upping their chances of meeting death even earlier than anticipated.

Heh-- the curse of the red car in pure British form.

All in all, a good read. All in all, a good read, both hopeful and somewhat mournful at the same time. But I guess that's par for the course when you are trying to put tragedy to rest.

With one of the AngelFishers

RELEASE NOTES:

On the shelf at Muddy Waters

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I picked this up a week ago, sorry it took so long to register it.

The thing that made this book was the Private detective, Jackson, under the influence of his 8 year old daughter.I enjoyed te book, but without there interactions it may have been hard to relate.

Friendkelly has this.

FriendKelly returned this, she said she liked it a lot. It will be released at the next meet-up.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I will bring this to the meet-up.

Caught at the meet-up today.