Inspiring Older Readers

posted on 30 Jan 2016

One Good Turn:A Jolly Murder Mystery by Kate Atkinson

I consume an awful lot of detective fiction. I say ' consume' because most of it is pretty easy escapist reading which is a bit of a guilty pleasure. But there are some in the mix which I don't need to feel ashamed about reading and this is one of them. Atkinson is a well established and highly regarded fiction writer and I have really enjoyed her more recent books. This one is the second in the series, sometimes described as literary crime fiction, about the very likeable often melancholy protagonist, Jackson Brodie. His first outing was in 'Case Histories ' which won the Saltire Book of the Year Award and the Prix Westminster. In the first story he was an ex-cop trying to come to terms with living as as a divorcee and father to a precocious young daughter and working as a fairly unsuccessful Private Investigator. 

This time, in the unlikely situation of having inherited a fortune from one of his eccentric clients, he is now comfortably unemployed owning a house in the South of France. The action of the novel takes place during the Edinburgh Festival to which he is a reluctant bored visitor with his glamorous actress girlfriend, Julia ( another ex client). As a result of many coincidences that border on the farcical, Jackson becomes embroiled in the life of Martin, a second division crime writer. Together, they are forced into a situation where they are involved with murder, misunderstandings, drugs, dogs, circuses, corruption, Russian prostitutes and generally dangerous mayhem. 

I don't usually like 'funny' detective stories so I was initially a bit put off by the title. But this one is sublimely tongue in cheek rather than laugh out loud hilarious. The writing is beautifully measured and the characters are convincingly human, even if their circumstances are sometimes outlandish. The several stories in the plot stand alone as well crafted glimpse into ordinary lives,  like the Russian dolls that feature in the story itself, and then they are slowly woven together to make a splendid conclusion. It's not exactly a happy ending for everyone but there is enough resolution to be satisfying, and to want to meet Brodie for his next adventure. I really recommend this romp of a read by a compelling author.

 

Karen Argent

29th January 2016