Case Histories

Case Histories

by Kate Atkinson

Case Histories is a traditional suspense novel written with depth of character and a sense of the inner life of those who are affected by sudden violence. Atkinson introduces the reader to three separate acts of violence and spends the rest of the book delving into the effects these acts had on loved ones of the victim and in one case the perpetrator. The first case - 1970, a 3 year old child goes missing. The second - 1994, the seemingly random killing of a young woman by a mentally disturbed man. The third case - 1979, a new wife and mother proceeds to brutally kill her husband. What ties these cases together? They all occured around the Cambridge area of England and they all eventually involve the services of Cambridge private investigator Jackson Brodie. I am not particularly fond of the "steam of consciousness" novel and rest assured this novel is not of that type. The action is fairly straightforward except for the different time periods in which the 3 original acts took place. The inner lives we read about are only of those closely tied to the cases and so too the resolution (or not) of these cases. In this novel, Atkinson uses her skill to write the inner life of ordinary people, the almost breathtaking love of your child, the feelings of abject failure in what others do so effortlessly and the betrayal of control we foolishly thought we wielded over our lives. Kate Atkinson has written other Jackson Brodie novels, One Good Turn, published in 2006, and When Will There Be Good News, in 2008. -- recommended by Evelyn D. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Reading Group Guide for Case Histories ] [ official Kate Atkinson web site ]

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