More than just a simple murder mystery. (Case Histories - Kate Atkinson)

Member Name: Gemma_C

Product:	Case Histories - Kate Atkinson
Date:	04/11/09 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Not just one mystery to ponder over.

Disadvantages: The Land sisters irritated me at times.

One summer evening, 3 year old Olivia Land sleeps in a tent in her back garden with one of her sisters and the family dog. In the morning, Olivia has disappeared, never to be seen again. Some thirty five years later and Jackson Brodie, an ex-army ex-cop turned private investigator, is handed her favourite blue rabbit toy, found by one of the Land sisters who discovered it in her Father's locked desk draw after his death. The sisters want an answer, they want to know what happened to Olivia that dreadful summer's night.

Jackson Brodie may on face value seem like the standard type of man you might meet in these thriller type books. Sure he's been in the army, he's been a cop, he's now a private investigator who has gone through a divorce and has an 8 year old daughter, but the character of Jackson is an interesting one to read. You don't immediately become taken with the feeling of 'I've met this guy before...' as his character comes across as original, and you actually want to know more about his past, rather than slugging through uninteresting pages of it.

However the disappearance of Olivia Land isn't the only 'mystery' to keep you going with this book. Indeed there are a few other cases Jackson suddenly has to investigate; certainly more interesting than trying to the latest missing cat by that mad old lady. We are introduced straight away to these other cases and the characters involving them, and Kate Atkinson has done this without causing any confusion to the reader. Not once did I find themself turning back the pages to find who was who, but more that I was racing forward, wanting to know the answers behind these cases! One case involves the unsolved murder of Laura Wyre whose death has forever haunted her father, who almost feels responsible and has become obsessed with tracking down the killer, finally turning to Jackson for help.
Then we meet Michelle, a depressed Mother who suddenly takes an axe to her husband's head infront of their baby.

The fact that there was more than the main case to this book really kept me interested. At no point did I become confused by there being more than one case, and I was always surprised by what Jackson could uncover that no one had done before him on these cases. It's not your usual thriller crime sort of read, as you learn more of the back stories behind the characters involved in each case this book contains love, hate, depression, families, heartbreak and abuse and it's easy to become engrossed in each case.

The only characters I did slightly tire of was the Land sisters, however once the story of their childhood was revealed you could understand why they turned out to be the way they are. Sylvia Land is a nun who lives in a convent, Amelia is an old spinster who is easily embarrased by anything vaguely relating to sex, and Julia is a sex mad provocative woman constantly teasing Amelia for her shy behaviors. They are completely eccentric and strange characters, the type I seem to tire of easily and this was the only downside to the book for me as I really enjoyed reading about all of the other characters. I really felt for Laura Wyre's father who has never overcame the loss of his daughter, despite him being obsessed with finding out just who was behind it, he seems a stable and gentle man and I could sympathise with his feelings.

I think Atkinson did a good job of describing the thoughts of Michelle, she clearly needs psychiatric help and the way it is written out is wonderful, the description of her thoughts leading up to her killing her husband are written with such great care, however it isn't boring to read and certainly isn't overboard.

The book didn't all come together until the very end, and I really do mean the last few pages of the book! I was beginning to worry you wouldn't get all the answers from this book, but it's with a sigh of relief everything fits together perfectly and surprisingly doesn't seem too rushed as Jackson nicely ends all of the cases.

I read One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson quite some time before I read this book which actually uses the same character Jackson, however I feel reading them in the wrong order didn't affective anything at all. The only problem being that One Good Turn WAS confusing where Case Histories isn't, and so I came into this book with not very high expectation but was pleasantly surprised by how good a read it was. It's certainly a book I recommend to anyone who likes a good mystery, it's not too hardcore crime/thriller style of book, but even so it makes for an addictive read.

Summary: A genuinely decent read which ties together nicely.