Not much good news for Jackson Brodie in this book! (When Will There be Good News? - Kate Atkinson)

Member Name: lonestarsky

Product:	When Will There be Good News? - Kate Atkinson
Date:	01/05/09 (69 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Suspense, plot, good characters, fantastic writing style, some humour

Disadvantages: Some events a bit contrived/unbelievable, reliance on coincidence

I recently read "Case Histories" by Kate Atkinson and really enjoyed it so had hoped to read "One Good Turn" next, which follows on from "Case Histories". However I managed to get a copy of "When Will There Be Good News?" first, which follows on from "One Good Turn" so I've missed a step between the two. Ah well, never mind, I decided to read it anyway.

This book features PI Jackson Brodie again, who is a well-rounded and interesting character. Atkinson always manages to write from his point of view with a great ease which shows that he is a character she is comfortable writing about. It was interesting to catch up with him again and see how his life has changed and progressed since the first book. This book starts with a murder, then moves 30 years into the present when the man who committed the murder is due to be released. Atkinson has a great knack for creating characters and even though some of the characters in the first chapter are only around for that one chapter, they have a lot of depth and I found I knew a lot about them as people from those few pages. She does a similar thing at the start of "Case Histories."

The book is written from various points of view in third person. Not only is there the issue of the murderer being released, there are a LOT of other things happening aswell, all of which tie in together. Sixteen year old Reggie is a "mother's help" for an Edinburgh physician and her businessman husband. Reggie loves her job as it allows her to escape from her somewhat tragic home life that she keeps a secret from her beloved employer. However when her employer and baby son mysteriously disappear not long after a visit from the police, Reggie appears to be the only person who is concerned. But little does she know that her employer has a past almost as tragic as her own.

At the same time, Jackson ends up on the wrong train which results in him landing in Edinburgh, but not without a major drama first. His friend, Detective Chief Inspector Louise Monroe, lives and works in Edinburgh and is becoming near obsessive with a case she is working on, while having to deal with her despised sister-in-law and husband who have decided to pay her a visit.

Reggie manages to contact Louise and convinces her to help in the search for her employer. Louise knows more about the woman's past than Reggie and is worried that this past has come back to haunt her. A chance encounter between Reggie and Jackson means that Jackson becomes embroiled in the hunt aswell.

This book has a LOT going on in it. It did feel a bit cluttered at times although I did manage to follow everything. I liked the changes in the points of view and I loved how Atkinson keeps the suspense going, making the book very hard to set down. There were a few unrealistic moments in the book, which meant a lot of the encounters appeared overly coincidental and a bit contrived. But as the story is so easy to lose yourself in, it doesn't jar too much.

Atkinson is clearly a talented story teller but also has the great knack of creating sympathetic, likeable and realistic characters. I really wanted to know how things turned out for them. I wasn't overly convinced by all the bad things that seemed to happen to Reggie and Jackson. I feel Atkinson was maybe a tad hard on them! Plus even though Reggie is a strong person, could she really have coped so well with all the things that happened to her in the course of the book? I liked Louise and found that two sides of her character were aptly illustrated to show bother her tough ruthless side and her devoted caring side.

This book has dark moments but they are dispersed by lighter moments. This is an excellent page turner that you will find hard to put down and I highly recommend it.

Summary: Hard to put down once you start!