I’ll be perfectly honest here. I only read two books this month, both by Kate Atkinson, and both in the Jackson Brodie series, which just happens to be the same series as last month’s Book of the Month. How bad is that!? Pretty bad, I know. But, hey, cut me some slack; I was doing a final-final pass through on The Nawie before I put it up for pre-sale on Amazon (which it is now, go order!) while simultaneously working on my second novel, Disappearance.
So, Kate and Jackson it is. What I found most surprising reading books two and three in the Brodie series, is I discovered that, upon this second go-through I actually may like book #3, When Will There Be Good News? more than Case Histories. But, how could that be? I claimed that Case Histories was one of the great novels of the 21stCentury. Does that dictate that this book is as well? Or that Case Histories isn’t?
I haven’t ironed out all of that yet, but to be sure, When Will There Be Good News? is a brilliantly written, intoxicating and addictive novel.
Kate Atkinson
Rating: A+
Once again, Atkinson fuses multiple storylines and characters through the overall narrative, and the way they intersect and play out is only part of the wizardry she displays. It’s her characterization that is really on display here. Every single character we follow is singularly unique, fascinating and most importantly, extremely likable. There isn’t a single drop-off when jumping from one character to the next, and with a lead character so enthralling as Jackson Brodie, that’s really saying something.
The main storyline centers on Dr. Joanna Hunter, who was the sole survivor of a brutal attack on her mother and two other siblings when she was a child, and her relationship with sixteen-year old Reggie Chase, a young pint-sized girl who was rendered parentless following the unexpected death of her mother. Reggie is something of a lifeline for Joanna; she babysits her infant daughter, watches over her beloved dog and takes care of her house when she and her husband are at work all day. Reggie adores “Dr.H” (as she affectionately calls her) and would love nothing more than to become a permanent fixture in her life.
Reggie is one of the best side characters that Atkinson has ever written. She’s in a rough situation, basically living alone (her older brother Billy is always in trouble, probably doing something illegal and never present), having to keep herself educated with one of her old teachers who is terminally ill and make a living by working for Dr. H. But she does it all with a seemingly endless supply of positivity and humor. She’s a fast-talking hustler, and a survivor just like Joanna.
Det. Chief Inspector Louise Monroe is a more than welcome return from One Good Turn, book #2 in the series. Her character is so strong and so enthralling (sarcastic, self-deprecating, and darkly hilarious) that she fully deserves her own series if Ms. Atkinson decided to go such a route. She has the displeasure of coming to let Joanna know that the man who murdered her entire family is getting out of prison after serving his ‘life’ sentence (seriously, when did the term ‘life’ start translating into 15-20 years? Come up with a different name for it for God’s sake, like ‘quarter-life’ or maybe just ‘a good while’).
The most tantalizing aspect of the book is waiting for Louise and Jackson Brodie to meet up yet again. Numerous things continue to complicate their ‘relationship’; distance, marriages and that old, pesky thing called the law.
Oh yeah, Jackson! Our main character. He’s in this book too.
To say that Jackson has had an unexpected journey over the first three books would be quite the understatement. Typically when one starts reading a detective series, one might expect that main detective to keep being a detective. Not so much the case with Jackson. He has been meandering Europe like something of a lost nomad, stumbling into cases against his will. Ken Bruen’s Jack Taylor fits into this mold a little bit as well.
Jackson finds himself on a train that he wholeheartedly believes is headed to London, only to find out way too far into the journey that it’s headed the opposite direction. He has no idea how it happened, but the fates that befall him because this slip up are rather severe and course changing from anything he was hoping for.
Jackson’s journey is bizarre and beguiling and if every page were dedicated to him it would be a treat. But, Ms. Atkinson doesn’t write her Jackson Brodie novels this way and they’re all the better for it. Instead of a treat, this unparalleled author, whose prose sizzle above the page, serves us up a seven-course meal and champagne.
Cheers!
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