Book #58: Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
Number of pages: 410
This book introduces a detective called Jackson Brodie, who has appeared in a number of Kate Atkinson's novels. This has him getting involved in three separate cases, so first off there is the story of a girl who went missing in the 1970s, under the noses of her parents and three older sisters.
Then there's a separate plotline involving a man whose daughter was murdered in the workplace by a stranger, and a third storyline involving what appears to be a straightforward murder case, although this seemed to go largely ignored until quite late in the book.
This was a bit of chore to read, as the narrative cut back and forth between the different stories, and there were some flashbacks, including at the end when the book explained what had happened. I noticed that at times the narrative didn't exactly spell things out, so I found myself having to read "between the lines" so to speak. I'd also expected the three storylines to dovetail into each other a lot more than they did.
The best part of this book was the character of Jackson Brodie, a troubled character who has split up from his wife, but has to deal with parenting duties while also attempting to solve the three cases. The story goes into greater detail about his tragic family backstory near to the end.
This definitely felt like a book I had to read slowly and carefully, and I was constantly having to check back in the book and re-read older bits. I probably wouldn't try another Jackson Brodie thriller, but this is worth trying if you have the patience and attention span needed.
Next book: Sole Survivor (Dean Koontz)