 |
| Image Source: Amazon |
Author: Kate Atkinson
Name of the book: Case Histories
Language: English
Genre: Crime fiction
About the Author
Kate Atkinson MBE is an English writer of
novels, plays, and short stories. She is known for creating the Jackson Brodie
series of detective novels, which has been adapted into the BBC One series Case
Histories.
Book Review
Case Histories introduces us to a convincing mix of unconventional families and imperfect individuals whose lives are pockmarked by loss, abandonment, and regret. Startling connections between them emerge when three different decades-old mysteries are thrust into the lap of private detective Jackson Brodie.
First, there’s the disappearance of three-year-old Olivia Land, whose aging sisters discover a disquieting clue among their deceased father’s possessions; then the inexplicable stabbing of 18-year-old Laura Wyre by a deranged stranger during a routine workday at her father’s law office; and finally, the grisly ax murder of a hapless husband ostensibly by his young wife in a fit of despair and rage.
The tragedy and the horror of these bygone crimes are brought sharply into focus through the use of
omniscient narration, which crisscrosses family histories and vividly allows us
to examine the three crime scenes in both the past and present tense.
Although decades may have intervened and the tragic headlines are now forgotten by most, the family members affected by these traumas still crave closure, leading them to Brodie’s doorstep in a final attempt to lay their ghosts to rest. The emphatic private eye absorbs the burden of their collective grief while attempting to track down new leads and piece together the missing links of the long-unsolved cases.
Meanwhile, he struggles with his host of personal problems including an acrimonious divorce, a daughter growing up too quickly, and the sudden appearance of a mysterious enemy who seems to want him dead.
Increasingly, Brodie’s own life takes a backseat as he becomes irreversibly entangled in the melancholic lives of his clients the quirky and spinsterish Land sisters, the lonely and grief-obsessed father Theo Wyre, and the enigmatic sister of the convicted ax murderess, who harbors a dark secret.
As he begins
to unravel the threads of their seemingly incongruous cases, he uncovers subtle
connections and painful truths that eventually help heal old wounds as well as
bring his troubles into sharp relief.
Featuring engagingly offbeat private detectives and an equally intriguing cast of complex and lovably eccentric characters, Case Histories propels the reader forward with a rare intensity and compassion. With an unerring eye for domestic detail, Atkinson peels back the cozy trappings of family life to expose the imperfections that often lie beneath the favoritism, selfishness, and jealousy that can form dangerous fault lines.
Expertly laying bare human frailties and failings, the novel exposes the
indelible bonds that connect individuals and the power of emotions to alter the course of family histories.
Atkinson has conjured a wonderfully inventive take on the classic detective novel that jolts readers out of complacency by combining ordinary settings with macabre twists. The result is a highly original and entertaining novel that is the author’s best to date, successfully blending elements of comedy and tragedy with rich insights into the human heart.
I loved Case Histories. I know describing a book as unputdownable is a cliché, but it was true in this case – it’s the sort of book where once you start reading, you don’t want to stop until you reach the end.
It’s a crime novel I
would recommend even to readers who are not interested in crime fiction
because, while the three mysteries are quite interesting, the real strength of
the book is in the characterization.
I liked Jackson and am looking forward to
meeting him again in the rest of the series, but my favorites in this book
were Amelia and Theo. Amelia, who is approaching middle age feeling friendless
and unwanted, has invented an imaginary boyfriend to brighten up her
non-existent social life, and Theo, for whom his daughter was the center of his universe is neglecting his health while he devotes his life to finding her
killer, drawing up color-coded charts of her friends and teachers and making
yearly pilgrimages to the scene of her death.
I also thought the structure of the book
was interesting because the timeline is not entirely linear.
At the end of the book, after Jackson is
sure he’s solved the crimes, there are still more twists to come. We are given
enough information throughout the story so that we can guess what may have
happened and worked out some parts of the mystery, but the final pieces of the
puzzle are withheld from us until the very end.
My Ratings for the book 5/5
You can easily order a copy of it from
Amazon – Case Histories
Written By – Violet Priscilla S
Edited By - Anamika Malik
.jpeg)
0 Comments