One Good Turn: A Novel Review

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One Good Turn: A Novel ReviewAs the old saying goes 'One Good Turn Deserves Another' and in this case someone observes an attack, saves the life of the attackee and trouble comes in spades. Kate Atkinson re-introduces us to Jackson Brodie, whom we first met in 'Case Histories'. He has inherited 2 million pounds, has quit his job, but it seems his job has not quit him. Along with him comes Julia, whom we also met in 'Case Histories'. Both have a murdered sibling in common, and they have become lovers. Julia divulges very little- she is a clam- while we come to know Jackson a bit better.
Into this mix comes varied and sundry characters- all well described and more than interesting, and all well vested in this story. All of these people are hiding something, all looking for something, and all are integral to the whole. All are inter-connected as the story develops, and we are left to ponder their interests.
Paul Bradley- the victim who was attacked
Martin, a mystery writer who is thrust into a series of real-life crimes.

Jackson, whom we have met before; a former police officer who finds and loses the body of a young girl, then stumbles into several other violent events.
Louise, a senior police officer, who doesn't believe all of Jackson's explanation, but finds him very interesting.
Gloria, the wife of a home builder, who "often felt that her life was a series of rooms that she walked in to when everyone else had just left."
Honda Man- the attacker- not of one but many of these characters
JoJo- the Russian who seems to materialize suddenly
When 'Paul Bradley' is rear-ended by a Honda driver who gets out and bashes Bradley unconscious with a baseball bat, Jackson is a reluctant witness. Other bystanders include crime novelist Martin Canning, and tart-tongued Gloria Hatter, who's plotting to end her 39-year marriage to a shady real estate developer. Jackson walks away from the incident, but keeps running into trouble, including a dead body that only he can see, the Honda man and tight-lipped inspector Louise Monroe. Everyone has a secret infidelity, unprofessional behavior, murder, which adds depth to this story. After Martin misses a visit from the Honda man, he enlists Jackson as a bodyguard, pulling the characters into an orbit before they collide on Gloria Hatter's lawn. Along the way, pieces of plot fall through the cracks and the final event unfolds. The characters are absorbing and Kate Atkinson has offered us another superb story. 'One Good Turn', in my opinion, is the most intriguing book thus far.
"Despite Atkinson's promise of "boxes within boxes, dolls within dolls, worlds within worlds", the finale, when the cast are maneuvered together for a violent climax and the inevitable expostulations of "You? Here? Why?" The pleasure of One Good Turn lies in the ride, in Atkinson's wry, unvanquished characters, her swooping, savvy, sarcastic prose and authorial joie de vivre. In the end it is Jackson Brodie we remember and hope to meet again, gunning down the motorway with the stereo on, "someone who had weathered the world and still had something left to give". Publishers Weekly
The tempo picks up when we begin to learn who the attacker/murderer is, and we become privy to the workings of the inner minds of all of the characters. The story unfolds before our eyes, and we see the police and all of the characters inter-play. A surprising and innovative novel by Kate Atkinson. She just becomes better and better, and I am looking forward to her next novel- hopefully Jackson Brodie will be back in the fold.
Highly Recommended. prisrob 12/25/06
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