Review of Kate Atkinson's Latest

Kate Atkinson’s latest mystery novel, One Good Turn, is simply a great read. The novel is set in Edinburgh, Scotland, during that city’s Fringe Festival (for performing arts). It’s the second outing for ex-cop, ex-private detective Jackson Brody, who is finding retirement in the South of France a little bit boring.

The story starts with a man driving into Edinburgh. His driver’s license says Paul Bradley, but we know that’s not his real name. While trying to avoid an accident, Paul becomes the victim of a random piece of road rage on an Edinburgh street. The attack is witnessed by a crowd of unrelated people, including Gloria Hatter, wife of Graham Hatter, a housing developer, and Jackson Brodie, in town bankrolling his girlfriend’s theatrical production. Another bystander, Martin Canning, a shy crime writer, steps in and ends the road rage by throwing his laptop at Paul’s attacker, and becomes identified as Paul’s friend. This proves to not be a good thing.

Ms. Atkinson then masterfully weaves these disparate threads into a truly entertaining tapestry of events covering four short days. All of her characters are entertaining and believable, even the unsympathetic ones. As a resident of Edinburgh, Ms. Atkinson weaves a lot of local color into her story, including some entertaining riffs on the local housing market.

This is truly a stunning book, and I suggest you buy it as soon as possible. Plan on reading it in one go – you won’t want to put it down!