Book Reviews of Case Histories (Jackson Brodie, Bk 1)

I'm not a mystery reader, and this isn't your typical mystery book. It's truly a literary mystery, full of well-drawn and sympathetic characters with great back-stories. This was recommended to me by another non-mystery reader, and I'm so glad I took the time to read it.

My husband & I really enjoyed this book! Three cases, different time periods, seeminly unconnected, all come together by the end. Great character portrayals, veryi interesting style!

I really enjoyed this book. The plot, involving three separate unsolved mysteries, was wonderful and I love the way that the author was able to tie them together. Can't wait to read more from her!

I tried to read it. I even read it twice but, I couldn't get into it. Just kept going into to much boring detail.

I was so relieved to finally get to the end of this book. I just couldn't follow it very well and it didn't hold my interest at all.

Trying to characterize this book as a mystery or a family saga or simply as literature is like trying to herd cats. Don't waste your time - just pick up the book and start reading. Atkinson takes some seeminly unrelated case histories and manages to tie them together.

I heard great things about this book but it just did not grab me. Hopefully someone will enjoy it.

Case Histories combines the suspense of a whodnit with the richly textured plot of a sprawling family saga. The result is top-notch literature - an unforgettable, unclassified read.

I, frankly, hated this book. I bought it to take to the beach and it was just too depressing. It stayed home.

Riveting book! Couldn't put it down!

This is a spectacular book, and I'm not a fan of mysteries. Atkinson not only writes well, she provides readers with a compelling, satisfying story.

It's a curious mix of dark humor and depressing mundanity. I simply don't know how I feel about this book. Reading it was an emotional roller coaster to me. I didn't like most of the characters but recognized their flaws, needs, bad luck, etc, as inherently human and grotesque. It's like a train wreck. You want to know what happens even as you despise the horrid things you see. The book is well written and interestingly done. It's a page turner and therefore very readable. I like the way the different characters and their stories weave throughout the plot somehow becoming intertwined in unusual (and not so unusual) ways with other principal characters.

I thought the female characters, with the exception of Caroline whom I found myself strangely bonded to, were truly unlikable, shrill, and downright mean. Jackson Brodie was the more feminine and likable character interestingly enough--as one character puts it he's "the last good man standing." It was strange how many of the male characters were the more nurturing and loyal while the females seemed forever pissed off, frustrated, and cold. Some of that was because of the oppressive and male-dominated world in which they found themselves subjected and restrained from their goals in life, but while I could identify with their plight, I found them all extremely obnoxious and similar. It makes me wonder who Kate Atkinson is and what she is like. She wrote that she finds it easy to characterize women, but if that is the case, then she must not know very many well-adjusted ones. All her women are borderline bi-polar--either running hot or cold. Always instantly judgmental or near hysterical, always mercurial with their identity, and very mercenary with their sexuality.

Meanwhile, Jackson listens to female country singers, wants a monogamous relationship, and keeps getting the fuzzy end of the lollypop for constantly doing the right thing. I really liked his character. I could see why half the cast of characters were in love with him but not why the other half hated his guts or why he put up with it.

I loved the beginning of the story when we are introduced to the first three case histories because they are true, dysfunctional and humorous depictions of many peoples' childhoods and early adulthoods. But by the middle of the book I was downright depressed with the painful mundanity and cruelty of everyone's life. No one is happy, except maybe Caroline who always has an escape plan. No one is truly likable, except Jackson, who is a curious sort of hero who constantly gets screwed over and gets up to ask for more. By the latter quarter of the book things are looking more up for our cast of characters and so the book doesn't end on *such* a dour note. The constant barrage of bad events are finally alleviated by some good events and happy coincidences that seem all the more brash and glaring and unlikely--embraced and tucked in amidst so many horrible events as they are. Of course you want something nice to happen so this critical reader is all too happy to let a few extraordinary events happen in a book filled with so many ordinary tragedies.

But I think I'll stick primarily to my epic sci/fi and fantasy novels. I like heroes who do extraordinary things to escape the mundane life. I suppose since we live in a mundane world I'd rather not dwell there too often in my imagination as well. Unfortunately I'm a little curious as to what happens next for Jackson Brodie, so I might have to at least read the second book in the series--when I've recovered enough from this one.

If you like Cold case on TV this book is for you.A page turner for sure.Read it in two days and really found it refreshing not to be able to predict the outcome. Good read, great for the summer.

This book was not at all what I expected. It was much better. The case histories were not dry and boring and they began to tie to one another with the P.I., Jackson Brodie, as the unifying feature. After reading through several of them, I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen. How "Jackson" was going to solve these cases as you knew that he eventually would. The conclusions were surprising and satisfying. And the best part at the end of the novel was the promise of more "Jackson" novels.

I absolutely loved this book. I tore through it on a plane trip and read it again on the way back, that's how much I enjoyed it. The story was fascinating and really held my interest.

I enjoyed reading Case Histories. It was a quick read. Three cold case mysteries turned over to a private detective keep the pages turning. I don't agree with Stephen King's assessment that this is the "mystery of the decade," but a solid, well written, enjoyable story about a private eye with problems in his personal life trying to bring these three cases to closure for his clients, all the while with someone trying to kill him. A unique and interesting cast of characters emerges as the story is told, with occasional unexpected humor.

Not your typical mystery!!
This is the first book by Atkinson to feature PI Jackson Brodie, but this is no standard mystery. Told non-linearly, a number of case histories from various dates in the past are presented and Jackson, in the present, ends up investigating or following up on most of them. There's the challenge for the reader to see how they all might intersect or connect, from the murder of an 18-year-old woman to the disappearance of a 5-year-old girl, to the woman who killed her husband while her infant daughter watched. Atkinson feeds the reader information in her own due time, revealing only what she feels important at the time she wants the reader to know it. In some ways, and in lesser hands, this can feel manipulative, but Atkinson is a marvelous writer who pulled me

The first case featured in this book focuses on a young mother who is extremely disappointed with the way her life has turned out, can't stand her standoffish husband and only truly loves Olivia, the happiest and prettiest of her many daughters. When Olivia goes missing the book turns to the next case about a young woman who is murdered midday in front of witnesses but the killer gets away. The third case involves an ax-wielding murderess. These cases are pretty cold but Jackson Brodie (a private detective, I think) takes them on. He's thankful for the work and for the opportunity to dwell on something other than his still painful divorce.

I enjoyed this book but now that it's a week or so later and I am attempting to write a review I am very fuzzy on the details. What stuck with me though was the way these stories intersected and the attention to the characterization of the survivors of these horrific cold cases. I went into this book expecting it to be dry and, quite honestly, rather dull but there is a wry sense of humor weaved throughout and so many dark secrets to discover that I never found it boring or hard going.

This was the first work by Kate Atkinson I have read. The store weaves three distinct cold case murders solved by a British retired policeman named Jackson Brodie. Each of the dysfunctional families involved in the cases would be plenty for a single story line as Atkinson excells in creating memorable characters and defining moments in her prose. Bringing them together with an unusual perspective told by an outsider creates an incredible gutwrenching read. One of the takeaways you might have upon finishing the book is thinking about lingering questions - when bad things happen to people, is it justified? is it deserved? should the person who "does the bad thing" go unpunished?

This is the second book I've read by Kate Atkinson and I really enjoyed it. I like her writing style a lot and the way that she interweaves so many different lives in this book in genius. This is a great read, although it's pretty dark at times, which isn't usually my style, but I think the plot and writing more than made up for it.

I really enjoyed seeing how all the stories tied togther. Once you started it was hard to put down.

Great Read.

this was a very interesting book - I couldn't wait to find out what happened

Believe anything good you've heard about this.

Very good book!

I'm not the biggest fan of mystery or crime novels, but this was a compelling story with great character depth and plot. Really good!

Wonderful story. Full of twists. Has gotten rave reviews for the genre.

Really unique, one of the most unexpected books I've read in a long time. Great characters and a plot that leaves you guessing till the end.

Quick, amusing read with a bit of mystery and suspense.

Very enjoyable whodunit with characters you care about.

This book grabbed me right from the start. Interesting characters and great storylines and I couldn't wait to see how they intertwined. Well, somewhere in the last quarter of the book or so, things just got bizarre. Incidents happened out of the blue it seemed. Some things were not fully explained and the big mystery was a bit of a let down when exposed. I enjoyed it up until the end when it felt as if the author rushed to get finished.

Not quite as fascinatingly complex as I was expecting (based on Stephen King's comments in Entertainment Weekly).

This book kept my attention, but didn't live up to my expectation. Because it revolves around three different story lines, I found it hard to really associate with any of the characters--at times, I found it hard to keep track of who's who. But, the end is creepy, and it's a quick read. If I had read it every day, I might not have found it quite as disjointed as it seemed. My review is atypical--everyone raves about it; so take it with a grain of salt!

A stunning story -- told in a brilliant fresh way. I loved it completely!

Atkinson is a great writer. This has a few trite or unbelievable plot elements, but overall is a very interesting and compelling read. Not your typical mystery.

I love a novel where "Everything is connected" in some way...where there is delicious twisted subtle irony in the interactions of the characters. However, this book is not that book. The set up of the story is colorless and plodding, and there was scarce reason to care for anyone, except for a few characters who had departed. The resolution was a strange mixture of predictable and incomprehensible and in the end, there are no real surprises. I was sort of puzzled to see that the author is considering making this the beginning of a series, since the characters were in no way likeable or memorable.

Interesting characters and intriguing plot combine for a good beach read, though the ending (the tying it all up parts) left me wanting more......

Really enjoyed this book - great character development and weaving of three different yet similar stories.

Personally I found the book slightly depressing, but Atkinson's writing style and ability to create believable characters is quite extraordinary. It is worth the read.

three interlocking mysteries, linked by one detective; the focus is more on the characterization than on the mystery, but each one is still solved in an interesting way; very well-written

This book has the best beginning of any novel I've read in a while. In later chapters, it has its ups and downs (it's true that there seem to be some cheap, cliched shortcuts), but you definitely won't be bored.

An enjoyable read with mystery and humor. Some fun and some twisted characters.

With a trio of compelling cold case mysteries at its core, with its
sympathetic and complex detective hero it is a compulsive read.

very well written. intriguing mysteries.

great book!

Loved the way all these diverse threads of story converged, but not in a fairytale way. I can't wait to read the next one.

Great characters, I love the way the stories interconnect

I loved this book!

Great book. I normally don't try too hard to figure things out, preferring to just go with the flow of the story, but this one had so many twists and turns I had to do some guessing to see if I was right. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Stephen King said that he believes this is the best mystery of decade.

"Entertainment Weekly" and "People" both raved about book 4 of the Jackson Brodie series so I decided to pick up Book 1, "Case Histories." I also have read the second book in series.

Case Histories is a page turner. I had a hard time putting it down. It is a good mystery and novel. In both this book and book 2, I had several "laugh out loud" moments also. I am planning on reading all four books she has written with Jackson Brodie as main character.

Good book!!

Just loved this book. It's an intriguing mystery story and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time. I'm looking forward to the further adventures of Jackson Brodie!

This book started as a major downer. In the first two chapters two children disappear without a trace. I didn't think I wanted to read a whole book of this, but then the story takes off with unlikely heroes and unpredictable twists of fate. There is only the slightest foreshadowing of the conclusion. Enjoyable, would be a great beach book.

Very unique style. A litlte tedious to follow at first, but I got used to it and it became quite the page-turner. After a while I accepted feeling confused, knowing it would all eventualy make sense! Challenged my normal train of thought, kept the brain working. Good mystery of 3 intertwined tales!

Despite having read this four or five years ago, I really didn't remember it all that well! I was both disappointed at my loss of memory, and happy to enjoy this book all over again. I remember loving it so much the first time I read it, I immediately went out and bought the rest of her books, and my love of this book was not in any way diminished by the re-reading. It is a well-crafted novel, pulling everything together in a neat and interesting manner. I really enjoyed it and am really looking forward to reading the next two Brodie books!

A triumphant new novel from award-winner Kate Atkinson: a breathtaking story of families divided, love lost and found, and the mysteries of fate.

Case One: Olivia Land, youngest and most beloved of the Land girls, goes missing in the night and is never seen again. Thirty years later, two of her surviving sisters unearth a shocking clue to Olivia's disappearance among the clutter of their childhood home. . .

Case Two: Theo delights in his daughter Laura's wit, effortless beauty, and selfless love. But her first day as an associate in his law firm is also the day when Theo's world turns upside down. . .

Case Three: Michelle looks around one day and finds herself trapped in a hell of her own making. A very needy baby and a very demanding husband make her every waking moment a reminder that somewhere, somehow, she'd made a grave mistake and would spend the rest of her life paying for it--until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape.

As Private Detective Jackson Brodie investigates all three cases, startling connections and discoveries emerge. Inextricably caught up in his clients grief, joy, and desire, Jackson finds their unshakable need for resolution very much like his own.

Kate Atkinson's celebrated talent makes for a novel that positively sparkles with surprise, comedy, tragedy, and constant, page-turning delight.

Awesome read1

Interesting and different.

A really good read.

Excellent book- wonderful read!

Amazing on how the author blends 3 different mysteries into one story and ties it all up in the end! The story is engaging1

I really got to know all of the characters in this book. I will read more of Kate Atkinson.

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