Case Histories

CASE HISTORIES

by Kate Atkinson

Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2006, Women's Prize Longlist 2005

Date Read: June 17, 2021

From all the hype on the first several pages and a woman approaching me in the pool and remarking how good this book was, I was slightly disappointed. While the writing was good and the story absorbing, I wasn’t overwhelmed but simply enjoyed it.

 Jackson Brody is a former police detective who has retired from the force and hung out a shingle as a private investigator. The charm of this book, for me, was its being set in England. Brody is working on a number of cases, including:

-   Olivia Land, a three-year old girl was abducted from a backyard tent 34 years ago. Her older sisters, Julia and Amelia, discover her favorite stuffy with the passing of their father. A third sister, Sylvia, has long ago taken the veil and is now in a convent. Jackson tries to discover if the father is responsible.

-   Laura Wyre, an 18 year old daughter of Theo Wyre, was randomly killed at Theo’s law office while he was out. While at first the killer asked for Mr. Wyre and learning Theo wasn’t in, he then proceeded to the boardroom and sliced Laura’s throat. No one could identify him except for a yellow golf sweater.

-   Michelle Morrison has served time for taking an axe to her husband’s head. When the police found her, she was sitting in a pile of blood and her baby, Tanya, was asleep on the floor. Now, Michelle’s sister, Shirley, wants to find what happened to Tanya.

Over the course of this novel, the reader learns why Brody has such a soft-spot for missing women and each of these cases haunts him as he proceeds through his life. Add in a vindictive ex-wife, a mystery person hell-bent on killing him and a badly infected tooth that is in serious need of a root canal and Brody’s life is in chaos. 

Fortunately for those who hired him, Brody is the right man for the job with a heart of gold and the tenacity to match. I just wish I had been as blown away as much as others who have read this.

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