Case Histories: A Novel

I was disappointed with this novel. I have read a few of Kate Atkinson's "Jackson Brodie" mysteries as well as her novel "Behind the Scenes at a Museum" (which was brilliant, especially if you are from the U.K.) and she is an excellent, gifted writer. "Case Histories" was her first novel I believe, and maybe she had a lot to learn. At times specific scenes seemed unnecessary and became boring. There was no real twist to the story; it just sort of plodded along. The situations sometimes went beyond belief, even for a mystery novel. Regarding the narrator: I guess a female reader was used because a female wrote the book, but it did not work for a Jackson Brodie novel. The narrator could not mimic a man's tone in any way and she became irritating at certain points. There were two female characters whom she made sound stupid but I realized that it was the way she read their scenes, not the wording of the author that made them seem ridiculous. Male readers are used in the other Brodie novels I have listened to.

I read some reviews about his book and now totally understand why people either love or hate Kate Atkinson. There’s no middle ground. Her style is unique. While highly descriptive and clearly a fine author, the style didn’t work for me at all.