Jeff Turrentine
Breaking detective-thriller form, Case Histories is told from multiple points of view, reducing the burden on Jackson to "solve" the crimes for us and letting each character bloom in the light of the author's sharp, observant prose. That's something that the genre's hard-boiled forefathers would never have done; for them, the ratiocinative novel was a one-man job, and sympathetic characters just gummed up the works. Kate Atkinson, though, seems to have intuited that the most compelling mystery of all isn't necessarily whodunit, but rather howtodealwithit.
— The Washington Post
Janet Maslin
… the lifelike characters in Case Histories are what make it such a compelling hybrid: part complex family drama, part mystery. It winds up having more depth and vividness than ordinary thrillers and more thrills than ordinary fiction, with a constant awareness of perils swirling beneath its surface.
— The New York Times
Jacqueline Carey
Certain characters are the stock in trade of detective novels: innocent female murder victims, embittered spinsters, wives with secrets, teenage runaways, sexy old actresses and men who feel driven to try, over and over, to protect or avenge the downtrodden. Kate Atkinson's latest novel contains all these characters, which might suggest it's just another variation on a host of well-worn themes -- but, amazingly enough, this cast, as familiar as it is, still has the power to ensnare us. In fact, Case Histories is so exuberant, so empathetic, that it makes most murder-mystery page-turners feel as lifeless as the corpses they're strewn with.
— The New York Times Sunday Book Review
Kirkus Reviews
After two self-indulgent detours, Atkinson proves that her Whitbread Award-winning debut, Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1996), was no fluke with a novel about three interconnected mysteries. They seem totally unrelated at first to private detective Jackson Brodie, hired by separate individuals in Cambridge, England, to investigate long-dormant cases. Three-year-old Olivia Land disappeared from a tent in her family's backyard in 1970; 34 years later, her sisters Amelia and Julia discover Olivia's stuffed toy in their recently deceased father's study and want Jackson to find out what he had to do with the disappearance. Theo Wyre's beloved 18-year-old daughter Laura was murdered by a knife-wielding lunatic in 1994, and he too hires Jackson to crack this unsolved murder. Michelle was also 18 when she went to jail in 1979 for killing her husband with an ax while their infant daughter wailed in the playpen; she vanished after serving her time, but Shirley Morrison asks Jackson to find, not her sister Michelle, but the niece she promised to raise, then was forced to hand over to grandparents. The detective, whose bitter ex-wife uses Jackson's profound love for their eight-year-old daughter to torture him, finds all these stories of dead and/or missing girls extremely unsettling; we learn toward the end why the subject of young women in peril is particularly painful for him. Atkinson has always been a gripping storyteller, and her complicated narrative crackles with the earthy humor, vibrant characterizations, and shrewd social observations that enlivened her first novel but were largely swamped by postmodern game-playing in Human Croquet (1997) and Emotionally Weird (2000). Here, she craftsa compulsive page-turner that looks deep into the heart of sadness, cruelty, and loss, yet ultimately grants her charming p.i. (and most of the other appealingly offbeat characters, including one killer) a chance at happiness and some measure of reconciliation with the past. Wonderful fun and very moving: it's a pleasure to see this talented writer back on form. Agent: Peter Straus/Rogers, Coleridge & White
From the Publisher
"Not just the best novel I read this year, but the best mystery of the decade. . . . I defy any reader not to feel a combination of delight and amazement."—Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly
"Grabs hold of the reader and doesn't let go. . . . CASE HISTORIES winds up having more depth and vividness than ordinary thrillers and more thrills than ordinary fiction."—Janet Maslin, New York Times
"One of the most enjoyable books in a long time."—Leslie McGill, Kansas City Star
"CASE HISTORIES is so exuberant, so empathetic, that it makes most murder-mystery page-turners feel as lifeless as the corpses they're strewn with."—Jacqueline Carey, New York Times Book Review
"CASE HISTORIES combines the suspense of a whodunit with the richly textured plot of a sprawling family saga. The result is top-notch literature - an unforgettable, unclassifiable read."—Elisabeth Egan, Chicago Sun-Times
"Susan Jameson delivers an absolutely stunning performance.... As Brodie, Jameson is simply flawless.... Hers is a performance that demands repeated listens."—Publishers Weekly
Elisabeth Egan - Chicago Sun-Times
"CASE HISTORIES combines the suspense of a whodunit with the richly textured plot of a sprawling family saga. The result is top-notch literature - an unforgettable, unclassifiable read."
Jacqueline Carey - New York Times Book Review
"CASE HISTORIES is so exuberant, so empathetic, that it makes most murder-mystery page-turners feel as lifeless as the corpses they're strewn with."
Leslie McGill - Kansas City Star
"One of the most enjoyable books in a long time."
Janet Maslin - New York Times
"Grabs hold of the reader and doesn't let go. . . . CASE HISTORIES winds up having more depth and vividness than ordinary thrillers and more thrills than ordinary fiction."
Stephen King - Entertainment Weekly
"Not just the best novel I read this year, but the best mystery of the decade. . . . I defy any reader not to feel a combination of delight and amazement."
Elisabeth Egan
CASE HISTORIES combines the suspense of a whodunit with the richly textured plot of a sprawling family saga. The result is top-notch literature - an unforgettable, unclassifiable read.
— Chicago Sun-Times
Leslie McGill
One of the most enjoyable books in a long time.
— Kansas City Star
Stephen King
Not just the best novel I read this year, but the best mystery of the decade. . . . I defy any reader not to feel a combination of delight and amazement.
— Entertainment Weekly
