Even when she’s not at her best, Atkinson is still pretty good.
In his sixth outing, Jackson Brodie finds himself trapped in an Agatha Christie novel that is also a Jackson Brodie novel.
The story begins with Jackson attending a murder-mystery weekend at “one of England’s premier stately homes.” Lady Milton, the doyenne of Burton Makepeace House, is confused by the large cast of characters. The private investigator himself can’t wait for this farce to be over. “It hasn’t even begun properly yet,” Detective Constable Regina Chase informs him. This setup is as delicious as it is improbable; there is no one in popular fiction less likely to enjoy a whodunit starring Reverend Smallbones and Countess Voranskaya than Atkinson’s world-weary (but intensely empathetic) private investigator. Before we get a chance to see how this situation unfolds, though, the narrative jumps backward a week to introduce Jackson’s latest clients. Hazel and Ian, the twin offspring of the late Dorothy Padgett, have hired the former police detective because someone—probably Dorothy’s carer—has stolen a Renaissance painting that hung in her bedroom. Next, Atkinson reintroduces Lady Milton, whose estate boasted a Turner until someone—probably the housekeeper—absconded with it. This chapter, which is just over 20 pages, is followed by a chapter spent in the company of Reverend Simon Cate. This is 16 pages that feels like a lot more. Rereading the opening scene at this point gives one the sense that Atkinson is describing her own novel: There are too many characters, and it’s a bit slow. This is funny in the way that Atkinson is often funny, but the critique stands. By the time he returns, even Jackson seems attenuated. Reading about him reading about art theft is about as exciting as it sounds. The pace does pick up, eventually, and fans who stick around will get what they came for.
Even when she’s not at her best, Atkinson is still pretty good.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780385547994
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
Breezy, entertaining characters and a cheeky premise fall prey to too much explanation and an unlikely climax.
An aspiring mystery writer sets out to solve her great-aunt’s murder and inherit an estate.
Twenty-five-year-old Annie Adams has never met her great-aunt Frances, who prefers her small village to busy London. But when a mysterious letter arrives instructing Annie to come to Castle Knoll in Dorset to meet Frances and discuss her role as sole beneficiary of her great-aunt’s estate, Annie can’t resist. Unfortunately, she arrives to find Frances’ worst fears have come true: The elderly woman—who’s been haunted for decades by a fortuneteller’s prediction that this will happen—has been murdered, and her will dictates that she will leave her entire estate to Annie, but only if Annie solves her killing. It’s a cheeky if not exactly believable premise, especially since the local police don’t seem terribly opposed to it. Annie herself is an engaging presence, if a little too blind to the fact that she could be on the killer’s to-do list. Her roll call of suspects is pleasingly long, including but not limited to the local vicar, a one-time paramour of her great-aunt’s; a gardener who grows a lot more than flowers; shady developers and suspicious friends from Frances’ past; and Saxon, Annie’s crafty rival, who inherits the estate himself if he manages to solve the case first. Annie pieces together clues through readings of Frances’ journal, but the story eventually runs aground on the twin rocks of too much explanation and a flimsy climax. Cute dialogue gives way to lengthy exposition, and by the time Frances’ killer is revealed you may well be ready to leave Annie, Dorset, and Castle Knoll behind for the firmer ground of reality. Fans of cozy mysteries are likely to be more forgiving, but if you cast a skeptical eye toward amateur sleuths, this novel won’t change your mind about them.
Breezy, entertaining characters and a cheeky premise fall prey to too much explanation and an unlikely climax.Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593474013
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
Uneven but fitfully amusing.
Betrayed by her husband, a severely depressed young woman gets drawn into the over-the-top festivities at a lavish wedding.
Phoebe Stone, who teaches English literature at a St. Louis college, is plotting her own demise. Her husband, Matt, has left her for another woman, and Phoebe is taking it hard. Indeed, she's determined just where and how she will end it all: at an oceanfront hotel in Newport, where she will lie on a king-sized canopy bed and take a bottle of her cat’s painkillers. At the hotel, Phoebe meets bride-to-be Lila, a headstrong rich girl presiding over her own extravagant six-day wedding celebration. Lila thought she had booked every room in the hotel, and learning of Phoebe's suicidal intentions, she forbids this stray guest from disrupting the nuptials: “No. You definitely can’t kill yourself. This is my wedding week.” After the punchy opening, a grim flashback to the meltdown of Phoebe's marriage temporarily darkens the mood, but things pick up when spoiled Lila interrupts Phoebe's preparations and sweeps her up in the wedding juggernaut. The slide from earnest drama to broad farce is somewhat jarring, but from this point on, Espach crafts an enjoyable—if overstuffed—comedy of manners. When the original maid of honor drops out, Phoebe is persuaded, against her better judgment, to take her place. There’s some fun to be had here: The wedding party—including groom-to-be Gary, a widower, and his 11-year-old daughter—takes surfing lessons; the women in the group have a session with a Sex Woman. But it all goes on too long, and the humor can seem forced, reaching a low point when someone has sex with the vintage wedding car (you don’t want to know the details). Later, when two characters have a meet-cute in a hot tub, readers will guess exactly how the marriage plot resolves.
Uneven but fitfully amusing.Pub Date: July 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781250899576
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
