Case Histories

A Novel

By: Kate Atkinson

Narrated by: Susan Jameson

Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Case One: A little girl goes missing in the night.

Case Two: A beautiful young office worker falls victim to a maniac's apparently random attack.

Case Three: A new mother finds herself trapped in a hell of her own making - with a very needy baby and a very demanding husband - until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape.

Thirty years after the first incident, as private detective Jackson Brodie begins investigating all three cases, startling connections and discoveries emerge.

©2004 Kate Atkinson (P)2005 BBC Audiobooks Ltd.

fantastic all around book

What a terrific way to start a new detective series. The narration eas flawless and the story line intriguing.

Complex character sketches; cases are solved in the end

I listened to the audiobook. Susan Jameson’s masterful narration breathed life into the characters, making the plot more cohesive. Unfortunately, these days I’m not able to sit for hours reading books and instead I have to read in short bursts, which makes it harder to “get” more complicated plots, nuanced dialogue, and so forth. I don’t think I could read this book a little bit at a time and be able to understand the characters and follow the plot which jumps between several cases as well as the present. It worked great as an audiobook.

I am curious to see what later books are like.

Note: this is not a cozy mystery, and if you are listening to the audiobook, be forewarned that there are passages here and there with explicit descriptions of sex, etc.

A random aside: this book is nothing like Simon Brett’s Fethering series. However, in listening to it, I was reminded of Fethering stories in that the police hardly feature at all in the story in spite of crimes being committed.

Excellent!

It always surprises me when I read negative reviews of a book I completely enjoyed, and in this instance I couldn't disagree with the naysayers more. If you prefer your characters well rounded and real, the story line captivating and the narration a delight to listen to, you'll enjoy this listen.

Sorry there’s a 5-star limit. I’d give it 11.

A plot full of surprises, vibrant characters, many LOL moments... all told with a fantastic reading/performance. I recently read her “Transcriptions” which is very good— this is better.

Wonderful series

Beautifully written, by turns heartbreaking and hilarious. Every character indelibly drawn, especially flawed hero, Brodie.

Good book

funny, a little sad, good character development.
although the timeline changed often, it wasn't hard to keep up with.

Jumps around

This story jumps around without warning and it is hard to follow all the different cases. You never know which case they’re talking about for a bit until you finally figure it out. Very hard to follow.

Kate Atkinson is simply brilliant!

All her books are wonderful. Her great analytical mind, her sense of humor, her extremely well developed plots, her wonderful cop Jackson Brodie, etc etc...
I loved Reggie, I already miss Reggie. Please bring back Reggie !

Interesting story, GREAT READER!

Where does Case Histories rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Probably in the top 20% -- not the absolute greatest, but kept my attention.

Would you be willing to try another book from Kate Atkinson? Why or why not?

She does a good job writing about relationships, so I'd probably try her again.

Which scene was your favorite?

Nothing really stands out, which would be my only criticism of the book. With so many stories, sometimes it was hard to figure out who was speaking. It was particularly difficult to determine the time period, as there was a lot of movement.

Any additional comments?

The speaker was fabulous with accents and voices.

Delightful writing

Fun from start to finish. Wry. Ironic. But telling a dark story. This was my first Atkinson. I will listen to more.