Case Histories

A Novel

De: Kate Atkinson

Narrado por: Susan Jameson

The first book in Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie Mysteries series, finds private investigator Jackson Brodie following three seemingly unconnected family mysteries in Edinburg.

"The best mystery of the decade." —Stephen King

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 investigator Jackson Brodie begins investigating all three cases, startling connections and discoveries emerge ...

Not a typical mystery

I got this book despite some negative reviews because many people said it was really good. The story was good and eventually I did become engaged in it, despite the fact that the first chapter was really quite annoying. I think the narration harmed the book rather than helped it, the narrator was fine when just reading but as soon as she did dialogue her voice became very grating and men and women took on a strange high pitched tone which made many characters very unlikeable. I think this book would be better in paper form and I do plan on getting the next one but will probably read it myself although I might listen carefully to the audible preview to see if the different narrators do a better job.

Unbearable narrator!

This may be an enjoyable book; I couldn't tell. The narrator raises her voice every time a character speaks—and not only the volume, but the pitch, so that I had to dive to turn down the volume every time there was any dialogue. I gave up after five or six chapters.

Why can't narrators simply READ books instead of trying to (over)-dramatize them?!

Disjointed yet compelling

I like this book with some reservations. I especially liked the unexpected witticisms sprinkled throughout ,especially with Julia and Amelia. Still, the sex lives of these two was given way more attention than it deserved. It certainly didn't contribute to the mystery. As an American who loves mysteries,I found the loose end of one of the case histories annoying. Another reader said she thought she had missed something. I agree. I even re-read the closing chapters but discovered I didn't miss it, it wasn't there. Still an interesting plot development that kept me reading.

Beautifully written mystery

A highly entertaining read, with plenty of turns and twists, Kate Atkinson is a master of the English language.

Well read but not as advertised.

The book was well read and obviously well written but I was disappointed as the book came to the end. The cases didn’t come together as I expected and had been waiting to hear.