When Will There Be Good News?

Book No: 40
Title: When Will There Be Good News
Author: Kate Atkinson
Genre: Mystery
Completed: 7/18/09
No. of Pages: 388
Rating: 4/5*****

This is the third book by Kate Atkinson to feature Jackson Brodie.

Once again Kate Atkinson has created a string of mysteries that slowly come together, as each of the various characters secrets are revealed. Like an onion, as you peel back one layer of the story another layer is revealed until you get to the heart of the matter.

Dr. Jo Hunter is the only survivor of a horrific crime that occurred thirty years ago. Neil Hunter is Jo’s ne’er do well husband and Reggie Chase is the Hunter’s baby sitter with a secret or two of her own. When Dr. Hunter and her son disappear, and Mr. Hunter starts fabricating some odd stories about where she is, Reggie takes it upon herself to find the missing doctor and child. She reveals her suspicions to Louise Munroe, the chief investigator in Edinburgh, who doesn’t give them much credence at first. At the same time Jackson Brodie is hurtling, literally, towards a climactic and life changing event that places him in the middle of the mystery.

As usual the plotting is intricate and the characters are so well developed that they begin to seem real to the reader. Although Louise and Jackson still have unresolved feelings for each other, they both take a back seat to the real star of this book, Reggie Chase, a survivor and a fighter for what she believes in. Atkinson deftly weaves all the plot lines together for an ending with more than one surprise, and a hint at what may be next for Louise as well as a major and unexpected change in Brodie’s life. Looking forward to the next book, although it is at least a year away.