I bought this book on a whim, because I thought it looked interesting. I’m almost ashamed to admit that I’d never heard of Kate Atkinson before, although I’ve since learnt that she is a highly regarded and popular author. After reading this book, I can understand why.

This is a cracking crime novel/thriller, with three-dimensional characters and real emotional depth.  Often when I read books that are described as ‘literary thrillers’, I can feel that the ‘literary’ side of things is compromised by having to adhere to a recognisably ‘crime’ or ‘thriller’ structure. Not so here. This book feels like a fully realised piece of work.

The book is set in Edinburgh during the Fringe festival, and opens with a road rage incident. While in his car, a mysterious, shady character is shunted from behind by another driver, a psychopath who then starts attacking him with a baseball bat. A mild-mannered, middle-aged writer intervenes and becomes an unlikely hero.  The attack is  witnessed by ex-cop Jackson Brodie, along with two women who are waiting to attend a Fringe show.  This violent incident sends ripples through all of these – and several other – people’s lives, and they become embroiled in a story that involves a corrupt property developer, a hitman, and a dead Russian girl.

Not keen on this cover design.

This is a novel that is as much about the inner lives of its characters as it is about the outward crime story that it tells.  Atkinson devotes a lot of time to the backstory and inner thoughts of each of her characters, and over the course of the novel each of them experiences their own unique emotional journey.

However, it is also a cracking crime story that’s cleverly plotted and which throws up some genuine surprises at times.  Atkinson does a great job of bringing together such a disparate group of characters to form a gripping, exciting narrative.

Great characters, great story, and laced with a subtle humour throughout – this is an absorbing and brilliantly written book, and it’s left me feeling hungry to read more of Kate Atkinson’s work.