2009 books, #5

When will there be good news? by Kate Atkinson. London : Black Swan, 2009.


"A coincidence is just an explanation waiting to happen", says Jackson Brodie towards the end of this book, and coincidences abound here. As ever with Kate Atkinson's fiction, the simplicity of her style contrasts with the complexity of the plot and the intertwined lives of a cast of wonderfully quirky characters. Many of the people in this book are living quietly tragic lives, but there's great humour here too, and not a moment when the story flags. The previous books featuring Jackson Brodie, Case Histories and One Good Turn, were excellent, but this one is at a different level entirely...