Case Histories by Kate Atkinson is a mystery like I have never read before, the crimes are all tragedies with a lot of open ended questions. Where this book differs is it give you the crime, then it analyzes the history of the family before the crime, then after it, how they’ve dealt with those unanswered questions. The detective Jackson Brodie has his own unanswered questions about his own tragic murder of his sister when he was a teenager. This novel is an intricate character study that happens to be told with a compelling mystery as a background. This is my second Kate Atkinson novel I fell in love with her writing in Life After Life, which is easily one of my top favorite novels in the last ten years, and probably the novel I recommend the most to people. Her writing does not disappoint, she is able to write the slice of life that is family like no other, she creates a picture and a full roundedness of family, that is not all roses, and dips in to the secrets that lay buried in that family. I could go on and on, I did not like this book as much as Life After Life, but still a very compelling story for the introduction to detective Jackson Brodie.

The Plot: This novel tells three cases, the disappearance of toddler Olivia Land in 1979, the murder of Laura Wyre by a crazed man who is never captured, and the killing of Michelle’s husband by axe and the events surrounding it. We get all these mysteries how they’re doing now, and how they came to hire Jackson Brodie as detective. The cases are linked and interact in mysterious ways not in the past but in the present. Jackson has a case of his own that he’s trying to solve as well the death of his sister. All will be revealed, but will the character’s get the closure that they deserve.

What I Liked: The writing is so amazing, we get so many characters but Atkinson does such a good job at describing them and telling us where they fit in to the story, I was only lost for a couple seconds. The twist are really good and very plausible. The way the story is laid out really works well giving the audience the whole history of events. The humor is great and really provides a levity with the tragic events in the book. I love how real and honest the book got about hidden emotions. The theme of life after tragedy was used throughout and really stuck.

What I Disliked: All the Caroline chapters, I understood her propose, but also thought her character was not needed at all and we got the same closure with out her, and her chapters were the only ones I found boring. One case is far weaker than all the others and I felt this novel would have been a sold five stars with out it.

Recommendations: I recommend this one I had some problems with it but the writing is so amazing and draws you in, even the chapters I didn’t like. If you want something new out of a mystery then you should check this book out. If you like slower mysteries that are about character like Tana French or Fiona Barton, then you will like this!  Stephen King called it, the best mystery of the decade. I rated this novel 4 out of 5 stars. This is the first of four Jackson Brodie Novels with Big Sky by Kate Atkinson coming on June 18th 2019, and I plan on continuing the journey.