JACKSON BRODIE MYSTERIES

the feminist PI we wish existed IRL

If you’re a certified Anglophile, but Downton Abbey makes you gag on your crumpets.

If your literary tastes are highbrow, but you’re not in the mood for 800 pages on Thomas Cromwell.

If your tolerance for murder most foul falls somewhere between the twee cozies of Miss Marple and the unremitting bleakness of Red Riding…well, have we got some books for you.

When the cold rains fall and it’s dark at approximately 3 p.m., light a fire and make a hot chocolate (with a little schnapps?) or an apple cider (with a splash of brandy?). Then, pick up one of Kate Atkinson’s five Jackson Brodie mysteries: Case Histories, One Good Turn, When Will There Be Good News?, Started Early, Took My Dog or Big Sky.

Kate Atkinson is a brilliant literary novelist whose first novel won all the prizes and made her name among Gauloises-smoking MFA students holed up in Manhattan firetraps (back before MFA students became extinct in Manhattan). In a surprising turn, she then went on to create a series of murder mysteries centered on world-weary private investigator and Yorkshireman Jackson Brodie. Most of the murdered and missing are girls and women, and the books revolve around themes of family secrets, loss and resilience. But they are surprisingly not sad! Instead, they’re overflowing with page-turning plots, funny writing, wacky characters and snappy dialogue.

Stephen King called Case Histories the best mystery of the decade. Rachel Cusk called it funny and furious. If Stephen King and Rachel Cusk agree on something, you know it must be true!

IN THREE WORDS: Paging Clive Owen

WE GIVE IT: 5 out of 5 flashlights under the covers 🔦🔦🔦🔦🔦

FIND IT IN: Your local independent bookstore