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Big Sky

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Big Sky

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Jason Isaacs
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Jackson Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village in North Yorkshire, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son Nathan and ageing Labrador Dido, both at the discretion of his former partner Julia. It's a picturesque setting, but there's something darker lurking behind the scenes.

Jackson's current job, gathering proof of an unfaithful husband for his suspicious wife, seems straightforward, but a chance encounter with a desperate man on a crumbling cliff leads him into a sinister network-and back into the path of someone from his past. Old secrets and new lies intersect in this breathtaking new literary crime novel, both sharply funny and achingly sad, by one of the most dazzling and surprising writers at work today.

'The stand-out read of the summer. It's a masterclass in brilliant writing and whether you've read the earlier books in the series or not, you'll enjoy it.' Independent

'Like all good detectives, he is a hero for men and women alike.' The Times

'Laced with Atkinson's sharp, dry humour, and one of the joys of the Brodie novels has always been that they are so funny.' Observer

© Kate Atkinson 2019 (P) Penguin Audio 2019

 Cosy Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery Private Investigators Small Town & Rural Traditional Detectives Marriage Funny Fiction Suspense

Critic Reviews

The main plot...is dark and disturbing, but Atkinson brings wry comic touches to the story as she both playfully inhabits and deftly subverts the crime genre.
Big Sky is laced with Atkinson’s sharp, dry humour, and one of the joys of the Brodie novels has always been that they are so funny.
Atkinson weaves a magically absorbing world full of crossed paths and coincidences. Her sublime turn of phrase, impeccable gallows humour, beautifully drawn characters and complex plotting make for a fabulously entertaining and moving book. It can be enjoyed as either a standalone mystery or a very welcome reunion with an old friend.
A masterclass in what can be done with crime fiction, brilliantly using the form to expose what Atkinson bleakly describes as 'one more battle in the war against women'.
Atkinson’s new mystery hits all the right notes
Atkinson brings back her much-loved PI Jackson Brodie for a tightly plotted tale...the real mystery here is the human heart, with Atkinson serving up an acute and believable look at the state of Britain today.
I romped through it: as ever, the plotting is clever and complex, it’s full of the dry wit Atkinson is so good at and it’s an absorbing mystery.
There's a lot going on here, all of it rendered with Atkinson's vastly enjoyable nonchalance...Atkinson tells a great story, toys with expectations, deceives by omission, blows smoke and also writes like she's your favourite friend. Thank goodness the long Jackson Brodie hiatus is over.
Atkinson throws in many entertaining diversions, and a fair few juicy red herrings… an exuberant, entertaining read…Atkinson’s work is always playful, and there’s a brisk, jaunty tone to Big Sky and much dry observational comedy.
The brilliance of Big Sky lies in its broad range of memorable characters, each with their own intriguing backstory.....sharp humour,sparkling prose and acute psychological insight.
All stars
Most relevant
I really enjoyed this story but was very frustrated with the story plot. It jumped all over the place - at one stage I thought it had been recorded out of sequence.

This lack of appropriate plot sequences diminished what could have been a great story.

Instead of being great it was good.

A great story but needs a serious editor

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A huge fan of Atkinson, I found this book disappointing. Lacks character complexity; multi twists.

Atkinson's Achilles

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Highly recommend that you read the series in order to understand the complexities of Jackson Brodie’s life. If you have then you know what to expect - lots of disparate stories dovetailing into one grand finale with a cast of flawed, some awful but some some lovely characters. Hope there will be another instalment.

Another great story

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I am an Atkinson devotee so always a little bias in reviewing her work but I loved this most recent Jackson Brodie episode. It’s not so much him - but the entire cast of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters: their pasts, presents, hopes and failures. It was sad, funny, horrific in parts too. I wish I could write like Kate Atkinson!

Grim, funny, poignant

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The story was well paced and Jason Issacs is a very good narrator. He should redo the whole series. A good listen

Probably the best of the series (so far)

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