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  • Started Early, Took My Dog

  • Jackson Brodie 4
  • By: Kate Atkinson
  • Narrated by: Nicholas Bell
  • Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (47 ratings)

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Started Early, Took My Dog cover art

Started Early, Took My Dog

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Nicholas Bell
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Publisher's Summary

It's a day like any other for security chief Tracy Waterhouse, until she makes a purchase she hadn't bargained for. One moment of madness is all it takes for Tracy's humdrum world to be turned upside down, the tedium of everyday life replaced by fear and danger at every turn.

Witnesses to Tracy's Faustian exchange in the Merrion Centre in Leeds are Tilly, an elderly actress teetering on the brink of her own disaster, and Jackson Brodie who has returned to his home county in search of someone else's roots. All three characters learn that the past is never history and that no good deed goes unpunished.

Kate Atkinson dovetails and counterpoints her plots with Dickensian brilliance in a tale peopled with unlikely heroes and villains. Started Early, Took My Dog is freighted with wit, wisdom and a fierce moral intelligence. It confirms Kate Atkinson’s position as one of the great writers of our time.

©2010 Kate Atkinson (P)2011 Random House Audiobooks

What listeners say about Started Early, Took My Dog

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An Enjoyable Brodie Mystery

If you have read the other books in this series you will know what to expect - multiple story lines, with Jackson in the middle of them all, that somehow come together in the end. I hope there will be another book - as I have really enjoyed this series.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Awful narration

I was really enjoying the series until Nicholas Bell took over narration. He made the Jackson Brodie character seem weak and the story lack luster. I could hear mouth sounds throughout like his mouth was dry. Very disconcerting.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Pronunciation matters

This is a my favourite Kate Atkinson book. Generally the reading is good, but one thing ruins it for me - the reader's constant mispronunciation of Naimh, which is pronounced Neeve and not Name.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Problematic narration

Issues with mispronunciation (Niamh as NEE-ARM instead of 'Neave', and seemed to struggle with 'tiramisu' too!) were very distracting. Narrator also has a slightly wet voice, such that you can sometimes hear him swallowing his own saliva as he goes *shudder*. Shame, because his voice quality was otherwise good. Aussie accent not great but done passably. Fantastic story, of course!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointing narration

Story was a usual Jackson Brodie style, but a bit more convoluted than usual. However the narration really let things down - the mispronunciation of Niamh as “Nee-amh” nearly caused me to abandon the audiobook altogether.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Meg
  • 24-08-2019

Enjoyable Read.

Difficult to keep track of so many characters when listening. I'm intrigued by the interweaving of the plot. Narration great listening but better to leave longer pauses between 'scenes'. Too hard to follow the time differences. I wonder if the narrator should have been pronouncing Niamh as Nieve!!! Found that a bit disturbing. I intend reading more of this author.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I can't get past the awful pronunciation...

...of "Niamh". How on earth did it get through? it is limited to this book, the others Jackson Brodie stories haven't butchered the name so why this one?

I get that I am being petty.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A clever book

I thought it was very clever and I loved the setting. However I felt it was a bit cluttered as there were so many characters and little plots that eventually wove together but were disparate for most of the story.

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