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One Good Turn

The second book in the Jackson Brodie series from the bestselling author

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One Good Turn

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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Brought to you by Penguin.

The second Jackson Brodie novel (after Case Histories): literary crime from the prizewinning, number-one bestselling author of Big Sky and Transcription.

It is summer, it is the Edinburgh Festival. People queuing for a lunchtime show witness a road-rage incident - a near-homicidal attack which changes the lives of everyone involved. Jackson Brodie, ex-army, ex-police, ex-private detective, is also an innocent bystander - until he becomes a murder suspect.

As the body count mounts, each member of the teeming Dickensian cast's story contains a kernel of the next, like a set of nesting Russian dolls. They are all looking for love or money or redemption or escape: but what each actually discovers is their own true self.

'An absolute joy to read...the pleasure of One Good Turn lies in the ride, in Atkinson's wry, unvanquished characters, her swooping, savvy, sarcastic prose and authorial joie de vivre' Guardian

© Kate Atkinson 2006 (P) Penguin Audio 2015

 Cosy Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery Police Procedurals Private Investigators Women Sleuths
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Critic Reviews

An absolute joy to read...the pleasure of One Good Turn lies in the ride, in Atkinson's wry, unvanquished characters, her swooping, savvy, sarcastic prose and authorial joie de vivre.
Atkinson is frequently very funny...while the tone stays light, the plot continues to darken....manages to be that rarest of things - a good literary novel and a cracking holiday read
Atkinson, while having fun with the murder-mystery genre, slyly slips us a muted tragedy
One Good Turn is the most fun I've had with a novel this year (IAN RANKIN)
Thrillingly addictive...In One Good Turn Atkinson proves quite unique in her ability to fuse emotional drama and thriller...Imagine a Richard Curtis film scripted by Raymond Chandler, both a little enlivened by the collaboration...The mix is embodied by Brodie. Like all good detectives, he is a hero for men and women alike
Acerbic, eccentric, and maddeningly perverse, she is a writer I always read with my heart in my mouth, as if watching a trapeze artist perform a high-wire act between cockiness and courage. Here, as in "Case Histories," she is splendid at the stuff of people's lives... Her observations about Edinburgh are easily as funny as Alexander McCall Smith's, though less benign
Delivers everything a good book should have. It's a fantastic detective story and a wonderful piece of writing...has taken the crime genre to another level
This is a detective novel packed with more wit, insight and subtlety than an entire shelf-full of literary fiction. The plot is an incidental pleasure in a book crammed with quirky humour and cogent reflections on contemporary life. Highly recommended. *****
While Kate Atkinson could give a masterclass on creating believable and intriguing characters, she also knows more than a thing or two about plotting...another class act
One story nests within another, like the set of Russian dolls that Martin owns...Kate Atkinson has that priceless Ancient Mariner ability that keeps the reader turning the pages
All stars
Most relevant
BEST BOOK. Loved it so much I'm writing a review (first time after over 100 audio books).

It's the subtleties and dry humour that make this book so best give it your full attention.

A clever storyline and characters that make an impression. Gloria and Tatiana the most interesting but even Martin at times. The humour's dry, astute and subtle so give it your full attention.

Kate Atkinson must be a fascinating person to write characters like these. She's certainly very skilled.

Great narrator too.

Very clever & lots of dry subtle humour

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Complicated, contrived, drawn-out story that didn't maintain my interest. Some interesting characters and situations, but the narrator sounded like he was almost parodying some of the female characters at times (especially Julia).

The most alarming element was a casual mention of the main character's r*pe of his partner while she was sleeping, with no remorse expressed - not sure if the author is trying to be edgy and/or capture the 'authentic straight male voice' but it really put me off and I'm not keen to follow his further 'adventures'.

Confusing and jarring in parts

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The first book in this series and the characters, had me enthralled from the start. This one took a while to get going. The characters were a bit bland, as we got further into the web of connection to Jackson, it was entertaining and clever, I enjoyed it, but didn’t love it.

Good not great

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Loved the book, but found the reading annoying.
Female characters were trivialised with silly ‘old school’ voices.
Witty and enjoyable writing.

Wonderful story.

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I love the book - particularly the quirky characters whose stories cleverly interweave.
Narration good.

v much enjoyed

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