One Good [Page] Turn

Deciding I needed a bit of light relief from the historical biography genre, I picked up Kate Atkinson's One Good Turn. This is the second of (so far) three detective novels featuring the irascible private detective Jackson Brodie. This is the second in the series coming after Case Histories and before When will there be good news? Although the books follow each other, they do stand alone and having read them in the 'wrong' order I can confirm that it doesn't matter. I really like Atkinson style, she weaves several plot strands together cleverly, linking the fantastic individual characters she creates with very little description. In One Good Turn the action takes place over four days in Edinburgh, and Atkinson twists and turns her plot around the seemingly unconnected cast of character she creates in the opening chapters. She keeps the reader guessing until the end, or maybe its just me, and there is always a really good twist. I really enjoyed all three of the series, although I think probably this one least, my favourite is definitely When will there be good news? I just love the character Reggie. Having said that all three are well written, clever and funny detective novels, and Jackson Brodie is great creation. This book certainly lives up to its sub title 'A jolly murder mystery'.