Not only my first ever Jackson Brodie but my first ever Kate Atkinson – Big Sky.
Big Sky – the blurb
Jackson Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village in North Yorkshire, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son Nathan and aging 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 novel, both sharply funny and achingly sad, by one of the most dazzling and surprising writers at work today.
I know that place
The book had me at Peasholm Park – Scarborough, the location of many a happy family holiday for me. It had a strong sense of setting throughout and I recognised many a reference. Strange to be talking setting in a crime novel but then this isn’t your standard crime novel where the first murder takes place within the first few pages and the body count by Chapter 10 is more than people usually waiting in a Starbucks queue. Instead we are given chance to get to know Brodie (or reintroduce ourselves to him, it is book 5 in the series), a man who is a good father, actually refuses alcohol and got out of the force before it got him. There is also chance for the characters, of which there are many, to bed down. I really liked Crystal, her step son and coppers Reggie and Ronnie. Atkinson led you through the myriad of characters and back story really well and I didn’t feel like a fish out of water despite me being a newbie to Brodie. There was humour, really well handled teenage angst and also some pretty harrowing stuff, all expertly woven together. I really enjoyed it and will be reading more Brodie and Atkinson. I do however have one question, why is it called Big Sky?
