When Will There Be Good News?: A Novel (original 2008; edition 2008)

My 3rd Kate Atkinson, and the 3rd in this series. Still quirky, still enjoyable, yet there's something that keeps me at the "just okay" stage as opposed to the "really like" stage with her books. But still, I keep reading. I really like the character of Jackson Brodie, and I still find myself wanting to know more about him. This book, like the previous two, kept him as one of several main characters, whereas I think I'd like to see him in the spotlight a bit more. Alas, I will probably keep going with the series in order to continue to see his character develop. ( )

This is the third Atkinson’s with Jackson Brodie as a character.

Jackson cannot resist a plea for help. He was once a policeman and then a private investigator. By mistake, he ends up in Edinburgh where he falls under the irresistible force that is Reggie Chase. By chance, Jackson's ex-colleague, maybe ex-something else, Louise Monroe is a detective who is keeping watch over two women who were terrorized in the past by different men, and there is always a chance that the men will return. One of those women is Joanna Hunter, mother, wife and doctor. Her husband is into some shady business and under the scrutiny of Detective Chief Inspector Monroe's department. Dr. Hunter's nanny is Reggie Chase, a 16-year-old high school dropout who loves the classics and would like to have the opportunity to go to college, but first she has to find a place to live. And if all that wasn't enough, Jackson Brodie was the policeman that found Joanna Chase when she was lost as a child decades earlier.

Whew! I find these coincidences amusing, and Atkinson uses humor in other ways. I found the story engaging but more terrifying, and thus more memorable, than “Case Histories.” I wonder about Atkinson's psyche because almost all of her characters have suffered the loss of someone in their life to illness, suicide, accident, murder or other crime. Kidnapping is a common theme.

As for Brodie, I fell in love and wanted to have to ask him for help someone. I know he would oblige. ( )

Kate Atkinson has a true talent for creating characters with detailed and tragic (BEYOND tragic) back stories, and she uses this talent to maximum effect here. As with the other Jackson Brodie novel I read (Case Histories), here Ms. Atkinson creates these characters and then sets loose a bevy of terrible events upon them. There isn't a lot of plot here, but there's enough chaotic events happening in a short span of time to make up for this. If you enjoyed Case Histories, you'll likely enjoy this, at least so far as good storytelling goes.

But I have to be honest; I don't know if I'll read another Jackson Brodie novel. The reason for this is because of the massive difference between this and Case Histories, namely the down note this novel ends on. Hopefully without spoiling, I found the answer to the titular question to be simple: in this book, never. That's probably overstating things, but I was left feeling particularly sad after having finished this, as if a grave injustice had been done to these characters who more than most deserve a little happiness in their lives. I felt like the end of Case Histories left a sense that yes, horrible things happen, but we get past them to find the other beautiful things in life that also happen. By contrast, the end of Will There Be Good News? can perhaps best be summed up by paraphrasing Ms. Atkinson: just because something horrible happens to you once does not mean it won't happen again. Because of this, I simply don't know if I'll have the stomach for any more Jackson Brodie. I may be wrong, because I really do appreciate the characters Ms. Atkinson fashions as being fully engaged and entirely relatable, but I just don't know if I can read another one of these knowing I might get another ending like this. ( )

this is what good writing is. everyone is so human and the writing is so believable that the novel draws you in seemingly effortlessly. it's like there's nothing at all- no artifice or awkwardness- standing between you and the story. i loved the strong female protagonists: reggie and dr. hunter are two of the most admirable, likable, interesting characters i've come across in some time. you totally wish you could hang out with them. (louise is pretty cool too.) i am really lucky to have found this writer and already starting on another of her books. (thanks for the recommendation, lisa!) ( )

Life advice: try not to be a character in a Kate Atkinson novel. You are statistically likely to die in a car crash. ( )