July 2021 Group Read: Case Histories, by Kate Atkinson

[Nancy, Co-Moderator]

Please join Paul in this discussion about Case Histories by Kate Atkinson; there is also a spoiler thread for this book as well. Have fun, and happy reading!

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I am almost done with this one and should wrap it up in the next few days. I really enjoyed the time Atkinson took to develop her characters - it added so much poignancy to the first few chapters.

[Kelly]

I concur 😁

[Bill]

I found this book series, once again, like the Midsomer books, when I watched the Jackson Brodie TV series. It was definitely a cut above the normal crime series. And when I discovered the books, I could see why. The two Jackson Brodie books are intelligently presented, develop great characters and mysteries that slowly tie together, are a joy to read. I've also read two of Atkinson's standalone books and they might even be better. I hope everyone that reads the book enjoys it as much as I did. Thanks to Paul for nominating the book and for moderating.

[Kelly]

I really enjoyed this book. I am glad I have discovered a great author to read now.
My number one enjoyment of a book is feeling connected to the characters and in this book a felt I knew them all well. A couple of the characters were annoying such as Amelia but in the end she found her place in the world thanks to Jackson, well thanks to Binky.
I am excited to watch the series now with Jason Isaac. I love a good British show. I have seen this series before but never watched it. 💝.

[Kelly]

Thanks Bill for the heads up on the TV series.
This is my first “book club” and already have received great information.
Cheers. Off to read series 2 of Jackson Brodie. 😀😀😀

[Bill]

Kelly wrote: "Thanks Bill for the heads up on the TV series.
This is my first “book club” and already have received great information.
Cheers. Off to read series 2 of Jackson Brodie. 😀😀😀"

Enjoy.

[Bill]

Kelly wrote: "I really enjoyed this book. I am glad I have discovered a great author to read now.
My number one enjoyment of a book is feeling connected to the characters and in this book a felt I knew them al..."

And it is a great show.

[Aditya]

Enjoyed it, Atkinson did not really care about the mystery and instead focused on the characters. I enjoyed reading about them so it worked for me. Their troubles and concerns seemed real and I loved her wry humor.

My Review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[MissLemon]

So pleased to be able to join in with a read at the same time as the group for the first time since last June!

I've already finished ( I was probably over excited !) so looking forward to discussion on the spoiler thread.

But really enjoyed this one, thank you Paul for nominating and giving me an excuse to read it.

[MissLemon]

Aditya wrote: "Enjoyed it, Atkinson did not really care about the mystery and instead focused on the characters. I enjoyed reading about them so it worked for me. Their troubles and concerned seemed real and I lo..."

I enjoyed your review Aditya, the humour bumped it to a 4 for me. It could easily have been higher but for the loose ends and a few other problems. (I like everything to be resolved in a book but appreciate that real life isn't like that)

[Aditya]

MissLemon wrote: "I enjoyed your review Aditya, the humour bumped it to a 4 for me. It could easily have been higher but for the loose ends and a few other problems..."

Thanks MissLemon. I enjoyed the humor too.

[Bill]

Aditya wrote: "Enjoyed it, Atkinson did not really care about the mystery and instead focused on the characters. I enjoyed reading about them so it worked for me. Their troubles and concerns seemed real and I lov..."

Interesting review, Aditya. It's been awhile since I read it but I have read the next book and two of her standalones. I like her meandering style, how she links things together, her characters. Not necessarily likable but still interesting and quirky.

[Icewineanne]

Read this with my local book club 6 mths ago. The majority of our members enjoyed it. I’ve also read her regular fiction, love her writing, so I knew that this would be a good one.
I have the 2nd book in queue (One Good Turn), hoping to get to it before the Fall.

[Suzy]

I'm about 1/3 through the audio of this and really liking it! I loved Atkinson's novels Life After Life and A God in Ruins and many of the qualities I liked in those books are present in this one. I love her writing and character development. I had to chuckle when the "new mother" in case three (can't remember her name) said that she wanted to go back to when she was born and start over. That is very much the premise of Life After Life!

[Suzy]

Bill wrote: "I found this book series, once again, like the Midsomer books, when I watched the Jackson Brodie TV series. It was definitely a cut above the normal crime series. And when I discovered the books, I..."

I see there are now 5 Jackson Brodie books! I'll certainly move on to book two after this one.

[Bill]

Suzy wrote: "Bill wrote: "I found this book series, once again, like the Midsomer books, when I watched the Jackson Brodie TV series. It was definitely a cut above the normal crime series. And when I discovered..."

I just read my review. I enjoyed it.. lol

[Aditya]

Bill wrote: "Interesting review, Aditya. It's been awhile since I read it but I have read the next book and two of her standalones. I like her meandering style..."

Thanks Bill. I think she maintained that balance between being quirky and indulgent well. I enjoyed the musings of most of her characters.

[Tone]

Suzy wrote: "Bill wrote: "I found this book series, once again, like the Midsomer books, when I watched the Jackson Brodie TV series. It was definitely a cut above the normal crime series. And when I discovered..."

All the five Jackson Brodie books are well worth reading, but in my opinion this first one is the best.

[Icewineanne]

Tone wrote: "Suzy wrote: "Bill wrote: "I found this book series, once again, like the Midsomer books, when I watched the Jackson Brodie TV series. It was definitely a cut above the normal crime series. And when..."

Heard that the latest book, Big Sky is one of the best

[Tone]

Icewineanne wrote: "Tone wrote: "Suzy wrote: "Bill wrote: "I found this book series, once again, like the Midsomer books, when I watched the Jackson Brodie TV series. It was definitely a cut above the normal crime ser..."

Icewineanne, I suppose that's a matter of taste. The only way to find out is by reading them all!

[fleurette]

Last week I read the first chapter of this book and liked it, but haven't read any more since. I really want to finish this book, but I'm in a weird mood right now. We'll see what comes out of this, I still have some time until the end of the month.

[PattyMacDotComma]

I am an unashamed Atkinson fan. I think the first book of hers I read was this one and then the following Jackson Brodies. When her last Brodie book came out, I read the previous ones to bring myself up to speed, and I discovered I enjoyed them just as much as the first time.

She's such a good and entertaining writer that what strikes me most is the people, the mood, the setting, the scenes, and the conversations and interactions of the characters rather than the whodunnit plot. I don't think I usually remembered who the guilty party was.

Link to my review of Case Histories">

[Chris]

I gave it 2 stars after I read it a while ago. It was okay but nothing that really grabbed me.

And I had never heard of a TV series based on these books despite it having been on the BBC. There must have been more interesting things on in 2011. :)

[Shanequa]

Yeah, this book wasn't grabbing my attention either. Though I am a little preoccupied with moving house, so I'll probably give it another go towards the end of the month when I'm settled and can concentrate on it a bit more.

The whodunit aspect of books is usually my favorite part. From what I have managed to read Atkinson definitely knows how to write characters and I don't necessarily mind a good chunk of character development but I personally prefer the mystery to have a bit more focus.

[Suzy]

I'm glad this was a pick for a group read as I had owned this in audio for quite a while - just the nudge I needed. I really liked this in spite of (or maybe because of) the meandering style. I was surprised that I tracked with everything even as an audiobook. As has been mentioned, the ending felt a little like things got tied together (or not!) because Atkinson needed to finish the book, but this didn't bother me since I was so engaged with all the characters and how things were turning out for them. My only complaint was the Amelia and Julia carping with each other dragged on and on, although my solution was to put the recording on a faster speed while that was going on. :) I look forward to the other entries in this series.

Thanks Aditya and Patty for posting your reviews.

I watched the tv show for this book several years ago and was not impressed. I plan to re-watch tonight to see what I think after having read the book. (The whole series has just been made available on the Peacock channel here in the States.)

[Laura]

I will start this book tonight. I have mixed feelings about this author. On the one hand I really like the stories and how she develops character, on the other hand I get incredibly bored sometimes. Let's see where this one leads.

[fleurette]

To be honest I'm struggling with this book. I've started it at the beginning of the month and still didn't finish. I will read it by the end of the month, it's not that bad to dnf it, but I don't think it's a book for me.

[Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while)]

I love this book, and have read it multiple times, each time loving it a little more. ❤📚 Will post the link to my review on the spoiler thread.

[Laura]

I finished the book, great story! I expected a slow maybe boring story going in. Maybe that is why the slower pace was not a bad thing this time. I somehow really liked the mismatch of the semi likable characters too. I may have to go look for the other books i this series.

[Lainey]

Not writing much about this but for me there was too much going on. I find with Kate Atkinsons writing her paragraphs suddenly change the setting and timing, which normally happened in chapters and I suddenly become aware I’m not following the story because it’s changed to the past and setting.

There are a lot of characters and a lot flitting from past to present. But someone else might like this kind of writing. I just prefer books with less characters because I tend to forget what’s going on every time I pick the book up when things are happening quickly. Give it a try you might like it!!