| One Good Turn | 
 enlarge | Author: Kate Atkinson
Publisher: Black Swan
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (33) Used (90) Collectible (3) from £0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  63 reviews
Sales Rank: 1442
Media: Paperback
Pages: 528
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 1.4
ISBN: 0552772445
EAN: 9780552772440
ASIN: 0552772445
Publication Date: December 16, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: In good condition. FAST DELIVERY. Stocked in the UK. Immediate dispatch and delivery is usually 2 - 3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Dolls within dolls January 14, 2007
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
This was my second Kate Atkinson book, having read and enjoyed 'Case Histories'. I also gave 'One Good Turn' four stars, my main problem with it being the first 1/3 of the book which was full of unnecessary details about the main characters' families and background. Once these details were over with, the book really picked up its pace, with many cynical quips to keep you entertained.
I paricularly loved the setting of the Edinburgh Festival.
There are several main characters, all larger than life! -
Retired detective Jackson Brodie, who also appeared in 'Case Histories', is unable to resist the lure of a good set of clues. His girl friend, Julia, is taking part in a play during the Edinburgh Festival. Martin is an RS teacher, turned author, with a shadow in his past. Richard Moat is a cringe-worthy had-it comedian who is staying in Martin's home for the Festival. Gloria Hatter is professionally dull, with a hidden spark, married to Graham, a crooked character who builds shoddy homes.
The ball starts rolling when a certain Terence Smith crashes his Honda into the back of a Peugeot driven by the mysterious Paul Bradley. And finally, Louise, investigating her first case, has the job of unraveling all the clues.
Confused?
Well you'll just have to read the book!!
 Fantastic sequel January 11, 2007
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
A fantastic murder mystery that keeps you guessing throughout. It follows the story of Jackson Brodie, an ex-policeman and ex-private investiagtor. He's in edinburgh for the festival and stumbles across a road rage incident and two murders, all closely connected. Various wonderful characters appear, each chapter written from a different viewpoint. It is a very intricate mystery with plot twists everywhere. Incredibly well written and a fantastic plot. I highly recommend reading case histories, the first book, as it will provide so much background to the characters. It's a bit of fun to read, not an average crime novel, it's more upbeat. I fully intend to read all of the author's other books she is fantastic. Highly recommended.
"Boxes within boxes, dolls within dolls, worlds within worlds..." December 12, 2006
34 out of 34 found this review helpful
In a book that is more fun than any other book I've read all year, Kate Atkinson creates a series of bizarre characters, all involved with murder--either planning it, committing it, or trying to avoid it. Many seemingly unrelated characters, involved in several seemingly unrelated plot lines, make their appearance in the first fifty pages. During the four days in which the novel takes place, however, these characters and plots start to overlap and eventually come together, until, at the end, the reader is smiling with pleasure at the brilliant plotting and ironic twists of fate--full of admiration for Atkinson's skill in bringing it all together with such panache.
In the main plot line, an Edinburgh automobile accident leaves "Paul Bradley," a mysterious man and innocent victim, at the mercy of a crazed, baseball bat-wielding Honda driver. A witness, Martin Canning, the timid writer of Nina Riley mystery stories, reacts instinctively to the impending carnage, hurling his laptop at the Honda driver and saving "Paul Bradley" from certain death. A second set of characters revolves around Graham Hatter, the wealthy developer of Hatter Homes, who is in trouble for bribery, money laundering, and fraud in the building of cheap tract houses.
Jackson Brodie, former cop and private investigator, in Edinburgh for a drama festival in which his girlfriend is involved, introduces a third plot line when he discovers a woman's body on the rocks beside the ocean. It washes out to sea, nearly drowning him when he tries to retrieve it. Sgt. Louise Monroe, who lives in one of the Hatter Homes and whose son is a petty thief, is assigned to investigate the report of the body Brodie claims to have seen. Additional threads involve a housecleaning company/escort service, a second-rate comedian who "comes to dinner," and events which took place in Russia some years ago.
Full family backgrounds and work histories are given for all the characters, and it is through these that the reader often detects some of their interconnections. Ironies abound, and as characters' dreams are revealed and their fantasies are explored, the reader comes to know them--until Atkinson reveals even more surprises and shows how much we have yet to learn. With action that comes fast and furious, devious plot twists, and deliciously dark humor, Atkinson crafts a novel that proves one of Jackson Brodie's maxims: "A coincidence is just an explanation waiting to happen." By the end of this novel, all the explanations have happened. Mary Whipple
One of my books of the year! November 21, 2006
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
Tremendously enjoyable read. I so didn't want it to end. Totally different to her early works, but no less fabulous for that. I intend to reread to savour it as I raced through it very rapidly the first time!
Style as good as ever, but maybe not as magical. October 24, 2006
12 out of 15 found this review helpful
Let me say up front that I am a great fan of Ms Atkinson, ever since Behind the Scenes. I loved Case Histories, but I'm not sure the genre suits her well enough to stand a second outing. I also found the sometimes graphic nature of descriptions of the violence a bit off-putting and not necessary.
My main complaint, perhaps related to this being a volume II so to speak, is that of forced and unbelievable coincidence. I won't go into them here as it would spoil the plot for others, but there are one or two truly massive coincidences of meeting of characters that make it seem just a bit too contrived. And for a plot-based book that is for me a big no-no.
All that said, this is still a huge treat to read. The narrative style, observation of people, ability to sum up a complete philosophy in a short phrase, and the teasing "throw-away" lines that make you know something important is yet to be revealed show once again that Ms Atkinson is at the very top of the league of British writers.
All I will say, though, is can we move away from murder mysteries next time, back perhaps to the crazy world of say Emotionally Wierd?
(Or is it me who is crazy??)
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