I had mixed feelings about Death at the Sign of the Rook, the sixth book by Kate Atkinson that has former detective Jackson Brodie at its center. On the one hand, Atkinson shows her trademark quality and range on a sentence level, with a number of laugh-out-loud lines or others that are emotionally or socially insightful and sharp. And the same holds true for her continued ability to create vividly drawn characters. On the other hand, the pacing of this one felt uneven, with the story bogging down in a number of places and overall the whole novel feeling overly long as well as peppered with too many characters. It’s still a worthy read, but a more choppy one than usual from Atkinson.

The story opens with Brodie present at a low-rent murder mystery night at Burton Makepeace House, one of those sprawling old estates that has had to find ways to monetize itself to pay the bills (thus the murder mystery night, the hotel in one wing, the selling off of artwork, and the opening of the house to the public on various days). We then jump back in time a few days to when Brodie gets his current case, which involves a brother and sister hiring him to track down a Renaissance painting they believe was stolen from their mother’s (Dorothy Padgett) home by her caregiver after her death. Brodie takes the case, though something seems off about the Padgett siblings and their desire to keep the police out of this. Along the way of solving the case, we meet and get lengthy scenes/backstories/POVs with several other central characters, including:
• Reggie Chase, a police detective with whom Brodie has worked before (see prior books) and gets roped in against her better judgement
• the local vicar Simon Cate, who long ago lost his own faith and only recently his voice
• Ben, a wounded veteran suffering from PTSD and depression after losing his leg in an IED explosion
• Lady Milton: the elderly “doyenne” (though she hates that term) of Burton Makepeace

Also tossed into the mix of characters are: Ben’s sister and her partner, Brodie’s girlfriend Tatiana, Dorothy Padgett’s neighbor Ben Gordon, Dorothy’s granddaughter Alice Smithson, Lady Milton’s maid/companion Sophie, an escaped convict, the acting troupe performing the murder mystery, and a handful of others.

The main characters are all strong. Lady Milton is a standout for humor (often unintended on her part), particularly in her interior commentary on the declining state of the estate, the class hierarchy, and the world in general, as when she notes “a whale of a chandelier” that still hangs in the once-ballroom-now-café because “there was no one left who knew how to get it down” or the way she can’t get used to calling the worker “staff” instead of “servants.” Simon, meanwhile, is a mix of gentle humor and tragedy, while Ben’s tragedy has the reader rooting for him to climb out of his depression and find some meaning and happiness again. There’s also a nice pattern of loss amongst the characters, though I won’t detail those to save from spoiling some revelations.

The plot itself is, as noted, uneven in terms of pacing and slow-going in places. One doesn’t really come to Brodie Jackson novels for the mysteries themselves, but here the pace makes the mystery even less compelling or engaging, and the thicket of characters doesn’t help matters. A bit of streamlining in both areas would have helped I think. The book does end strongly, particularly picking up when we return to the present time of the murder mystery performance. And as noted above, Atkinson threads a lot of welcome humor throughout, which also becomes more prevalent in that latter section. And she’s obviously having a good amount of fun playing with the classic cozy mystery tropes, the Agatha Christie references, and a few others (she throws in an overt Holmes reference for instance, and a less overt but certainly clear nod for those of a certain age to Columbo). I did find myself wishing she had continued with what had seemed early on an important (or at least prominent) element: Brodie’s returning more and more often to his own past. They seemed to just fade away partway through.

Overall, as I stated in the intro, Death at the Sign of the Rook is certainly worth reading for its sharp characterization, its playful references and warm humor, and its nicely honed sentence-level writing, though it has its flaws with regard to pace and length and a somewhat jumbled cast of characters.

3.5

Kate Atkinson's newest book, Death at the Sign of the Rook, is an engaging and rather complicated mystery full of multiple and diverse characters, and it incorporates more than the usual number of plot twists. The setting in Yorkshire at Rook Hall in Burton Makepeace is the scene of a murder mystery weekend, although not everyone expected arrives due to a savage snowstorm. Nonetheless, there are quixotic characters: Simon, a recently voiceless vicar; Ben, a handsome and intriguing war veteran; Lady Milton; a brother and sister who are after their inheritance; Reggie, a detective constable; and then Jackson Brodie, the star of the book, a detective who is fascinated by the faked and real murders that are featured in the book. In the meantime, fairly valuable paintings by the masters are stolen from the manor house, and ascertaining who has taken these is not easy to determine.

This book is truly a classic, and Atkinson's writing enhances and enriches the interactions and relationships of the characters, as well as providing humor and examining impractical and recondite relationships.

Thank you to Doubleday and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this fascinating mystery.

situational-humor, verbal-humor, witty, snow-season, England, not-TTS-enabled, inheritance, art-theft, ex-cop, law-enforcement, mysteries, crime-fiction, actors, closed-circle-mystery, hilarious, private Investigator****

This is a fun book with characters who truly are and major elements of a farce.
Private Investigator Jackson Brodie is brought in to find a stolen painting by a pair of siblings who are the financially embarrassed owners trying to turn The Old Pile (Rook Hall) into a hotel to raise funds before the roof falls in. Meanwhile his former offsider DC Reggie Chase has been looking into an earlier theft of another painting.
This is where Jackson and Reggie appear to be participating in a murder mystery dinner party. Of course, there is a major snowstorm that traps the audience, the players, the dismayed audience, and the family, with the addition of a depressed war veteran, a despondent vicar, and an escaped prisoner.
Be prepared to laugh yourself silly and forget about any politics.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Doubleday Books | Doubleday via NetGalley. Thank you (even if it is not TTS enabled)
Pub Date Sep 03 2024

Jackson Brody is still at it. He has a fairly low key investigation business these days. Occasionally, a mundane case like finding a stolen painting and missing care giver, gets interesting. Especially with Jackson who never trusts his clients and lets his pursuit of the truth lead him beyond the parameters of his client's requests.

I know I'm in the vast minority here but I could NOT get into this one... To be fair, I haven't read all the other novels, and the couple I have read were a while ago. It's possible that I just don't have the threads of Jackson Brodie that were necessary to really enjoy this one, but I found the writing surprisingly difficult to engage with and just kept getting irritated. It felt like Monty Python meets Agatha Christie, but not in a good way. There was more comedy of errors than I expected, and for some reason it didn't resonate with me. I have seen a number of reviewers who read this as a standalone and enjoyed it - enough to go back to the full series - but I just couldn't find my way into the story... This one wasn't for me.

So, full disclosure: I love the work of Kate Atkinson –– and this, the sixth in her Jackson Brodie mysteries caused me to squeak in excitement when I first glimpsed it. The BBC series is good, but the books are terrific.

Jackson Brodie is a detective, of sorts, a man whom we have watched grow from a 30-something former cop just making his way into detection over the course of five books. He's on "the wrong side of sixty" now, but "he wasn't over the hill yet." His adventures over the decades have spanned the ridiculous and the heroic, with a focus, often, on tragically lost and missing women; but in this episode, Atkinson treats us to a comic, classic murder-mystery romp.

The action takes place in Yorkshire over a handful of days –– a weekend?-- and reunites Jackson with the young woman who rescued him years ago. DC Reggie Chase is now studying to be a sergeant in the police force, and it's with greatest reluctance that she takes Jackson's call about a missing masterpiece. He has put her on the side of justice, if not always on the side of the law.

It appears that an art thief has made off with a Turner from an aging stately home in the area. And other heists in match the thief's MO. Reggie tries to resist, but she and Jackson team up to investigate.

Atkinson sends in her own version of stock figures from a vintage country-house locked-room murder mystery: a hockey-stick wielding local termagant, the dotty vicar (this one having lost his faith and his voice), the heroic, depressed war-vet (a possible nod to fellow fictional sleuth Cormoran Strike?), aging gun-toting Lady Milton and her variously flawed aristocratic children ("Flora and Fauna, Arabella's twins, had also been off-loaded on them for half-term. The entire family—apart from Arabella, thank God—was now squashed into the small part of the house that contained their private quarters. It was ridiculous, like an awful game of Sardines...").

In an effort to make ends at the ancestral home meet, the Miltons host a Murder Mystery Weekend at Rook Hall. "The house had so many sofas that you had to question whether they were quietly breeding when no one was looking."

Cue a blinding snowstorm, add an escaped convict and a skeleton acting crew, and Reggie and Jackson have their hands (and minds) full discovering the villain(s).

Atkinson's ability to control third-person omniscient narration is a delight, especially in this tightly-knit narrative that shows events unfolding from several of the characters' viewpoint. It's like the board-game Clue (known outside the US as "Cluedo"), but with gracefully drawn, multi-dimensional characters who work their way to the inevitable denouement in the Library over brandy.

As the genre requires, murder is uncovered, thefts recovered, lovers united, order restored, but as far as I'm concerned, it's all over too soon. I can but hope we'll have Jackson and Reggie back center stage soon.

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the eARC in exchange for my unfettered opinion.

Death at the Sign of the Rook
by Kate Atkinson
Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
The stage is set. Marooned overnight by a snowstorm in a grand country house are a cast of characters and a setting that even Agatha Christie might recognize – a vicar, an Army major, a Dowager, a sleuth and his sidekick - except that the sleuth is Jackson Brodie, and the ‘sidekick’ is DC Reggie Chase.
I’m torn on this one, and it gets an extra half star for the humor alone. There are lots of laugh-out-loud moments to be found here. However, I just could not get into this. It dragged on and on, and there was zero action for much of the book. There were so many characters that it was difficult to keep them straight. I’m sure that if you’re into meandering cozy mysteries, you’ll enjoy this, but I’m afraid it just wasn’t for me.

The long awaited fifth Jackson Brodie book is terrific. PI Jackson is still cantankerous, sarcastic and a talented detective….even though he’s no longer a police officer. Sadly, Jackson isn’t in the best financial shape. He’s living with Tatiana, a Russian emigre who studies poisonous plants and connected Jackson with lucrative cases from Oligarchs and the Russian mob. Post Covid, those clients have dried up and Jackson is reduced to taking less lucrative and interesting cases like investigating a spouse in a divorce proceeding or trying to retrieve “stolen art” for the obnoxious and greedy adult children of a recently deceased older lady. In fact, there are a number of pieces of stole art in this book and, like many Atkinson stories, they all intersect. Characters from previous books appear here as well. Regina Chase is now a Detective Constable and Louise (perhaps the loves of each others lives) in not in a very high position with the Metropolitan Police. The book also has a family of down on their luck aristocrats and their crumbling estate, a troupe of actors playing roles at a murder mystery weekend, a mute vicar and an escaped serial killer on the loose. Scary, funny and engrossing….Jackson Brodie’s wild ride continues.

Kate Atkinson brings back Jackson Brodie for the final mystery in the series of six. This one is a comedy of errors in what feels more like a prelude to a movie script. Set in a deteriorating British mansion where murder mystery weekends pay the expenses, all seems cozy until a sudden snowstorm hits. Guests, actors, a thief and The Family enter and exit. There is of course a staged murder and actual ones. Guns (real and fake) along with a fire poker liven up the scenario. I envisioned doors opening and closing on a revolving stage.
If you are a fan of British mysteries with a dollop of humor, this book is for you.

Reviewed from an ARC. (Thank you.)

Not to be taken as a serious who-done-it, this novel instead delivers lots of funny moments, great one-liners, and way too many characters, none of which are memorable. The plot does drag and, by the end, I was still somewhat confused by who did what to whom and why some characters were even in the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for the ARC to read and review.

Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson is the sixth Jackson Brodie story. This time Jackson is involved in a case of art theft and murder. Set in a country house hotel during a snowstorm, with aristocratic Lady Milton and her family hosting a Murder Mystery weekend mayhem ensues. With the help of DC Reggie Chase, Jackson manages to solve the murder and art thefts while the reader is treated to some of the best characters around. I had not read any of the previous books, but will definitely be doing so now.

I was delighted to be selected to read an advance copy of Kate Atkinson's latest Jackson Brodie novel.

Yes, this book very much feels like a Christie novel. Yes, there are lots of hilarious moments. Yes, I thought I knew "who did it" about midway (I was delightfully wrong!) and Yes, it is a page turner.

But.... I wanted more Jackson. So much more Jackson! (Although the ending has some curious threads that are making me wonder!!)

The cast of characters are really brilliant. (I loved many, and loved to dislike some as well!) The setting was equally genius. If you are a Brodie fan, you will likely want more Brodie! But come for the hopes of Brodie, stay for Atkinson's brilliant writing!

This novel could be a stand alone, but really you'll thank me if you go back and read the Jackson Brodie series (starting with Case Histories) ... Jackson is so lovable with all his insights and quirks!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Doubleday Books | Doubleday for this advanced digital copy. Death at the Sign of the Rook will be published September 3, 2024.

Kate Atkinson is always a treat to read. I don't know how to describe this book except to say it is witty, hilarious, over-the-top mystery with a strange cast of characters: vicar, servants, poor aristocrats, wounded Major etc. It could be described as a farce with "Knives Out" vibes and a big nod to Agatha Christie et al set in a run-down mansion with a snowstorm stranding the characters. Many threads to the plot but then there is Jackson Brodie to sort it all out. A fun romp.

My first impression is that Kate Atkinson must have enjoyed herself when writing this book. In this novel, she has created unique, over the top and idiosyncratic characters who often, in my opinion, require some suspension of disbelief on the reader’s part. The plot here includes a number of tropes, including the murder mystery weekend, the small English village, the snowstorm that isolates characters, stolen art, family relationships and more.

Readers who have read other Jackson Brodie mysteries will be delighted to meet up with him, his family and his police contacts once again. This time, he has been hired to look into stolen art but stumbles on much more.

There were times when I felt that Atkinson was going for the comic, even farcical, effect. That said, some of her portraits of the characters, were quite moving. While many jokes were made, often by Ben, about his war experiences, he is very sympathetically presented. Ben reminded me of Strike in the JK Rowling series. Their situations are similar in dealing with the loss of a limb. He is just one among a group that includes a vicar, actors, down on their heels aristocrats and others.

This book just gallops along. Events and situations pile up on one another. Atkins fans will rejoice!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for this title. All opinions are my own.

Private investigator Jackson Brodie has been hired by a brother and sister to find a painting stolen from the home of their recently deceased mother.
DC Reggie Chase has been looking into an earlier theft of an another painting. Could the thefts be related? A murder mystery weekend has been planned at Rook Hall, a wing of the once majestic now a bit downtrodden Burton Makepeace. When a snowstorm ensues, these two detectives as well as others including the local vicar, a former major who has lost his leg in battle, an acting troupe and other invited and uninvited guests converge for a rollicking evening of mystery and crime.

This story is fast paced, entertaining, humorous, a bit farcical. I really enjoy Atkinson’s sharp wit and amusing characters. There are a few different storylines that come together and a large cast of players. This is a cozy mystery joyride with kind of a Knives Out vibe to it.

The sixth of the Jackson Brodie series, it is the second I have read. It works well as a standalone.

If you read mysteries for, well, the mysteries themselves, "Death at the Sign of the Rook" is not for you. The case to be solved, concerning stolen art, is just an excuse for Kate Atkinson to indulge in witty, erudite prose and bring to life an unlikely cast of characters.

Personally I don't typically read mysteries for the plot. I'll read one only if the setting is appealing, the characters are intriguing, or I'm a fan of the writer. This met all three criteria for me. Admittedly, at times the number of primary and secondary characters was a bit overwhelming; I'd have to remind myself who certain ones were and what they had to do with the mystery at hand, which was periodically buried beneath subplots. And several characters were so lachrymose, I occasionally wondered if this was the escapism I'd been looking for. But I love Atkinson's writing so much, I not only raced through the book but already bought one of the earlier titles in the series.

Thank you, Doubleday Books and NetGalley, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. If you read mysteries for, well, the mysteries themselves, "Death at the Sign of the Rook" is not for you. The case to be solved, concerning stolen art, is just an excuse for Kate Atkinson to indulge in witty, erudite prose and bring to life an unlikely cast of characters.

Personally I don't typically read mysteries for the plot. I'll read one only if the setting is appealing, the characters are intriguing, or I'm a fan of the writer. This met all three criteria for me. Admittedly, at times the number of primary and secondary characters was a bit overwhelming; I'd have to remind myself who certain ones were and what they had to do with the mystery at hand, which was periodically buried beneath subplots. And several characters were so lachrymose, I occasionally wondered if this was the escapism I'd been looking for. But I love Atkinson's writing so much, I not only raced through the book but already bought one of the earlier titles in the series.

Thank you, Doubleday Books and NetGalley, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4, just because it made me laugh out loud about 25 times. This was my first book by the author and I had no idea what to expect, and it took me a long while to get into the book's rhythm. It felt like the author had to note a character's every thought, whim or idea in print, and believe me, there were a lot of characters. The author is clever, whimsical with phrasing, but for me, things felt a little over-written. I would have liked the book/story better with a touch of editing.

I think the cover is striking.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

I love Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie mysteries, especially the supporting cast that seems to grow with each new book in the series. In Death at the Sign of the Rook, we once again meet Reggie Chase, and there's a brief appearance by DC Louise Monroe. The supporting cast is as much fun as Brodie, and a highlight of each of these stories. While I didn't think this was one of Ms. Atkinson's best, it was still great fun and I appreciate the chance to read the eARC.

This was my first Jackson Brodie book, and now that I've read this one, I want to go back and read the previous books in the series. Jackson is a bored, out of work detective who lives in a sleepy English town. He takes a job investigating some art theft and fraud, and it leads to a series of very unfortunate events, including attendance at a Murder Mystery Weekend at an old mansion. This is perfect for readers who love Agatha Christie-type golden age mysteries.

Death at the Sign of the Rook was my first Brodie Jackson mystery by Kate Atkinson and I really enjoyed it! Atkinson's writing is a delight - she's witty and clever, and her characters are wonderful. She definitely pays homage to Agatha Christie with this one, but that makes for a fun story. It has everything you could want for a British murder mystery - a snowed-in remote mansion, a group of strangers coming together (for a murder mystery night), hard-luck aristocrats and their servants, a few local vicars thrown in, a detective and a cop, and lots of amusement as the story unfolds. I recommend!