This is the latest Jackson Brodie written by Kate Atkinson. Jackson is now in his sixties, but not necessarily wiser. He has been hired by siblings to find their deceased mother's missing painting. They suspect their mother's carer is the thief. Curiously at the local manor house in the nearby village another painting is missing. This time the suspect is the housekeeper. The Turner has been cut from its frame. Jackson suspects that the carer and the housekeeper are the same person. The plot gets more complex when a murder mystery is held one evening at the manor. Several actors perform numerous roles. It is all very confusing and seems a tangent that is unnecessary. Jackson ends up solving both thefts but decides not to pursue the thief.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this novel prior to publication.

Initially, this book was a little confusing with the large variety of characters. I also hadn't realized this was part of a series. However, I did enjoy the homage to Agatha Christie as I grew up on her books and the overall story was good. I am debating whether or not to start from the beginning of the series...I liked this book but did I like it enough to read more? The jury is still out on that.

#DeathattheSignoftheRook #NetGalley. Thanks to #DoubledayBooks for providing an advance reading copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I had not read Kate Atkinson before, and I found this book a bit of a puzzle. You meet a lot of characters who provide a lot of internal monologue and observations, and I kept reading only because many of the observations are laugh-aloud funny. It is not clear to me if the book is meant to be a parody of both the mystery genre and the BBC/PBS mystery shows, and most of all, of Downton Abbey, or if it is meant as a tribute to all of the above. It is sort of both, but the characters are why you'll keep reading, as I did.

Ancient, falling down house now partly a hotel, recordbreaking snowstorm, escaped convict, priest questioning God and his vocation, young police officer, former police officer now a private detective, Army Major with PTSD, and the possible thefts of two works of art...

Enjoy your romp though all of that.

Shockingly, it has been TWENTY years since I “met” Jackson Brodie, the private investigator (who has been one of my favorite characters in recurring mystery series) in Kate’s Atkinson’s Case Histories. So it shouldn’t have really shocked me when I began reading Kate Atkinson’s latest, Death At The Sign of the Rook, and found that Jackson Brodie is 70…but at first it did. (sigh)

It’s well written, as expected, with a rather intricate plot and plenty of mystery. It’s reminiscent in some ways of an Agatha Christie novel, with lots of speculation around the incident at a “murder mystery weekend” taking place at a sort of Downton Abbey-ish estate. There is a valuable painting that disappears, multiple characters who all end up at the grand house on the mystery weekend, lots of red herrings and plot twists, and plenty of humor.

If you are a fan of Kate Atkinson and/or Jackson Brodie, you will likely love it. If you are a fan of “lighter” mysteries (I hate the term “cozy mystery” almost as much as I hate “women’s fiction”), you will likely really enjoy it. It isn’t necessary to have read the previous JB books, but if you have you will be even more likely to love this book, given that you already “know” the protagonist. Recommended. Four stars.

Thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Kate Atkinson’s new Jackson Brodie book, Death at the The Sign of the Rook, comes out in September. I have just finished my Netgalley copy and here’s my initial take: if you love Kate Atkinson and Jackson Brodie, you’ll be glad you read this one. If you don’t know Atkinson or her character, Brodie, you should find it a fun read but it will be even more fun if you read all of the others, in order, first. 

The book is one part homage to Agatha Christie and one part tongue-in-cheek spoof of a latter-day Downton Abbey (at one point a murder mystery party at the manor house in the center of the plot is called “Downton with Daggers”). It involves a series of art thefts that are linked by a mysterious woman who is so ordinary she is invisible to most who deal with her but special to the few who see her. As with every Kate Atkinson novel - the plot takes some fun twists but it is the rich cast of characters that pulls the reader into the book and keeps her there.

Jackson Brodie former cop and now private detective, is in his sixties and feeling it which is why he’s purchased a giant behemoth of an SUV called a “Defender” and reaches out to Reggie Chase, formerly teenage orphan and knowledge sponge who, in When Will There Be Good News?, helped Brodie cover up a justified murder. Now, two books later,  Reggie wishes only to keep her nose clean, follow the rules, and ascend the promotional ladder in her career. She regards him as trouble. He regards her as family. They are always going to be connected and there is the sense that if Atkinson continues to write about Jackson Brodie, the focus may shift to this younger, female version of him. That would be just fine with me. Reggie, like Jackson Brodie, is a complex character with her own very specific response to the chaos of her early life. As he moves into the later years of life, he feels few regrets. She has not yet reached that stage and tension stems from her resistance and attraction to what Brodie represents to her. 

As she has in her other Brodie novels, each character - major and minor- is fully realized on the page and it often seems as though Atkinson prefers to spend time with them, having already given us all we need to know about Brodie himself. There is the mute pastor, the dowager of the manor, the veteran who has lost a leg and struggles with PTSD in the countryside with his sister and her wife and many more who are conveyed so crisply and so wonderfully in a sentence or two (“She could still touch her toes, something she found it necessary to demonstrate whenever possible. It gave her an inflated sense of self.” Kate Atkinson, Death at the The Sign of the Rook. ) that you need nothing more. I grinned all the way through and it felt as though Atkinson was grinning too. She wrote this book, I'm guessing, because she wasn't done with Brodie but also because she enjoyed the laugh and the chance to spoof the obsession with such cultural icons as Downton Abbey and Agatha Christie and, even, Jackson Brodie himself.

It has been such a long time since I read a Jackson Brodie book! I know now that I missed #5 and will have to back up to get that one.
Death at the Sign of the Rook brings Brodie back, but he's now 70. His current clients annoy him, and he certainly has questions about the painting they want him to find and about the brother and sister who want it recovered.

Maybe because it has been so long since the last Jackson Brodie, this one felt a bit different. Is it a pastiche or homage to Agatha Christie?

Anyway, I like the way Atkinson spends a great deal of time with other characters, but in this one, it feels like Jackson Brodie gets lost. He kind of bookends the plot, his search for the missing painting begins the story and he is there at the end, but not too often in between.

In the end, I found it a bit disappointing, especially since I'd looked forward to the return of Jackson Brodie. I liked it, but wanted to love it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for this copy.

This latest Jackson Brodie was a little bit silly but in all the best ways. Loved these characters and all the nonsense they got up to. Felt a bit like Knives Out but Kate Atkinson has more skill and charm.

I am not usually a mystery reader but I love Kate Atkinson so decided to give this a try. I wasn’t sure if I had picked up the wrong book because early on the novel didn’t seem to coincide with the description. The first 40% or so was devoted to introducing a full array of fascinating characters and scenarios. After that, everything started coming together very quickly. With humor and intrigue, the author places everyone in the same location, confined by the promised snow storm. Atkinson brings together the normal folk involved with the real crime with the actors hired to perform for the murder mystery event. For the remainder of the book characters enter and exit the rooms of the mansion with hilarity and cleverness. There were several times that I chuckled aloud. This novel is the newest in the Jackson Brodie series. It was my first. Atkinson gave just enough information to a first time reader to understand the background of the detective without boring readers familiar with the series. I will certainly go back through her collection and read more about this detective.

Kate Atkinson hasn't published a Jackson Brodie mystery since "Big Sky" in 2019 and I have missed Brodie's humanity and remarkable sense of humor.. "Death at the Sign of the Rook features several mysteries, murders, a cast of characters (some missing), and even actual murders committed during a Murder Mystery Weekend at snowbound Rook Hall.

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the eARC.
What a treat to have Jackson Brodie back (and Reggie), I was so excited to get the book and as with all Kate Atkinson's books, I loved it!
There's a new character, Ben, so likeable - I hope he'll be back next time,
There were many times I snorted out loud at the funny moments. The lovely inner musings of the characters, a deadly snowstorm, stolen artwork and a murder mystery weekend at a stately home all made this into an uputdownable read. And the writing, it's flawless, I didn't want the book to end and hope we won't have to wait so long for the next Jackson Brodie!

Overview of the Jackson Brodie Series

This is the sixth book in the Jackson Brodie series—a series that began in 2004 with Case Histories. I’ve been reading the series since the beginning. However, I tend to forget exactly what happened in previous books so personal details (like Jackson’s relationship status) are often foggy at the beginning of a new book.

Although the books were published regularly in the beginning (every two years up until 2010), there was a 9-year gap between the fourth and fifth books and a 4-year gap between this book and the previous one so a reader can be forgiven for forgetting details! (My son was born in 2004 so it was startling to realize that I’ve been reading this series for 19 years!)

However, this doesn’t matter as you can enjoy these books without knowing anything about the previous books. However, characters from previous books do make appearances in multiple books so it does help if you can recall what happened with them in the past. However, this is true of any ongoing series, and I have the same trouble with all of them.

Note: The Jackson Brodie books were turned into a BBC TV drama called Case Histories, but I have never watched the series so I won’t comment on it.

A Bit About the Author, Kate Atkinson

The author, Kate Atkinson, is a British author who while NOT writing Jackson Brodie books was writing other books, including one of my favorites—the inventive and fascinating Life After Life. (This book was also turned into a BBC TV series.)

Side Note: The premise of Life After Life was like catnip to me. It begins with a baby being born and dying before she can take her first breath. Then the same baby is born and lives to tell the tale. This happens repeatedly as Ursula Todd relives her life over and over. Since Ursula was born in 1910, she has the opportunity to make some big changes with all the knowledge she accumulates during her lives, such as whether a certain person named Adolf Hitler should be allowed to continue living. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?

Anyway, my point is that Kate Atkinson is a gifted and inventive writer who can be forgiven for taking a little detour from the Jackson Brodie series. I’ve read all her books at this point, and I’ll continue to read whatever she decides to write.

Brief Plot Synopsis of Death at the Sign of the Rook

Death at the Sign of the Rook begins with an invitation to a murder mystery weekend to take place at “one of England’s premier stately homes” called Burton Makepeace. We dip into the murder mystery (and briefly make Jackson Brodie’s acquaintance) before we are thrust back in time to what brought Jackson to Burton Makepeace in the first place.

This journey begins when Jackson (a private investigator) is asked to look into the disappearance of a painting from the home of an elderly widow on the morning of her death. The widow’s children suspect that their mother’s in-home carer took the painting. During Jackson’s investigation, he discovers that a similar theft took place several years at Burton Makepeace. Are the two thefts related? We’ll have to find out—and so begins the intricately plotted Death at the Sign of the Rook.

My Thoughts on Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson

As I mentioned previously, I was already a big fan of Kate Atkinson and her Jackson Brodie books. Nonetheless, it did take me some time to adjust to her writing style—which takes you fully inside the thoughts of whichever character Atkinson is inhabiting at the moment. We move from Jackson to a local vicar whose lost his faith to an Army major whose lost his leg to a dowager who might be losing her mind to a detective constable who might be losing the battle to get involved in Jackson’s case.

It can be a bit disorienting as you first begin to make these narrative “jumps” (though they are announced with a chapter titles). However, I suggest that readers should be patient and settle in for the ride as everything eventually ties together in the end. This is one of Atkinson’s great gifts as a writer—being able to fully inhabit different characters and present their internal monologues in a believable and engaging way. This approach to character development and furthering the plot is a fun and different way to tell a story, and Atkinson is a master of it.

At one point in the book, all the major characters are heading into a snowstorm, and it was extremely fun to have them converge and diverge until we get to the big ending during the murder mystery weekend, which unfolded in a delightfully messy and madcap way.

So, although Kate Atkinson’s style of storytelling may be confusing at first, I encourage readers to stick with it!

The book itself is quite comical. I would describe it more as a cozy mystery than anything else. However, the term “cozy mystery” tends to make me think of bad writing or plotting but this book was more sophisticated than most cozies I’ve read.

If you enjoy lighter hearted mysteries with excellent character development, intricate plotting, and a sense of humor, Death at the Sign of the Rook will be very satisfying. If this is your first Jackson Brodie book, I highly suggest going back and reading the rest.

Book Info

My thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for the Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) of this book. Death At the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson is scheduled to be published on September 3, 2024. If you’ve not read the previous books and you’re reading this before September 3, why not start reading Case Histories now and get caught up with this series?

This is the 6th book in the Jackson Brodie series. I missed the 5th one. The last one I read was "Started Early, Took my Dog." Overall, a fairly disappointing book. Jackson Brodie appears in about 10% of the book. The book ostensibly is about the theft of 2 paintings, but most of its time is spent on an aging aristocrat who is broke, her 2 profligate sons, the pastor who has no faith, a police woman named Reggie (who knows Brodie), an an Afghan war veteran who seems to be suffering from PTSD. The characters are not new or unique. The ending takes place during a "mystery hunt" in the aristocrats old mansion, during a snow storm. The resolution of the crime coincides with the escape of an especially murderous convict. I'm sure that Kate Atkinson/Jackson Brodie fans will like this more than me. I could have done with a lot less of the other characters and more of Brodie. I don't even know what the title stands for.

I always love a Kate Atkinson novel-her characters, her humor, her history, and her plots-they always engage and pull me in immediately. I did enjoy Death at the Sign of the Rook but it was rather slow moving for me and while I enjoyed the murder mystery aspect it also made it rather confusing when the actors were brought in-with both the actor's actual names and the characters they were playing-it all got pretty jumbled. But overall I absolutely recommend it.

The asides and side stories did make me think I'd gotten lost at times but, and it's a big but, the writing and story is thoroughly enjoyable. I love mysteries, I love Conan Doyle and Christie and Allingham and Sayers and Chesterton. No, this book isn't quite there, but it is very close. I found myself happily drifting into the imagery often evoked by the character development, quite content to let the story line evolve on its own, in its time.

When I first discovered Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie murder mysteries a few months ago, I quickly read all five of them in rapid succession, so I was delighted to get an ARC of her latest installment in the series, “Death at the Sign of the Rook.” In this novel, Jackson Brodie, a former police officer turned private detective, is hired by a brother and sister to find a missing painting that disappeared the day their elderly mother died. They strongly suspect that their mother’s carer, Melanie Hope, stole the painting as she had not been seen since that day. Jackson is suspicious as it wasn’t clear why they were reluctant to turn the matter over to the police.

Remembering a recent similar case involving the theft of a painting by a housekeeper at Burton Makepeace House, a stately manor home owned by the Marquess and Marchioness of Milton, Jackson gets in touch with DC Reggie Chase, a young police woman with whom he had worked on previous cases. A reluctant Reggie meets with Jackson to discuss the particulars of both cases, becoming embroiled with Jackson in the search for the missing paintings and the identify of the thief.

Filled with her usual cast of quirky characters and witty dialog, this novel is a welcome addition to the Jackson Brodie series. Although her characters tend to ramble a bit with their inner musings, which in other authors I usually find annoying, Kate Atkinson pulls this off with her beguiling prose style and her characters’ witty observations. Jackson Brodie is a delightful character who is cynical but charming with a dry sense of humor.

I highly recommend this entire series to those who like murder mysteries full of colorful characters, witty dialog and stylish prose.

The latest Jackson Brodie novel continues Kate Atkinson's commitment to testing the form of the crime novel. In this case, she wryly examines the decay of the British aristocracy via a playful meander through an old school whodunit-in-the-manor... two, in fact. A bit leisurely in the early going, with Atkinson's usual flawless ear for dialogue and loving eye for character... and then it takes off, with some legitimate thrills culminating in a wonderfully metafictional climax set within an ill-conceived immersive mystery theatrical performance. If the conceit picks easy targets -- moribund Agatha Christie knockoffs and the sins of inherited wealth and status -- it never fails to entertain or commit to the full dimensions of its characters. A fantastic book.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw there was a chance to read another Jackson Brodie, and it's good, so, so good. I could not have enjoyed reading a book more. I would recommend the Jackson Brodie series to readers of Tana French, Maggie O'Farrell, and Lauren Groff. If you like your detectives to be philosophical and the mysteries to be beside the point, Kate Atkinson is there to quietly devastate you.

This book is packed with elements ensured to entertain and amuse start to finish. The list of interesting characters is long though the story begins more sedately with the introduction of a possible art thief and some who may have quietly rumbled onto the scheme. Before you know it a rather dangerous bunch of characters are stranded together in the snowy scape of a handsome country house.. There are numerous events and characters that are robustly hilarious.

Really excellent entry in the series, with laugh-out-loud moments, and poignant ones. New character Ben is a good addition, I hope he returns.

Fair warning: I love Kate Atkinson's novels, and I especially love the Jackson Brodie books. I'm so excited that she's brought him back in Death at the Sign of the Rook.

Brodie, working as a private detective, is called upon to investigate the theft of a painting. Then he becomes aware of another art theft. Are the heists related?

Atkinson has written this as an homage to classic English mysteries, and you'll recognize the staples: an old mansion, a snowstorm, a vicar, an aging countess, a British Army major.

Brodie is the sleuth who must solve the case, aided by his sidekick, DC Reggie Chase.

Atkinson's writing is, as always, discursive in a delightful way. The reader's job is simply to enjoy the ride, trusting that she'll tie it all together in the end.

This book is shorter than other Brodie outings, and some of the action toward the end may feel over-the-top to some. But the book is full of hilarious lines (I read SO MANY out loud to my spouse), and readers aren't likely to mind if it's a little lighter than earlier efforts.

Highly recommended for Agatha Christie fans.

*I received an early review copy from NetGalley.