![]() Somehow, she manages to keep three distinct plot lines going at once without ever getting tangled up or diminishing the novel’s momentum. This has less to do with any effort on the author’s part to sell out than it does with her growing mastery over her material (Atkinson, 59, was a late bloomer, publishing her first novel when she was 43). ![]() Without sacrificing any of the playful complexity that marks her previous work, the new novel manages to be more accessible, more immediately engaging. ![]() You could almost say she’s too good for her own good. And that, more than anything, may explain why, despite a raft of critical praise and a shelf of awards (she won England’s Whitbread Prize for her very first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum), she has never been a regular on the best seller lists. In scope and purpose, they are much more daring than any run of the mill murder mystery or thriller. And the last four, including the just released Started Early, Took My Dog, have all featured Jackson Brodie, ex-cop turned private sleuth, And yet, none of these stories could easily be described as a whodunit or in any way action packed. ![]() There are indeed mysteries in her seven extraordinary novels. ![]()
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