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Case Histories
Case Histories (2004) is a detective novel by British author Kate Atkinson and is set in Cambridge, England. It introduces Jackson Brodie, a former police inspector and now private investigator. The plot revolves around three seemingly unconnected family tragedies – the disappearance of a three-year-old girl from a garden; the murder of a husband by his wife with an axe; and the apparently motiveless murder of a solicitor's daughter. Kate Atkinson has since published five additional novels in the Jackson Brodie series: One Good Turn (2006), When Will There Be Good News? (2008), Started Early, Took My Dog (2010), Big Sky (2019) and Death at the Sign of the Rook (2024).
'Case Histories' tells the story of Jackson Brodie, a private investigator who tries to find out the truth of three cases.
The first case presented is that of Olivia, who in 1970 disappeared while camping in her back garden overnight with her sister, Amelia. Now in their mid 40s, Amelia and sister Julia return to their father Victor's house to care for him in his final days and then organise his funeral. They inform the other surviving sister, Sylvia, who is now living as a nun named Sister Mary Luke in a convent. While clearing out his house, Julia discovers Blue Mouse, Olivia's stuffed mouse toy which she had with her the night she disappeared, in their father's study. This prompts them to contact Jackson.
The second case involves Theo, a morbidly obese, middle-aged man who is unable to move on from his beloved daughter Laura's seemingly random murder in 1994. She was 18 and had just began working as an assistant at Theo's law practice for the summer when a mysterious man in a yellow golfing vest came into the building and fatally stabbed her. In the present day, Theo compulsively walks to the building, now converted to a beauty therapy parlour, every year on the anniversary of the murder, and decides to enter it that day to get a closer look of the boardroom where Laura was murdered. Bringing so many difficult feelings to the forefront again, he decides to enlist the help of Jackson so he can finally have answers.
The third case revolves around Michelle, who in 1979 murdered her husband with an axe. Michelle, who may have already had psychopathic tendencies as a result of a dysfunctional upbringing, had also been under extreme stress, only being eighteen years old with a new baby, Tanya, whom she had no attachment to, while living without many basic utilities (such as hot water) in an isolated, rural area. That day, her husband had walked in and managed to wake Tanya just after she had finally gone to sleep, sending Michelle over the edge. Her sister, Shirley, visited a short while later and called the police, where the baby was taken into care and Michelle was taken to trial and declared insane. She later changed her legal name to Caroline and moved to a remote village where she currently works as headmistress for the local primary school, but otherwise has to live a secretive existence.
Jackson attends Victor's funeral with the sisters and reluctantly spends more time with them, and they all grow more convinced Victor might have been depraved enough to kill Olivia, as it's also revealed he sexually abused Sylvia and tried to sexually abuse Julia occasionally. Interviewing Binky Rain, the sisters' old, senile next-door neighbour also doesn't produce any results.
Meanwhile, Theo is convinced Laura's killer had originally targeted him and had killed Laura as the next alternative when he wasn't there. However, after combing through every one of Theo's ex-client folders (mostly women fleeing domestic abuse), Jackson is unable to find anyone whose partners may have held a grudge against him. At Theo's insistence, Jackson also arranges interviews with Laura's former friends from sixth form, where he learns from one previously close friend, Emma, that their science teacher, Stan Jessop, may have had an unprofessional relationship with Laura. Throughout this distressing time, Theo finds some paternal comfort in giving money to a young homeless woman, Lily-Rose, whom he walks past each day, and interacting with Jackson's eight-year-old daughter Marlee, who has to accompany him at work.
Shirley comes in to book an appointment with Jackson, as she wants to reconnect with her niece. Meanwhile, Jackson and Marlee visit Sylvia in the convent and present Blue Mouse to her, but she insists she still has no idea what happened that night. Jackson talks with Shirley, who recounts the day her brother-in-law was murdered, but Jackson is suspicious she's lying. Jackson's personal life begins to deteriorate as his work on the cases continues; he's attacked, seemingly at random, someone drains the brake fluid from his car, and he feels he is being followed. Coupled with his conflicts with his ex-wife, Jackson starts to become paranoid, and more convinced that the cases he's working on are connected.
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Case Histories
Case Histories (2004) is a detective novel by British author Kate Atkinson and is set in Cambridge, England. It introduces Jackson Brodie, a former police inspector and now private investigator. The plot revolves around three seemingly unconnected family tragedies – the disappearance of a three-year-old girl from a garden; the murder of a husband by his wife with an axe; and the apparently motiveless murder of a solicitor's daughter. Kate Atkinson has since published five additional novels in the Jackson Brodie series: One Good Turn (2006), When Will There Be Good News? (2008), Started Early, Took My Dog (2010), Big Sky (2019) and Death at the Sign of the Rook (2024).
'Case Histories' tells the story of Jackson Brodie, a private investigator who tries to find out the truth of three cases.
The first case presented is that of Olivia, who in 1970 disappeared while camping in her back garden overnight with her sister, Amelia. Now in their mid 40s, Amelia and sister Julia return to their father Victor's house to care for him in his final days and then organise his funeral. They inform the other surviving sister, Sylvia, who is now living as a nun named Sister Mary Luke in a convent. While clearing out his house, Julia discovers Blue Mouse, Olivia's stuffed mouse toy which she had with her the night she disappeared, in their father's study. This prompts them to contact Jackson.
The second case involves Theo, a morbidly obese, middle-aged man who is unable to move on from his beloved daughter Laura's seemingly random murder in 1994. She was 18 and had just began working as an assistant at Theo's law practice for the summer when a mysterious man in a yellow golfing vest came into the building and fatally stabbed her. In the present day, Theo compulsively walks to the building, now converted to a beauty therapy parlour, every year on the anniversary of the murder, and decides to enter it that day to get a closer look of the boardroom where Laura was murdered. Bringing so many difficult feelings to the forefront again, he decides to enlist the help of Jackson so he can finally have answers.
The third case revolves around Michelle, who in 1979 murdered her husband with an axe. Michelle, who may have already had psychopathic tendencies as a result of a dysfunctional upbringing, had also been under extreme stress, only being eighteen years old with a new baby, Tanya, whom she had no attachment to, while living without many basic utilities (such as hot water) in an isolated, rural area. That day, her husband had walked in and managed to wake Tanya just after she had finally gone to sleep, sending Michelle over the edge. Her sister, Shirley, visited a short while later and called the police, where the baby was taken into care and Michelle was taken to trial and declared insane. She later changed her legal name to Caroline and moved to a remote village where she currently works as headmistress for the local primary school, but otherwise has to live a secretive existence.
Jackson attends Victor's funeral with the sisters and reluctantly spends more time with them, and they all grow more convinced Victor might have been depraved enough to kill Olivia, as it's also revealed he sexually abused Sylvia and tried to sexually abuse Julia occasionally. Interviewing Binky Rain, the sisters' old, senile next-door neighbour also doesn't produce any results.
Meanwhile, Theo is convinced Laura's killer had originally targeted him and had killed Laura as the next alternative when he wasn't there. However, after combing through every one of Theo's ex-client folders (mostly women fleeing domestic abuse), Jackson is unable to find anyone whose partners may have held a grudge against him. At Theo's insistence, Jackson also arranges interviews with Laura's former friends from sixth form, where he learns from one previously close friend, Emma, that their science teacher, Stan Jessop, may have had an unprofessional relationship with Laura. Throughout this distressing time, Theo finds some paternal comfort in giving money to a young homeless woman, Lily-Rose, whom he walks past each day, and interacting with Jackson's eight-year-old daughter Marlee, who has to accompany him at work.
Shirley comes in to book an appointment with Jackson, as she wants to reconnect with her niece. Meanwhile, Jackson and Marlee visit Sylvia in the convent and present Blue Mouse to her, but she insists she still has no idea what happened that night. Jackson talks with Shirley, who recounts the day her brother-in-law was murdered, but Jackson is suspicious she's lying. Jackson's personal life begins to deteriorate as his work on the cases continues; he's attacked, seemingly at random, someone drains the brake fluid from his car, and he feels he is being followed. Coupled with his conflicts with his ex-wife, Jackson starts to become paranoid, and more convinced that the cases he's working on are connected.