Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson

It’s been awhile since I picked up a book by Kate Atkinson, although in the past when I did read her, I enjoyed her work. Atkinson is also well known for her detective Jackson Brodie and the series she’s written for him, of which Death at the Sign of the Rook is the sixth. This is my first Jackson Brodie book, but I now understand the excitement around these releases because I loved this novel. The tempo, the characters, their snarky comments (of which Atkinson excels), it was all a treat to take in. And for my fellow North American readers, if you’re wondering what a Rook is, it’s a type of black bird that’s commonly found in the UK. It looks sort of like a crow but with a white beak. There – you learned something new.

Plot Summary

The book begins on a cold snowy night in a great big manor named Burton Makepeace during a murder mystery-themed weekend. The paying guests seem less than enthused, mainly because they are now stuck there due to the blizzard raging around them, and the actors are struggling to perform the mystery play that barely makes sense. Jackson Brodie is in attendance, but it’s not clear why. After only two pages of this, the reader is whisked back to the week before when Brodie is meeting his new clients as a private detective. An adult brother and sister have just lost their mother, and noticed that a painting in her room has been taken by her caregiver who has disappeared since the elderly women’s death. They want that painting back, and have hired Brodie to find it. From there, we meet a few other characters in their first-person narratives; Reggie is a young female police officer who seems to resent Brodie, but always finds herself in need of his help during tough cases. Lady Milton is the matriarch of the decrepit Burton Makepeace. One of the last of the aristocracy, she refuses to answer the doorbell in her own home, resents her entire family, and is in denial of how far her social status has fallen. Simon Cate is the local vicar who has strangely lost his voice, and his faith. He dodders around talking to animals and wondering where his life went wrong. Ben is a veteran of the Afghanistan War; having lost his leg there, he now lives on a small dairy farm with his sister Fran, struggling with depression. Each of these characters wind up together in Burton Makepeace on that cold snowy night, but it turns out it’s not just an imaginary murder mystery they are meant to solve.

My Thoughts

My favourite part of this entire novel is the dry humour that each character seems to possess; their thoughts are hilarious. Lady Milton was by far the most entertaining because she hates her entire family and pokes fun at each of them in her mind. It’s not a nasty sort of humour, instead she’s resigned to her life and is looking to just live her last days in as much comfort as possible. Nothing much phases her, and she’s often found walking her property or sitting by herself watching television; I could easily picture her taking her dogs for a walk with her Hunter boots on, driving her Land Rover around her property, much like the late Queen Elizabeth.

Jackson Brodie is the ‘star’ of the novel and there are references to some dramatic instances in his earlier life which were no doubt the plots of previous novels (a murdered sister, etc.). He is also a pleasure to read about as he doesn’t take himself too seriously, which drives others around him crazy, but makes him a fun character to follow. For instance, he’s just purchased himself a fancy new car which he’s simultaneously chuffed about – it gives him great pleasure to climb into and stroke the leather seats – but is also a bit embarrassed by because he understands how flashy it is. Although he’s the lead detective, he’s not the only major character in the book, but I always found myself excited to come upon another chapter of his.

The engrossing character development is what pushes the plot along; only a week passes throughout the entire book, but we get the back stories of many of them, so even if you have never read a Jackson Brodie book before, you feel well situated within this new world. It’s not so much a ‘whodunnit’ rather than a whydunnit’ as it’s quite obvious from the beginning who is behind the thefts, but the reason and motive are very unclear. The real treat in this book is getting to know the people along the way, rather than nailing the culprit. I’d recommend this book to those who don’t typically like genre novels, as it’s a nice way to dip your toes into mystery, but still enjoy the incredible writing skills of Atkinson.