Kate Atkinson, Case Histories

I somehow had missed out on her until the fall 0f 2003 when I read her first book, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, which was brilliant (beginning at the moment of the narrator's conception). Her latest is brilliant as well. Case Histories begins with three chapters, told at various times in the past, which lay out three cases (two murders and one child disappearance). Jumping ahead to present day, we meet Jackson Brodie, a retired policeman, now a private detective who is dealing with a number of personal and professional issues. He ends up involved in looking into all three of the "cold cases" that are initially laid out. Atkinson's prose is stunning, and the stories are compelling. An excellent work.