Kate Atkinson has earned her reputation over the years as one of the most respected British writers when it comes to thrillers and mysteries, further cementing her position with Big Sky, the fifth Jackson Brodie book.
In it, we follow the private investigator as he takes on a case to capture evidence of a cheating husband, only to unearth a sinister network of cruel men who lure young girls from abroad with false promises.
Kate Atkinson Returns to Jackson Brodie's Realm
Human trafficking might be a phenomenon present in virtually every country on the planet, and yet most of our knowledge about it is rather cursory, with a select few specializing in the matter. I think it's safe to say the majority of people, myself included, aren't exactly capable of imagining the reality behind the concept, at least not in any sort of meaningful depth.
It's almost as if we're talking about a dream, a nebulous idea only existing halfway. For some people though, notably private investigator Jackson Brodie, this dream is a very real nightmare, and it's one we come face to face with in Big Sky by Kate Atkinson.
The fifth novel in the realms of Jackson Brodie begins with the private detective trying to co-parent his adolescent son with his former girlfriend in a quiet seaside village. While his life is far from perfect, it could have been infinitely worse and he isn't ungrateful for what he has at this stage.
To keep himself busy, he takes on a local job from a suspicious wife who wants proof of her husband committing adultery on her. The job sounds simple enough, but as it turns out, it was the catalyst for a seemingly chance encounter about to send Brodie on a much darker path than he had anticipated.
He discovers there is a group of men forming a network to lure young girls from abroad into England with false promises of secretary jobs and the like. Though the authorities have jailed two members of this group in the past, there are many more who remain behind the shadows, doing their dirty deeds unimpeded.
Two detectives have been tasked with dismantling the rest of the group, but so far they haven't gotten very far, and each second is precious when it comes to saving the young girls being exploited.
How to Make Herring Soup
For those who aren't familiar with Kate Atkinson's other works, rest assured each of her novels works as a standalone, with the characters mostly being fully developed from the very start. The brunt of the focus actually falls upon the plot itself, the mystery we are tasked with untangling... or more precisely, the many mysteries. This is the sort of novel where various plotlines develop simultaneously, sometimes converging, and other times not.
In other words, there are a lot of red herrings thrown into the mix, probably more than actually pertinent clues if I take a moment to think about it. With this being said, I was pleasantly surprised at Atkinson's ability to make it work in the favour of the novel rather than against it.
As a reader, I always found myself busy trying to figure out which paths were true or false, leaving virtually no time for moments of stagnation. There is always something for you to think about, and it also helps the twists and false leads are believably written into the story, rather than verging on the ridiculous.
While most authors would let their novels devolve into a mess with this sort of ambition, I found Atkinson's writing prowess held it all together, especially her good sense when it comes to chapter structure. We never dwell on any one issue for too long, meaning we aren't forced to constantly juggle mountains of details in our heads and can focus on the task at hand.
This approach helps to ensure a healthy and rapid progression of events across multiple fronts, and ultimately-speaking, the author doesn't give you the chance to get bored.
Mayhem on the Playing Field
Considering the rather dark nature of the subject we are presented with, it shouldn't be a surprise to know the story eventually begins to dive deeper and deeper into darkness, violence and mayhem. As more and more players enter the stage, it becomes rather interesting to witness the seemingly overwhelmed Brodie trying to make sense of it all, all while putting himself, and probably his family in grave danger.
Impossible odds might be nothing new for Jackson, but the stakes feel quite real, especially since Atkinson does remind us from time to time about the abducted girls yearning for rescue.
If we take all the red herrings aside for a moment, the plot does develop in a somewhat straightforward and logical fashion, without ever becoming too predictable or cliched. I believe this is even more impressive considering the author had to tie a half a dozen threads together in a meaningful fashion, and none of the connections feel forced or like too much of a stretch.
Perhaps the principal element which helps the various plotlines feel fresh and captivating are all the characters we become acquainted with along the way. Those include the secretive mother who hires Brodie in the first place, Reggie who is all grown up now, the thirteen-year-old gloomy and bored Nathan, without forgetting Dido, Jackson's old dog and friend.
The Final Verdict
Big Sky by Kate Atkinson is a sensational addition to the Jackson Brodie series, throwing us neck-deep into a cauldron of red herrings and chaotic mysteries. The plot, helped by the diverse case of characters, grips you from the very first page and the author always prioritizes capturing the reader's interest no matter what events might be unfolding. I highly recommend this novel to all fans of crime thriller novels.
 | Kate AtkinsonPersonal site Kate Atkinson is an English writer born in York and awarded a master’s degree in literature from the University of Dundee all the way back in 1974. Like most authors, she had to take on a variety of different jobs to sustain herself, but nevertheless she did not let the writer inside herself be lost forever. |
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