BIG SKY

Jackson Brodie is back.

This is Atkinson’s fifth Jackson Brodie novel (Started Early,
Took My Dog, 2011, etc.), but fans know that the phrase “Jackson Brodie
novel” is somewhat deceptive. Yes, he is the hero in that he is a private
investigator—former cop, military veteran—who solves (usually) mysteries. But
he is not so much the central character as the grumpy, anxious, largehearted
gravitational field that attracts a motley assortment of lost souls and love
interests. In this latest outing, Jackson is a half-duty parent to his teenage
son while the boy’s mother, an actor, finishes her run on a detective series.
Vince Ives is a more-or-less successful middle-class husband and father until
his wife leaves him, his boss makes him redundant, and he becomes a murder
suspect. Crystal Holroyd—not her real name—has built a brilliant new life for
herself, but someone from her past is threatening her daughter. Both Vince and
Crystal seek help from Jackson, with varying results. Meanwhile, Jackson’s
protégée, Reggie Chase, has risen through the ranks in the police force and is
taking a fresh look at an old case. That these stories intertwine is a given.
“A coincidence is just an explanation waiting to happen” is one of Jackson’s
maxims; it could also serve as an ironic epigram for Atkinson’s approach to the
mystery genre. A small cast of characters collides and careens in a manner that
straddles Greek tragedy and screwball comedy. The humor is sly rather than
slapstick, and Atkinson is keenly interested in inner lives and motivations.
There are villains, certainly—human trafficking and the sexual abuse of
children figure prominently here—but even the sympathetic characters are
complicated and compromised. Jackson has a strong moral code, but his behavior
is often less than ethical. The same is true of Vince, Crystal, and Reggie. The
deaths and disappearances that Jackson investigates change with every book, but
the human heart remains the central mystery.

The welcome return of an existential detective.