A page-turner of a detective novel that transcends cliché

Since the publication of her award-winning 1995 debut Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Kate Atkinson’s work has defied easy categorisation. She glides from magic realism to detective fiction to war story to spy thriller, all without losing her distinctive voice.

In 2004, she delivered Case Histories, which introduced readers to Jackson Brodie, a former police officer turned private investigator. Three more Jackson novels and a successful television series followed before Atkinson turned ...