One Good Turn (novel)
Encyclopedia
One Good Turn is a 2006 crime novel by Kate Atkinson
set in Edinburgh
during the Festival
. 'People queuing for a lunchtime show witness a brutal road rage
incident - an incident that changes the lives of everyone involved.' It is the second novel to feature former private investigator Jackson Brodie and is set two years after the earlier Case Histories
.
enjoyed the novel saying
Whereas Amanda Craig
writing in The Independent
writes
Kate Atkinson
Kate Atkinson MBE is an English author.She was born in York, and studied English Literature at the University of Dundee, gaining her Masters Degree in 1974. She subsequently studied for a doctorate in American Literature. She has often spoken publicly about the fact that she failed at the viva ...
set in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
during the Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
. 'People queuing for a lunchtime show witness a brutal road rage
Road rage
Road rage is an aggressive or angry behavior by a driver of an automobile or other motor vehicle. Such behavior might include rude gestures, verbal insults, deliberately driving in an unsafe or threatening manner, or making threats. Road rage can lead to altercations, assaults, and collisions...
incident - an incident that changes the lives of everyone involved.' It is the second novel to feature former private investigator Jackson Brodie and is set two years after the earlier Case Histories
Case Histories
Case Histories is a 2004 detective novel by Kate Atkinson set in Cambridge, England. It introduces Jackson Brodie, a former police inspector and now private investigator...
.
Principal Characters
- Paul Bradley, lost in central Edinburgh driving a rented PeugeotPeugeotPeugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
when he brakes suddenly to avoid hitting a pedestrian who stepped out in front of his car - Terence Smith a.k.a. 'Honda Man' driving a Honda CivicHonda CivicThe Honda Civic is a line of subcompact and subsequently compact cars made and manufactured by Honda. The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was expanded...
collides with the rear of the Peugeot and attacks the driver with a baseball batBaseball batA baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the game of baseball to hit the ball after the ball is thrown by the pitcher. It is no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches in length. It typically weighs no more than 33 ounces , but it...
, knocking him unconscious and proceeds to smash the windows of the Peugeot before returning to attack the driver again. - Martin Canning, a successful author of crime novels (set in the 1940s and featuring a heroine called Nina Riley) witnesses the incident and throws his laptop bag at the attacker to stop him killing the prostrate driver. To Martin's surprise Honda Man does not respond but instead gets back in his car and drives off (to appear later in the novel with murderous intent). Martin stays with Paul and accompanies him to hospital.
- Jackson Brodie divorced ex policeman and now retired private detective is visiting Edinburgh with his girlfriend Julia (featuring in the first novel) who is appearing in a FringeEdinburgh FringeThe Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
production. He witnesses the attack but before needing to intervene Martin's actions brings the incident to a conclusion. He leaves his card with Martin in case he needs his future assistance. He later takes a bus to Cramond IslandCramond IslandCramond Island is one of several islands that lie in the Firth of Forth in eastern Scotland, near Edinburgh. As its name implies, it lies off Cramond. It is long and covers , and is currently part of the Dalmeny Estate.Strictly speaking it is not a true island at all, but a tidal island being...
where he spots the body of a young woman in the sea... - Gloria Hatter, wife of millionaire builder Graham Hatter, currently under investigation for fraud and soon to suffer a massive heart attack whilst in bed with Tatiana, a Russian call-girl.
- Louise Monroe, a Detective Sergeant and single-parent who is called to Cramond to investigate the drowned woman and finds herself attracted to Jackson Brodie
Reception
Reviews are mixed, some positive for example Justine Jordan of The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
enjoyed the novel saying
- 'the finale, when the cast are manoeuvred together for a violent climax and the inevitable expostulations of "You? Here? Why?", does not slot the pieces together as neatly as the Russian dolls which stud the novel might suggest. But the pleasure of One Good Turn lies in the ride, in Atkinson's wry, unvanquished characters, her swooping, savvy, sarcastic prose and authorial joie de vivre'.
Whereas Amanda Craig
Amanda Craig
Amanda Craig is a British novelist. Craig studied at Bedales School and Cambridge and works as a journalist. She is married with two children and lives in London....
writing in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
writes
- 'Unlike its dark and dazzling predecessor, One Good Turn is neither a good literary novel nor a satisfying detective story, though it had the potential to have been both'.
Television adaptation
The novel was adapted for television for the BBC in 2011 as the second two parts of the series Case Histories.Cast
- Jason IsaacsJason IsaacsJason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...
as Jackson Brodie - Simon WeirSimon WeirSimon Weir is a Scottish actor. He is best known as Paul McLafferty in Take the High Road and for his role as a gangster in River City. He also appeared in the short-film The Acid House as Tambo. Simon also recently took up the role of CS Carlisle in the independent movie Night is Day...
as Paul Bradley - Brian McCardieBrian McCardieBrian McCardie is a Scottish actor. He has appeared in several movies, including Speed 2: Cruise Control , playing the role as Merced. He also appeared in the mini series of Titanic.-Early life:...
as Terence Smith - Adam GodleyAdam GodleyAdam Godley is an English actor.-Biography:Adam Godley has appeared in numerous movies including Love Actually, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ....
as Martin Canning - Marion BaileyMarion BaileyMarion Bailey is a British actress. Born in Bushey, Hertfordshire to parents William Henry and Rose Bailey. She is probably best known for her appearances in the Mike Leigh films Meantime, All or Nothing and Vera Drake, as well as Leigh's 1981 West End theatre play Goosepimples, for which she...
as Gloria Hatter - Amanda AbbingtonAmanda AbbingtonAmanda Abbington is an English actress and comedienne who has appeared on both television and stage. She is best known for her roles in the 2005 comedy sketch show Man Stroke Woman and the 2007–2008 comedy After You've Gone with Nicholas Lyndhurst...
as Louise Monroe
External links
- ReviewsOfBooks.com with links to several reviews
- Interview with Kate Atkinson about One Good Turn on NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
- Unusual Suspects by Liesl Schillinger, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, October 29, 2006