Death at the Sign of the Rook
Author(s): Kate Atkinson
Fiction | August 2024 New Releases | Spring Reading Guide 2024
The stage is set. Marooned overnight by a snowstorm in a grand country house are a cast of characters and a setting that even Agatha Christie might recognize - a vicar, an Army major, a Dowager, a sleuth and his sidekick - except that the sleuth is Jackson Brodie, and the 'sidekick' is DC Reggie Chase.
The crumbling house - Burton Makepeace and its chatelaine the Dowager Lady Milton - suffered the loss of their last remaining painting of any value, a Turner, some years ago. The housekeeper, Sophie, who disappeared the same night, is suspected of stealing it.
Jackson, a reluctant hostage to the snowstorm, has been investigating the theft of another painting: The Woman with a Weasel, a portrait, taken from the house of an elderly widow, on the morning she died. The suspect this time is the widow's carer, Melanie.
Is this a coincidence or is there a connection? And what secrets does the Woman with a Weasel hold? The puzzle is Jackson's to solve. And let's not forget that a convicted murderer is on the run on the moors around Burton Makepeace.
All the while, in a bid to make money, Burton Makepeace is determined to keep hosting a shambolic Murder Mystery that acts as a backdrop while the real drama is being played out in the house. A brilliantly plotted, supremely entertaining, and utterly compulsive tour de force from a great writer at the height of her powers.
Product Information
Delicious character studies . . . fine writing, wit, originality and eccentricity - even as it induces a warm glow * Telegraph *
Sharp, droll and knowing as ever, Atkinson has huge fun with the set-up; the supporting cast is terrific, and the rueful Brodie, ever more mindful of the passing years, feels like an old friend. * Guardian *
Christie would be proud . . . This stands alone as a crime novel, but it is better enjoyed having read the previous books in the Brodie series. And why wouldn't you - they are all a delight. I defy you not to snort with laughter as the novel Delicious character studies . . . fine writing, wit, originality and eccentricity - even as it induces a warm glow * Telegraph *
Sharp, droll and knowing as ever, Atkinson has huge fun with the set-up; the supporting cast is terrific, and the rueful Brodie, ever more mindful of the passing years, feels like an old friend. * Guardian *
Christie would be proud . . . This stands alone as a crime novel, but it is better enjoyed having read the previous books in the Brodie series. And why wouldn't you - they are all a delight. I defy you not to snort with laughter as the novel progresses to its farcical denouement. Atkinson is brilliant. * Observer *
Superior writing and a highly entertaining read. * Grazia *
[A] delirious crime caper . . . Atkinson has tremendous fun manoeuvring her motley cast together for a climactic murder mystery weekend * Mail on Sunday *progresses to its farcical denouement. Atkinson is brilliant. * Observer *
Superior writing and a highly entertaining read. * Grazia *
[A] delirious crime caper . . . Atkinson has tremendous fun manoeuvring her motley cast together for a climactic murder mystery weekend * Mail on Sunday *
General Fields
- :
- : Transworld Publishers Limited
- : Transworld Publishers Limited
- : 700.0
- : 24 August 2024
- : h234mm x w153mm x s40mm
- : books
Special Fields
- : 336
- : Paperback
- : Kate Atkinson
