Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson — rollicking murder mystery
I hope Kate Atkinson had as much fun writing Death at the Sign of the Rook as I had reading this latest episode in her Jackson Brodie series.
It’s been twenty years since Brodie first made an appearance as a former soldier and police officer, turned private investigator. Since then we’ve seen that, beneath his tough-guy persona he’s a bit of a softie, unable to say no to appeals for help on behalf of the bereaved, the lost and the swindled.
In his latest outing he’s called in by siblings to investigate the disappearance of a painting from their mother’s house. The Woman with a Weasel went missing on the morning she died; the same day on which her carer Melanie was last seen.. Brodie finds parallels with the theft of a Turner from Burton Makepeace — a nearby stately home — several years earlier. That same night the housekeeper vanished without trace.
Brodie sets off for Burton Makepeace intent on discovering if his instincts are right and the similarity between the two cases is just too much of a coincidence. He arm twists a former colleague, detective constable Reggie Chase, into giving him a helping hand. The pair end up trapped at Burton Makepeace in the midst of a snowstorm, along with a shambolic group of actors who are meant to be staging a murder mystery evening.
If you read the publicity materials for Death at the Sign of the Rook you’ll see it described as a homage to the locked room mysteries popular during the Golden Age of crime fiction. Actually the “locked in” element doesn’t make an appearance until the last third of the novel. Up until that point the novel is mainly concerned with establishing the principal characters and with Brodie’s attempts to piece together the pieces of the puzzle about The Woman with a Weasel.
If you read other Golden Age mysteries you’ll soon recognise that Atkinson is offering up some of the stock characters from those novels — so we get an aged dowager; a vicar; a wayward son and a butler. But here they’re given more substance than usual as if Atkinson is giving a sly wink to the past but then heading off in a different direction.
Time spent with those characters isn’t wasted. They are a joy — my favourite was the Reverend Simon Cate who has a habit of wandering around the graveyard nodding greetings to the occupants to reassure them they have not been forgotten. He wakes one morning to find he’s lost his voice alongside his faith, which is a major impediment when he has to visit parishioners or deliver the Sunday service.
Those scenes are pure farce, setting us up nicely for the full blown farce that ensues when actors, detectives, aristocrats; employees and paying guests are all holed up at Burton Makepeace. A body in the pantry; secret passages; fake deaths and a dangerous escaped prisoner at loose on the moors. You name it; this novel has it all. It’s all highly improbable yet hilarious because Atkinson knows it’s ridiculous yet somehow makes it entertaining.
Death at the Sign of the Rook isn’t high literature by any stretch of the imagination. But if you’re looking for sheer entertainment and a book to cosy up with after the festive slump, this would be perfect.
Jenny
You’ve sold me on this! I’ve added it to my post-Christmas reading list
BookerTalk
It’s perfect for those post Christmas slump days!
TravellinPenguin
I think our book group is reading this for March so I’ll read this review later.
BookerTalk
I think this book works best if you don’t start it with expectations of a literary novel. I’d say it’s just good fun
TravellinPenguin
That’s kind of what I thought of it. I need some “good fun” books in my life and I think I might read more easier books in 2025. 🌻🌻I hope you have a wonderful 2025.
BookerTalk
Sounds a good plan!
Helen
I’ve enjoyed all of the other Jackson Brodie books and am hoping to read this one soon. As a fan of Golden Age mysteries, I’m looking forward to it even more after reading your review!
BookerTalk
Ah then you’ll have added enjoyment from spotting the references
Margaret
You’ve put your finger on why I didn’t enjoy this as much as you. I don’t like farce, going right back to Brian Rix’s Whitehall farces shown on TV in the 1960s.
BookerTalk
A lot of farce is just ridiculous. This book just stays clear of that otherwise `i would have found it irritating. The other thing to mention is that the farcical element really occupies only the few final chapters
WordsAndPeace
You are the second person today mentioning this author. The first one was one of my French students. So I need to try this series for sure
BookerTalk
What a delight you have in store if you decide to embark on this series
A Life in Books
I wasn’t quite as delighted with this as I usually am with a Jackson Brodie but that may well be because I’m not a Golden Age mystery reader. That said, I did enjoy it and would love to see it adapted for TV.
BookerTalk
it did have a different feel to the usual Brodie stories. Much lighter than the last one Blue Sky so maybe that’s what was missing for you
margaret21
This sounds clever, being contemporary and steeped in tradition at the same time. I’ll read it! A happy Christmas to you, with plenty of chances to cosy up over good book!
BookerTalk
It won’t suit people who like a more literary kind of novel but it’s very entertaining.
margaret21
Just right for a mid-winter read then!