Big Sky, by Kate Atkinson (Jackson Brodie #5)

Jackson Brodie is a former British police officer, who now works as a private investigator while trying to figure out his teenage son and deal with a complicated relationship with his ex-wife. In Big Sky, Brodie begins an investigation into a cheating husband but is quickly pulled into something much more complicated and sinister.

I love British mysteries on PBS — series like Inspector Lewis, and Granchester. Big Sky reminds me of these sorts of mysteries, because it spends a lot of time (pages) describing a large cast of (seemingly unrelated) characters before the murder even happens, and then the relationship between the characters comes into sharp relief.

Unfortunately, for me, that shift came too late in this novel and by then, I had lost interest. I suspect that I liked this book less than some because it is the fifth in a series about Jackson Brodie, but it is the first I’ve read. I think if I had been familiar with the characters I would’ve been much more patient as the story unspooled. So, if you are a fan of this series or a fan of Kate Atkinson (who is an amazing writer!), give this novel a shot. It didn’t work for me but your mileage may vary.