This is the fourth in the Jackson Brodie series by the British author Kate Atkinson that I have read, along with some of her other books. In writing about her first book centering the private detective Jackson Brodie, I wrote, “Along with the idiosyncratic characters are the truly evil ones and enough unpleasantness to make me uneasy. I considered just skipping to the end, but the plot was too complicated for that to work, so I had to keep reading.” This one was also awfully dark and for me especially uncomfortable as children were involved.
The variety of characters, some of whom are either not key to the plot or are connected to it or other characters in a tangential way, make it a little hard to follow. It took some time before I could keep straight that Tilly was the woman whose dementia was coming on while Tracy was the retired policewoman who impetuously bought a child from a drugged-up no-hoper. You can see the reason for my confusion.
The story of those two and many others in the present is informed by what happened in 1975 that involved a different snatching of two children and a murder. In her usual disregard for whether coincidence is reasonable, the author involves two private detectives named Jackson in the current day sorting out of the events of 1975. I stayed with the book despite the darkness because Jackson Brodie always has some bright moments and goodness around him.
One clever description I would like to remember: the author says, “Jackson’s phone vibrated in his pocket like a hefty trapped wasp.”
I just learned from Wikipedia that “Started Early, Took My Dog” is the title of a poem by Emily Dickinson. I can’t keep up with Kate Atkinson. Here’s a link to the website where I read the poem and an explanation of its meaning. For the purposes of Kate Atkinson’s book, the poem is about an adventure and stepping into the unknown, referring to Tracy’s purchase of the child.
Kate Atkinson, Started Early, Took My Dog, Little, Brown, and Co, 2011, 371 pages (I listened to the audiobook). Available in the public library.