Case Histories

This book is not as good as Behind the scenes of the Museum (BTSOTM), but it was certainly intriguing, interesting, and gripping. With BTSOTM I listened to that book over and over enjoying different aspects and nuances of the story. It was like a long sastisfying 4 course meal. Case Histories is more of a light lunch, but it was still very enjoyable and well worth a 'read'

If you loved 'Behind the Scenes at the Museum' and 'Human Croquet' you will love this.

Kate Atkinson has successfully intermingled her characters and several plots to produce an engrossing story that keeps you wondering and questioning right up to the final denouements. Susan Jameson's reading is perfect.

Kate Atkinson is a good writer but sometimes her work can be a bit contrived. This book was enjoyable but it felt overplanned - the carefully plotted parallel story lines and slowly revealed links were a bit laboured. If I had been reading the book I would have been tempted to skip though pages. Still, she creates good characters and tells a good story.

The continuous cross, outraged tone of the reader ruined this book for me. All humour and subtlety lost.

Great narrator - faultless

This is the first Kate Atkinson I have read and in the beginning I really enjoyed it and thought I would continue to do so. It is extremely well written, lovely prose, witty and very descriptive.

However, whilst it was a snapshot of lives and the problems surrounding the characters it seemed to lack a real storyline, no beginning, middle and end. Nothing seemed to really pull together. The end just seemed to fizzle out, certainly no twists or turns anywhere.

Having said that I did enjoy it but just did not find myself rushing to listen at every opportunity.

Having read a number of Kate Atkinson books before and enjoyed them, this seemed like a good choice for an audio book to listen to whilst on a touring holiday, and it proved to be just that. It is well read by Susan Jameson and the characters were made to seem believable (which isn't always the case - I will search out more books read by her). At first I was concerned that the 'case histories' weren't going to be linked at all (something that frustrated me with the latest Sebastian Faulks novel), and then I was afraid that any linkage was going to be so contrived as to be facile. However, I was wrong on both counts - I should have trusted Kate Atkinson's story telling abilities. All in all this was great book which I would thoroughly recommend.