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  • Started Early, Took My Dog

  • Jackson Brodie 4
  • By: Kate Atkinson
  • Narrated by: Nicholas Bell
  • Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (499 ratings)
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Started Early, Took My Dog cover art

Started Early, Took My Dog

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Nicholas Bell
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Summary

It's a day like any other for security chief Tracy Waterhouse, until she makes a purchase she hadn't bargained for. One moment of madness is all it takes for Tracy's humdrum world to be turned upside down, the tedium of everyday life replaced by fear and danger at every turn.

Witnesses to Tracy's Faustian exchange in the Merrion Centre in Leeds are Tilly, an elderly actress teetering on the brink of her own disaster, and Jackson Brodie who has returned to his home county in search of someone else's roots. All three characters learn that the past is never history and that no good deed goes unpunished.

Kate Atkinson dovetails and counterpoints her plots with Dickensian brilliance in a tale peopled with unlikely heroes and villains. Started Early, Took My Dog is freighted with wit, wisdom and a fierce moral intelligence. It confirms Kate Atkinson’s position as one of the great writers of our time.

©2010 Kate Atkinson (P)2011 Random House Audiobooks

What listeners say about Started Early, Took My Dog

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

I really want to like this series but the more I read the more I think that the story lines rely far too much on coincidence. And why on earth didn't the producers of this audiobook not pick up the narrator's mispronunciation of Niamh????

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Pj
  • 05-03-12

Really enjoyable

I loved this book. The characters, including the dog, have real depth to them and are beautifully portrayed, and the plot is sensitive and enjoyable. I took to all the characters - poor old Tilly, the ex-copper Tracy, and Jackson himself. There are some lovely touches - little Courtney and her fairy costume, old Harry the fixer baking pies, these all make the characters real. Kate Atkinson has written a really ripping yarn that kept me listening to the very end. I enjoyed the reader too, despite the fact that he does not know how to pronounce Niamh (Neeve) - perhaps not everyone listening will notice. I can't wait to listen to another Jackson Brodie story.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

As good as the others

Another wonderful audiobook edition of Kate Atkinson's fabulous Jackson Brodie series. By now, if we've stayed with the series, we're all in love with Jackson Brodie - that brooding, unlucky former policeman who never seems to get the girl of his dreams (although he does get *a* girl every now and then). Witty, well-crafted, with a serious undertow... I loved this novel as much as I loved the others in the series and can't wait for the next one. My only regret is the loss of the perfect Jason Isaacs as narrator (hello to Jason Isaacs!) but Nicholas Bell does a fine job anyway.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Attention to detail

Jackson Brody is always good value for money and Kate Atkinson writes a complex story every time.
Couldn't someone please pay attention to important details such as pronunciation of names. Not the performer's fault necessarily but it would be so easy (I did this within one minute) to Google Niamh's name to confirm that it's pronounced Neeive and not Nam. Irish listeners must be as irritated as I am - and I'm not even Irish!
The same goes for many mistakes made on Audible in French and German. It sets the teeth on edge and would be easily preventable.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Don't bother

I found this a deeply annoying and quite confusing book. Maybe it's me but there were too many characters and too much trivia about them that made it difficult to find a storyline. The storyline itself was pretty weak too. Combine that with a narrator who was unable to pronounce Niamh (every time he said Nee-aam it made me cringe, is there nobody who goes over the spoken book and checks it???) or in fact had a very peculiar way to pronounce quite common words and you'll get the picture. In my opinion this is not a crime novel, not a good book and a lousy narrator. Don't bother.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

First audiobook I've not fully listened to

Absolutely hated this. My first sample from this author and just couldn't get to grips with it. Hated the way there wasn't a discernible plot and while I'm sure it would have improved if I had have stuck with it, after four chapters I'm afraid I gave up. So many characters introduced apparently (at this stage) randomly and with too much detail about their lives. Felt like shouting: "just get on with it"!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

enjoyed this tremendously.

I love these books. best way to describe them is is River Cottage and Silence of the Lambs did a crossover.
only marred by jarring and regular mispronouncing of several words notably the main characters sisters name (Neeyam instead of Neeve) otherwise very enjoyable. off the buy next one in the series : )

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Poor pronunciation

I love this book but find it difficult to believe that the narrator or producer doesn’t know how to pronounce the name “Niamh”. It’s a commonplace name! Ridiculous. The narrator really spoils it, always sounds like he needs to clear his throat.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

disappointing story and dreadful narrator

I love Kate Parkinson's writing but this fourth outing for Jackson Brodie was well below par. Unrealistic storyline and a weak plot.
Having listened to audio books for many years I am horrified by the terrible pronunciation from the narrator of this book. Surely some basic production checks should be made before actually charging for such a terrible performance! Anyone who cannot pronounce Niamh has no business selling themselves as a narrator.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

A long time walking the dog

I have struggled....firstly with the narrator who could not pronounce 'Niamh' correctly nor 'ascetic' ( came out 'acetic', as in vinegar).
Secondly the story itself, meandering, boring, and, when it finally ended, one of those stories that made you wonder why you had bothered!

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6 people found this helpful