Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson

Death at the Sign of the Rook PDF by Kate Atkinson is part Jackson Brodie novel (often plodding, contemplative), part golden age mystery, part Downton Abbey-style British estate comedy of manners, and ultimately part farce with characters bumbling in and out of rooms and is that actually a prop gun gags.

All the characters are exceptionally well portrayed with a few apt, well chosen phrases they spring to life in glorious technicolour. There’s accompanying terrific dialogue, that bats back-and-forth, some great in head thoughts from Jackson, with plenty of irony thrown in for good measure. Absolutely oodles of plot features from art theft, to insurance fraud, to characters questioning their place and purpose.

Chuck in the dynamics of the owners of a crumbling stately home, a travelling band of murder mystery actors, the prisoner on the run and a few characters who succumb to the call of the Grim Reaper. The end result of what could be chaos (well, there is but in the best possible comedic way) is some fantastical and vivid scenes that put you in mind of murder farce if there is such a thing or a snowy Bedlam.

It’s highly entertaining in its outlandishness. Towards the end, there’s quite a dastardly rampage as all the plot elements come together in a Hollywood worthy climax, with plenty of nods to the Queen of Crime. Maybe in this case I should say the ”doyen” of cosy crime “ Nancy Styles” who pops up appropriately on numerous occasions.

About Death at the Sign of the Rook PDF