In this fifth Jackson Brodie novel, Jackson has moved up north and lives in a small fishing village. His days as a policeman are over and he makes his living as a private detective these days, finding proof of cheating spouses his mainstay. He isn't quite alone as his teenage son lives with him part-time as does the dog that comes with him. Jackson didn't know about Nathan for several years as his partner, Julia, decided she wanted to keep him to herself for his baby years and its a challenge to raise someone of the new generation whose desires and expectations are so different from when Jackson was a boy. Still, he loves Nathan and since he's on the outs with his daughter, it's his only chance at fatherhood.

As Jackson goes through his days, he encounters a new woman. Crystal is drop dead gorgeous and has used her looks and intelligence to claw her way up from a horrid childhood full of abuse. She's married to Tommy, whose first wife died in an accident. Crystal has an adored little girl and a stepson, Harry, who she can't help but love. Tommy is another matter. He seems to have lots of secret business calls and trips and she isn't really sure what he does. Tommy is part of a group of men who have solidified their friendship by going into business. Steve is the boss, a lawyer who knows everyone and what is legal and what's not. Andy is a charming man who can make anyone feel comfortable. Vince is the odd man out; an ex-soldier with IT skills but going through a divorce in which he will lose everything. Then Vince's soon to be ex wife is found murdered and things start to come apart.

It seems that there is a human trafficking circle in the area and all the men except Vince are involved. In fact, that's the source of the money that keeps their willingly blind wives in luxury. Jackson brushes up against the edges of the group as he goes about his investigations and soon becomes an ally of Crystal's.

Kate Atkinson has created an endearing character in Jackson. He has a clear moral compass, although it might not keep him on the legal side of the ledger at times. He is determined to protect those around him but they often see him as failing at this job. Yet Brodie manages to come through time after time, handing out justice and help evenhandedly. This book is recommended for readers of mysteries.

Jackson Brodie is back! And once again, Kate Atkinson proves there is nothing she can't do. Obviously, this book has been praised and praised again but it deserves every bit of that praise and then some! This is more than just a mystery or thriller, this is a book that has a lot to say about who we are and why we do the things we do. Very highly recommended.

Delightful addition to the Jackson Brodie series. Atkinson is a master at writing, every phrase is deliberate and although the storylines of this book don't seem to be at all related at first, they come together in a gorgeously told way by the end. And the tongue-in-cheek statement about there being way too many coincidences just adds to the reading experience, rather than leaving it to the reader to grumble about it.
This book easily stands alone, although it would be helpful to read the other books in order to get the background of Jackson's life and relationships. What a treat, I hope the author doesn't wait as long to write another book with him as a character.

British author Kate Atkinson uses her wry wit in BIG SKY to weave humor into this intricate plot line. Highly recommended.

This is another great entry in the Jackson Brodie series. Atkinson’s writing, her wit and dry humor ,shows in the love for her main character. Atkinson, like she always does, expertly weaves her story threads and brings them all together nicely. A wonderful series I am always recommending.

When I requested this book off of NetGalley, I did not realize that it was part of a series; however, I am now happy to know that there are more Jackson Brodie books out there! Kate Atkinson does such a phenomenal job of creating a flawed, yet lovable character. At times, I struggled to see the bigger picture for this novel (as there were many moving parts), but by the end of the novel, everything fit together perfectly. I cannot wait to pick up the first 4 Jackson Brodie books ASAP!

The author’s dry, witty humor carries through the entire narrative. As the intricate plot develops among a large cast of characters, the reader Is introduced with their entwined lives, in a detailed account of sex slavery and kidnapping by the most unlikely candidates. Atkinson brings it all together at the end brilliantly.

The dry British humor and the amazingly complicated plot line make this a great read, and I think Kate Atkinson is possibly one of the best writers out of the UK in a number of years. This is an excellent story, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

I had just been talking with friends about how much I loved the first Jackson Brodie mystery (and all the others) and, like magic, this appeared. I was going to say it was sort of melancholy and bittersweet visiting Brodie as an older man, but the truth is the series was always sort of melancholy and bittersweet, which is part of what I love about it. Some of the themes here are both difficult and not my favourite mystery tropes, but I enjoyed the customary plethora of viewpoints, along with Brodie's inner monologue, interrupted frequently by Julia's imagined rejoinders. His relationship with his son is letter-perfect as well, and the appearance of a character from an earlier book is freaking fantastic. Entirely satisfying.

This was my first Kate Atkinson, even though this is part of a series. I enjoyed this book but I don’t plan on going back and reading the rest of the series. The writing was great, but I did not feel a connection with the main characters, which must be because I have stepped in on the later books. Overall though, a great read.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of Kate Atkinson and her Jackson Brodie series, but I did not care much for this one. The first half of the book is slow and boring. I understand she is setting up the story, but Brodie barely figures in the tale. When he does, the action is so downplayed as to be nonexistent. At first, it just seems to be middle-aged men playing golf and/or having midlife crises; cranky, whiny teenagers; and unpleasant women. This all eventually combines into a somewhat interesting story of young women being lured into a scheme of sex trafficking. There are plenty of Brodie’s parenthetical musings and contemplations, but he only finally jumps into action towards the end of the book. By then, it almost seems like an afterthought and that he’s just along for the ride.

I love the Jackson Brodie character. I was so happy to see that Kate Atkinson had finally written another in this series. I really enjoyed the interaction between Brodie and his son. Well written, did not disappoint.

I love this book! I love Jackson Brodie! I love Kate Atkinson!

I am not going to say anymore. This book is too good for a review--just read it!

I received an ARC for this book and dove into it unaware that it's the fifth book in the Jackson Brodie series. But fear not! That didn't affect my experience. There were a few lines here and there that were seemingly cues to past books, but not big enough details to make me feel confused or left out as a reader.

I found the characters complex and was genuinely surprised at the twists of this book. The characters that we're meant to like are extremely endearing and the antagonists evoke complete disgust, despite their superficial charm.

Kate Atkinson has a very unique writing style, using long sentences and parentheses - but IT WORKS! I'm not sure who else could pull it off, but it made me feel as though I were listening to someone narrate orally off the cuff.

Not my favorite of Atkinson's, but she's such a good writer that I admit to enjoying Big Sky very much.

Kate Atkinson, unbelievably, keeps getting better. And just because her Jackson Brodie finds himself in a quiet seaside village, don't think his life has become quiet. Not by any stretch of the imagination. We even run across old pal Reggie.

I have been a Kate Atkinson fan since Stephen King raved about Case Histories a number of years ago in Entertainment Weekly. Her earlier books are mostly literate mysteries featuring Jackson Brodie, former police inspector now a private investigator. I loved them all not to mention the free standing Life After Life, which I read twice.

This is the 5th book in the series which includes:
1. Case Histories (2004)
2. One Good Turn (2006)
3. When Will There Be Good News (2008)
4. Started Early, Took My Dog (2011)

Although you don't have to read them in order and Big Sky is certainly able to stand alone, there's much to enjoy by reading the whole series. Visit Kate Atkinson's offical website here.

FIRST LINE: "So what now?" he asked.

THE STORY: Jackson Brodie is living in a quiet seaside village on U.K.'s northeastern coast in order to share custody of his teenage son and an aging dog, with his ex-partner Julia. Now a private investigator his jobs seem reduced to spying on an unfaithful husbands.

While walking along the sea cliff one evening he ends up saving the life of a desperate man which draws him into a sinister network and back across the path of his friend Reggie. Old secrets and new lies intersect.

WHAT I THOUGHT: There are lots of characters to follow in this intricately plotted story with the narrative jumping from present to past and back again (but then that's typical Atkinson). If you pay attention, you'll have a sense of what's happening.

Of course, we are all in love with Jackson Brodie but other characters caught my attention this time out. Nathan, Brodie's recalcitrant son, is a typical teenager especially contrasted with Harry, Crystal's stepson, who is an amazing big brother to his half sister. Crystal herself is a character with a past but a heart of mostly gold. Actually Atkinson finds a way to keep us interested in all the various good and bad actors in the story.

Another bit of fun comes from identifying the popular allusions although I must confess I don't get them all. Doesn't matter. This is great storytelling.

BOTTOM LINE: All the usual features are here: fascinating characters, an elaborate story line, and literary and social media references. Do be aware that sex trafficking is involved. Highly recommended if you like literate mysteries.

Disclaimer: A copy of Big Sky was provided to me by Little, Brown and Company/Net Galley for an honest review.

Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (June 25, 2019)
ISBN-10: 0316523097
ISBN-13: 978-0316523097

Kate Atkinson’s first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the Whitbread (now Costa) Book of the Year Award. She has been a critically acclaimed, bestselling author ever since, with over one million copies of her books in print in the United States.

She is the author of a collection of short stories, Not the End of the World, and of the novels Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Case Histories, One Good Turn, When Will There Be Good News?, and Started Early, Took My Dog. Case Histories, which introduced her readers to Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, was made into a television series starring Jason Isaacs.

Kate Atkinson lives in Edinburgh (from Amazon).

Five stars! Another Jackson Brodie winner for Kate Atkinson. This is the fifth installment in the series and it is every bit as excellent as the first four.

This book wasn’t for me and I unfortunately could not finish it. I made it 22% and there were new characters being introduced and I was fall asleep every time I read. I haven’t read this character series before so I wasn’t connected to Jackson at all. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC though!

Thank you, Little, Brown & Company for the review copy of Big Sky.
Jackson Brodie is living on the English coast, his private investigation business mostly involving surveilling cheating spouses, but he stumbles into something much more sinister.
I love Kate Atkinson’s writing, and I enjoyed being back in Brodie’s world. If you need a fast plot based mystery, this probably isn’t the book for you, but if you don’t mind a slightly meandering character driven one, this might be a pick.
There is discussion of child sex abuse, drug use & human trafficking, so do enter with caution.

Big Sky is a welcome and highly satisfying return to Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie mystery world. Fans of the series will settle right in, nodding along to the various call backs to earlier novels, but those new to the series shouldn’t feel as if they need to have read the prior works to enjoy this one, which stands quite fine as a standalone novel (that said—I’d highly recommend starting with book one, not because one has to but because the series is so good it’d be a shame to miss any of them).

Brodie, as one would expect, is older but not necessarily, again as one would expect, wiser, though he makes some steps in that direction by the end. Working now as a PI in a coastal town, he spends most of his time on the usual PI caseload of cheating spouses and their suspicious partners. When he’s not working, he’s trying to connect with his son Nathan by his ex-wife Julia.

While Brodie is the titular star of these novels, it’s often the swirl of characters around him that engage the reader and move the narrative, and that holds true here. After a teasing flash-forward chapter that is a nice bit of mis-direction, we’re quickly introduced to a mix of mostly new characters, including a pair of young sisters from Easter Europe doing a Skype-interview with a recruiter from Anderson Price Associates, who fly girls into England to work in service jobs. Katja and Nadia “weren’t stupid, they knew about trafficking, about people who tricked girls into thinking they were going to good jobs ... tho then ended up drugged, trapped in some filthy hole of a room having sex with one man after another ... [but] APA wasn’t like that.” And here, of course, is where the not-so-naive reader winces.

There’s also a trio of local businessmen we meet on the greens at the posh Belvedere Golf Club: Thomas Halroyd, Andrew Bragg, and Vincent Ives, a successful trucking company owner, a less successful travel-agent/hotel owner, and a telecom-equipment manager respectively. We get an effectively brief backstory to each. Vince has just been dumped by his wife and lost his job, Andy’s hotel is failing, Tommy is living high, now married to the “stunning” Crystal (rumored to be a former glamour model) after his last wife accidentally (hmmm) fell off a cliff. He has a son, Harry, he doesn’t understand and worries might be gay and a young daughter named Candy who dresses in a variety of Disney Princess wear. Crystal and Harry provide two more POVs, and we also are introduced to several workers from the entertainment site Harry works at (Transylvania World). One is a friend — a drag queen with the stage name Bunny Hops and a build like a rugby player, and the other more of an antagonist — a bitter, fading former TV star named Barclay Jack.

Returning characters include Julia, who is probably about to be written out of her long-running TV show; the Russian “honeypot” Tatiana, whom Jackson sometimes employs; and Reggie Green, now a detective working with her partner Ronnie on an old case involving sexual trafficking and predation. The two original criminals are in jail, but Reggie and Ronnie are looking into the newly-risen possibility that a mysterious “third man” was also involved, along with a host of powerful men known as the “magic circle.”

The question of course is not whether these characters and their stories will intertwine, but how. Some of the ways are pretty clear early on, and others might be a bit more surprising. Atkinson takes her time developing the web of connections, which in another author’s hands might be considered a flaw but here it’s just a pleasure to mosey along and let the story take you where it will when it will. The underlying crimes are horrific, infuriating, and sadly timely, but on top of the jagged knife’s edge of the subplot, Atkinson has layered a softer, more rueful story of disappointment and regret. Jackson has had two failed marriages, is finding it hard to connect with his son Nathan, and isn’t currently speaking with his daughter after an ill-advised comment about her impending marriage. Vince is getting cleaned out by his ex-wife and has just been downsized. Andy travel-agency went under once, his hotel is threatening to as well, and he is more than a little intimidated by his fierce wife Rhoda. Tommy seems to be living the ritzy life, but there’s that question a about his first wife’s death and his dismay over his son Harry. Reggie keeps thinking back to a woman she can’t seem to forget, Barclay is angry over his fall from fame, and the list continues. All of which might sound dreary, but Atkinson writes with a sly and subtle wit that leavens a large portion of all that disappointment, as when Brodie realizes in dealing with a possible jumper that “All he had to do was utilize the lyrics from country songs, they contained better advice than anything he could conjure up” or when in response to Julia’s question as to if Brodie had ever tried being an optimist, he answers,
Once. It didn’t suit me.” Meanwhile, Crystal, who has reinvented herself and now finds her past threatens her children, enlivens every single scene she appears in with a burst of appealing energy such that you can’t help but root for her.

The plot winds its way to an eventual quasi-resolution. Villains are complicated by glimpses into their inner thoughts or of their domestic lives while the heroes have made their own ethical compromises and flaws. Nothing is ever neat and tidy in a Jackson Brodie novel, certainly not justice, a trend that continues here as well. By the time we return to the time of that opening chapter, both the law and justice get some satisfaction, but not without cost in terms of lives, trauma, family ties, and ethics, and even the “happy ending” notes that close the novel can’t bear too much scrutiny. Still, it’s good to spend more time with Jackson Brodie, and one ends hoping it isn’t quite so long until we get the chance to do so again.