Started Early, Took My Dog

(Jackson Brodie)

By: Kate Atkinson

Narrated by: Nicholas Bell

Brought to you by Penguin.

The fourth Jackson Brodie novel: literary crime from the prizewinning number-one bestselling author of Big Sky and Transcription.

A day like any other for security chief Tracy Waterhouse, until she makes a shocking impulse purchase. That 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 outrageous 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.

'Crime has given Atkinson the freedom to write an ambitious, panoramic work, full of excitement, colour and compassion' Sunday Times

© Kate Atkinson 2010 (P) Penguin Audio 2011

Critic reviews

Crime has given Atkinson the freedom to write an ambitious, panoramic work, full of excitement, colour and compassion

Atkinson's finest novel to date. Indeed, it's one of the finest British novels, in any genre, to have emerged for years...sharp and dexterous, subtle and stylish, very funny and at time extraordinarily cutting...This is very much a state of the nation novel - far sharper and more observant and satirically understanding than anything else out there at the moment. And yet Atkinson also gives us humanity, insight and entertainment...a story that deserves to be read for decades to come (Henry Sutton)

The wonder of Atkinson's novels has been their joie de vivre, extraordinary given the high incidence of violent death. An irrepressible exuberance shines throughout..folds past and present together with Atkinson's customary flair...extraordinary combination of wit, plain-speaking, tenderness and control

As ever, Atkinson's prose is diamond-cut to twinkle and slice by turns. Her playful sense of humour dances round the darkness of her themes. She skips through the difficult steps required to balance the reader's need for satisfying (and surprising) resolution with a realist's view of human nature and the messiness of real-life criminality

A wonderful stylist...but she was never confined to the crime genre, has written in assorted other modes and excels at them all. Whatever she goes on to write, she leaves Jackson Brodie at a suspenseful and pivotal moment. Future installments are well worth waiting for (Janet Maslin)

Brilliant, as usual.

Everything Kate Atkinson writes is remarkable and I'm eating up the Jackson Brodie series. Great story and narration but seriously, where was the producer. You pronounce the name Niamh 'Neeve' . Every time Nicholas Bell says 'Neeam' I die a little inside. Jackson's sister deserved better. But he does a such a great job overall, perhaps I shouldn't be so picky.
I can't recommend every book in this series highly enough.

Easy listen

Liked the story but was irritated by the readers pronunciation of the irish name niamh. should be pronounced née v. he pronounced it née am. irritating.!

Nice book. Shame about the

The narrator seems a bit lost and the intonation quite frequently goes against the meaning. But not enough to be more than a mild annoyance.

Learn how to pronounce the names you read, narrator!

Niamh is pronounced "Neve." It's an Irish name, because Jackson's mum was Irish. Listening to this narrator pronounce it wrong throughout the (really good) novel is irritating.

Murder and mystery

Another interesting cast of characters and intriguing story. My least favourite Jackson Brodie so far.