Reader Score
79%
79% of readers
recommend this book
"How delicious to have Jackson Brodie back, this time in a story that starts off in Agatha Christie's world but soon becomes a landscape that could only have been crafted from the pen of the incomparable Kate Atkinson."-Ian Rankin, author of the Inspector Rebus Novels
Welcome to Rook Hall. The stage is set. The players are ready. By night's end, a murderer will be revealed.
In his sleepy Yorkshire town, ex-detective Jackson Brodie is staving off boredom and malaise. His only case is the seemingly tedious matter of a stolen painting. But Jackson soon uncovers a string of unsolved art thefts that lead him down a dizzying spiral of disguise and deceit to Burton Makepeace, a formerly magnificent estate now partially converted into a hotel hosting Murder Mystery weekends.
As paying guests, impecunious aristocrats and old friends collide, we are treated to Atkinson's most charming and fiendishly clever mystery yet, one that pays homage to the masters of the genre--from Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers to the modern era of Knives Out and Only Murders in the Building.
"Harkens back to classic detective fiction. . . [Brodie's] sixth adventure [is] open to all - to Atkinson aficionados who will lap up this latest installment in the series, and to newcomers who can enjoy it as both a standalone work and a suitable entry-point to Brodie's world. . . Boldly original. . . Gripping. . . Atkinson at her most playful. She impresses with her tightly constructed, satisfyingly complex mystery laced with Agatha Christie references, and with her observations of modern life and human nature"
--The Boston Globe
"[The] singular greatness [of the Jackson Brodie series] lies in Atkinson's celebration of coincidence and fortuity, her wayward plots whose threads become cunningly entwined, and, not least, her mordant wit. . . Atkinson's brilliant wit, dark humor and undimmed relish for human awfulness are still very much intact and are displayed throughout [DEATH AT THE SIGN OF THE ROOK]. . . Highly entertaining"
--The Washington Post
"One needn't have read Kate Atkinson's five (!) prior novels featuring the wry, caddish, more-than-a-little-haunted ex-detective Jackson Brodie to delight in her latest. . . A very British caper, warmly funny and delightfully involving."
--Vogue
"Deliciously witty. . . Atkinson keeps things fast, funny, and fair, delivering a twist-filled mystery that will stump armchair sleuths and a well-sketched supporting cast that's easy to fall in love with. This is sure to delight series fans and newcomers alike."
--Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
"A treat for fans of the series."
--Booklist