One Good Turn

Millionaire Jackson Brodie, ex-cop and ex-PI, witnesses a "road rage" attack outside an Edinburgh theater. Small-time thug Paul Bradley is beaten with a baseball bat by the driver of the Honda that rear-ended him. Another witness, mystery writer Martin Canning, saves Bradley by throwing his laptop at the attacker's head. There are other witnesses, but it's Canning whom the "Honda Man" later begins to stalk. When Brodie agrees to "bodyguard" Canning, he's thrust into contact with a suspicious medley of shady characters. Robin Atkin Downes has a field day playing all the interlocking characters, and it's his Scots brogues and crackling one-liners that most impress the listener. A magnificent performance. M.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

July 17, 2006
Having won a wide following for her first crime novel (and fifth book), Case Histories
(2004), Atkinson sends Det. Jackson Brodie to Edinburgh while girlfriend Julia performs in a Fringe Festival play. When incognito thug "Paul Bradley" is rear-ended by a Honda driver who gets out and bashes Bradley unconscious with a baseball bat, the now-retired Jackson is a reluctant witness. Other bystanders include crime novelist Martin Canning, a valiant milquetoast who saves Bradley's life, and tart-tongued Gloria Hatter, who's plotting to end her 39-year marriage to a shady real estate developer. Jackson walks away from the incident, but keeps running into trouble, including a corpse, the Honda man and sexy, tight-lipped inspector Louise Monroe. Everyone's burdened by a secret—infidelity, unprofessional behavior, murder—adding depth and many diversions. After Martin misses a visit from the Honda man (Martin's wonderfully annoying houseguest isn't so lucky), he enlists Jackson as a bodyguard, pulling the characters into closer orbit before they collide on Gloria Hatter's lawn. Along the way, pieces of plot fall through the cracks between repeatedly shifting points of view, and the final cataclysm feels forced. But crackling one-liners, spot-on set pieces and full-blooded cameos help make this another absorbing character study from the versatile, effervescent Atkinson.

ONE GOOD TURN is a kind of literary crime romp set during the Edinburgh Festival. Martin Canning, mystery writer, throws his bag at a baseball-wielding thug to save the life of a stranger. (Festival-goers believe it to be theater.) The incident reverberates through the lives of the many witnesses. Steven Crossley's measured British voice is a pleasure. He deftly develops voices for a myriad of damaged characters, including the timid Martin, deep-voiced retired P.I. Jackson Brodie (returning from CASE HISTORIES), a mysterious husky-voiced Russian with a pink "Favours" card in her bra, and many more. Crossley's pacing and patience are impeccable, especially through Atkinson's many detours. A.B. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine