Having only read Kate Atkinson's collection of short stories Not The End Of The World previously I had for a while wanted to get stuck in one of her critically acclaimed novels. I managed to get my hands on Case Histories via www.bookmooch.com and was submerged into the world of Jackson Brodie, a former police inspector turned private detective in Cambridge - a world where nobody is perfect, but where good people do exist. The book weaves at times a complex and rich tapestry of lives, stories and tragedies, but at times the pattern of this weave becomes somewhat predictable and boring.

You could describe the book as part thriller, part drama and part journey to self discovery for most of its charaters. Everyone in the book has a story to tell and a secret to keep. Everyone also seems to be connected to eachother in one way or another, no matter how remote and individual these people are. The book starts off beautifully concentrating on three main stories, building them up individually, and then slowly together using Mr Brodie as the red thread throughout. The first half really is so good I did not want to put the book down, but then things start to slip. In the end I felt I had started a totally different book to what I finished reading.

What I was most impressed about Atkinson's short stories previously was her skill to portray people and their stories with such bitter sweet sharpness and reality. She did not, to an extent, fail in Case Histories either. Her strength really lies in building up her characters, but her problems start when it comes to carrying their stories through in a believable manner. At least in this novel. I was let down by the way the stories fell into somewhat obvious and dull grooves after such a magnificent start that this book undeniably has.

I feel that Atkinson's strength really lies in her short stories. She has real skill in building her characters and stories together like a beautiful patchwork when she is forced to be concice and has to deliver a snapshot of a person and their life, and event or any memory. I was let down with her "sewing skills" in this novel, where beautiful colours and texture weaved together just seemed to form in the end something predictable and repetitive.

Best to be read on a beach holiday, trip to the country or during those rainy Sunday afternoons when you need a bit of a mystery and thrill (with a nice cup of tea).