Woman’s Weekly New Zealand – August 05, 2019

MY BOOKS

NewZealandWoman’sWeekly 79

PAYCLOSEATTENTIONWHENYOU READTHIS

ONE...EACHPIECEFORMSTHEWHOLE

OF WORDS

A jigsaw

NickyPellegrino

BOOKSEDITOR

Connect the dots!

readingCORNER

Abouttheauthor...KateAtkinson

Want to make Big Sky

your next book club read?

Here’s a talking point to kick

off the discussion: In what ways

is this at heart a story, not just

about victims, but about

strong women?

YOUR

BOOK CLUB

BigSkybyKateAtkinson(Penguin

RandomHouse,RRP$38).

Now one of the UK’s most

celebrated novelists, Kate worked

in a variety of jobs, from home help

to a secretary, before becoming

successful. It was winning a women’s

weekly magazine’s short story

competition that

inspired her to keep

writing. She lives

in Edinburgh

and this is her

12th bestseller.

On why she

writes: “To have

moved someone

to tears and to move them to

laughter is great. I live to entertain.”

On what she would have done if

she hadn’t been a writer: “I wish

I’d applied to the Security Service.

I think that would have been

fascinating. Although I’m not

terribly good at keeping secrets

• I would have had to have learned
  that part – but I do like secrets.”
  On her refusal to get involved with
  social media: “I just have no desire
  at all to display my thoughts or my
  feelings to people – to me that’s a
  very private thing.”

Big SkyBi Sk

BOOK

WEEK

of the

Philippa Werry is an award-

winning children’s author

who is based in Wellington.

Her latest book is called

Antarctic Journeys (New

Holland, $24.99).

My favourite book ever is...

Persuasion by Jane Austen. My

favourite book will always be a

Jane Austen. For a long time it

was Pride and Prejudice, but

now I think you can’t go past

the quiet but enthralling drama

and suspense of Anne and

Captain Wentworth’s romance.

My book of the moment is...

Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe, a

collection of letters written by

the author to her sister while

she was nannying for two boys

in London. The letters paint a

very funny picture of family life.

Several of the neighbours are

eccentric and/or famous literary

characters and there are

endless hilarious conversations

with the boys. Plus, this book

gives a fascinating glimpse of

life in Britain in the 1980s.

I

’m a fan of Kate Atkinson’s

books, but for some reason

I’ve never read one of her

Jackson Brodie detective

novels. Apparently I’ve been

missing out! Big Sky is not your

standard thriller. It has a plot

like a maze or intricate web;

everything in it connects in

some way, although at first you’ll

be at a loss to work out how.

At the centre of it all is retired

cop Jackson Brodie, currently

earning a living as a private

investigator, following cheating

husbands around the seaside

towns of north Yorkshire.

Jackson is your classic tough

guy with a good heart. He may

be a bit disappointed with the

way his life has panned out, but

he’s getting on with it.

A series of apparently random

events unfolds. Jackson finds

himself officially involved when

Crystal, a glamorous trophy wife

with a secret, hires him because

she suspects she is being

followed. But a lot happens

before we reach that point.

There are many characters and

so much detail about their lives

• some of it mundane – that you
  have to read slowly to be sure
  not to miss anything vital.
  Two young Polish sisters go
  to England on the promise of
  jobs and a chance to better
  themselves. A middle-aged
  man called Vince has lost his
  wife and job, and is reaching the
  end of his tether. His golfing
  buddy Andy is running a failing
  boutique hotel but still has
  more money than he knows
  what to do with. A girl has
  disappeared. A couple of young
  cops are looking at a cold case.
  Crystal is trying to live a happy
  life with her wealthy husband
  and kids, but her past is
  catching up with her.

Soon it becomes apparent

there is sickening stuff going on.

Those Polish girls have a shock

in store. Andy isn’t who he

seems. Vince might not be

either. Crystal’s life is more of

a lie than she ever imagined.

Acerbic, full of sly wit and hot

button topics, Big Sky is very

clever. As the pieces of the

puzzle fit together the pace

picks up, but don’t be tempted

to rush it. Writing like this

deserves to be savoured.