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8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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What the critics wrote about
One Good Turn
An absolute joy to read . . . the pleasure of One Good Turn lies
in the ride, in Atkinsons wry, unvanquished characters, her
swooping, savvy, sarcastic prose and authorial joie de vivre
Guardian
Atkinsons bright voice rings on every page, and her sly and wry
observations move the plot as swiftly as suspense turns thepages of a thriller
San Francisco Chronicle
It doesnt really matter in which genre Atkinson chooses to write.
Her subject is always the irrecoverable loss of love and how best
to continue living once you have glumly recognized that That waswhat the world was like, things improved but they didnt get better.
Her gift is in presenting this unnerving and subversive philosophy
as a dazzling form of entertainment
Sunday Times
A remarkable feat of storytelling bravadoWashington Post
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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Thrillingly addictive . . . In One Good Turn Atkinson proves quite
unique in her ability to fuse emotional drama and thriller . . . Imagine
a Richard Curtis film scripted by Raymond Chandler, both a little
enlivened by the collaboration . . . The mix is embodied by Brodie.
Like all good detectives, he is a hero for men and women alike
The Times
Atkinson is frequently very funny, while the tone stays light
the plot continues to darken . . . manages to be that rarest
of things a good literary novel and a cracking holiday read
Observer
An extraordinary tapestry that is both hilarious, poignant and
unexpected . . . Atkinson at her peak: full of wit, surprises and
humanity. Not to be missed
Sunday Express
High suspense and rattling pace . . . charged with adrenalin anda spry humour
Financial Times
Whatever she does is done to the highest of literary standards. She
has produced an engrossing, enjoyable, complex novel packed with
intriguing characters, vividly imagined scenes and a compelling plotTimes Literary Supplement
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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One story nests within another, like the set of Russian dolls that
Martin owns . . . Kate Atkinson has that priceless Ancient Mariner
ability that keeps the reader turning the pages
Spectator
Kate Atkinson is an absolute must-read. I love everything she writes
Harlan Coben
While Kate Atkinson could give a masterclass on creating believable
and intriguing characters, she also knows more than a thing or two
about plotting . . . another class act
Mirror
Deft and funny prose sums up each character sharply and
endearingly . . . blends humour with page-turning action . . .
masterfully controlled
Time Out London
Compelling and always entertaining . . . piercing, lucid and perceptive
USA Today
A detective novel packed with more wit, insight and subtlety than
an entire shelf-full of literary fictionMarie Claire
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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Also by
KATE
ATKINSON
Behind the Scenesat the Museum
A surprising, tragicomic and subversive family saga
set in York, Kate Atkinsons prizewinning first novel,
like all her novels, has a mystery at its heart.
Little short of a masterpiece
Daily Mail
Human CroquetA multilayered, moving novel about the forest
of Arden, a girl who drops in and out of time,
and the heartrending mystery of a lost mother.
Brilliant and engrossing
Penelope Fitzgerald
Emotionally Weird
Set in Dundee, this clever, comic novel depicts student lifein all its wild chaos, and a girls poignant quest for her father.
Achingly funny . . . executed with wit and mischief
Meera Syal
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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Not the End of the WorldKate Atkinsons first collection of short
stories playful and profound.
Moving and funny, and crammed with incidental wisdom
Sunday Times
Also featuring Jackson Brodie:
Case HistoriesThe first novel to feature Jackson Brodie, the former police detective,
who finds himself investigating three separate cold murder cases in
Cambridge, while still haunted by a tragedy in his own past.
The best mystery of the decade
Stephen King
When There Be Good News?A six-year-old girl witnesses an appalling crime.
Thirty years later, Jackson Brodie is on a fatal journey
that will hurtle him into its aftermath.
Genius . . . insightful, often funny, life-affirming
Sunday Telegraph
Will
Started Early, Took My DogJackson Brodie returns to Yorkshire, his home county, in
search of someone elses roots, while security chief TracyWaterhouse makes an impulse purchase that will replace the
tedium of everyday life with fear and danger.2
The best British crime novel of the year
Heat
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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ONE GOOD TURN
A Jolly Murder Mystery
Kate Atkinson
7
CHAPTER
BLACK SWAN
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS61-63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA
A Random House Group Company
ONE GOOD TURN
First published in Great Britainin 2006 by Doubleday
an imprint of Transworld PublishersBlack Swan edition published 2007
CopyrightKate Atkinson 2006
The author and publishers are grateful to the Society of Authors as theLiterary Representative of the Estate of Laurence Binyon, for permission to
reproduce short extracts from Binyons poem For the Fallen(September 1914)
Kate Atkinson has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs andPatents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, anyresemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this bookis available from the British Library.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not,by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out,
or otherwise circulated without the publishers priorconsent in any form of binding or cover other than that
in which it is published and without a similar condition,including this condition, being imposed on the
subsequent purchaser.
Addresses for Random House Group Ltd companies outside the UKcan be found at: www.randomhouse.co.uk The Random House Group Ltd R No. 954009
Typeset in 11/15pt Giovanni Book byFalcon Oast Graphic Art Ltd.
Printed in the UK by CPI Cox & Wyman, Reading, RG1 8EX.
A BLACK SWAN BOOK: 9780552777872
The Random House Group Limited supports The Forest StewardshipCouncil (FSC), the leading international forest certification organisation.All our titles that are printed on Greenpeace approved FSC certified paper
carry the FSC logo. Our paper procurement policy can be found at:www.randomhouse.co.uk/environment
eg.
www.transworldbooks.co.uk
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Black Swan edition reissued 2011
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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For Debbie, Glynis, Judith, Lynn, Penny,Sheila and Tessa.
For the way we were and for the way we are.
9
CHAPTER
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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I owe a debt of gratitude to Martin Auld, Malcolm R.
Dickson (Assistant Inspector of Constabulary for
Scotland), Russell Equi, Major Michael Keech, Sheriff
Andrew Lothian, Dr Doug Lyle and Dr Anthony Toft fortelling me things they knew and I didnt. Apologies if I
have misunderstood that information or, occasionally,
wilfully misused or distorted it.
Thank you to David Robinson and Donald Ross at
the Scotsman, to Reagan Arthur, to Kim Witherspoon
and to Peter Strauss and to Little Brown, US, andTransworld, UK.
Thank you also to David Lindgren for trying, and
usually failing, to explain corporate law to me and,
more importantly, for being a lawyer who lunches.
Thanks also to Alan Stalker and Stephen Cotton for
coming to the rescue in hard times.Last but not least, thank you to the writer Ray Allan
for graciously allowing me to steal a story from his life.
11
CHAPTER
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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Male parta, male dilabuntur.
(What is dishonourably got is dishonourably
squandered.)(Cicero, Philippics, II, 27)
13
CHAPTER
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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Tuesday
15
CHAPTER
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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1
HE WAS LOST. HE WASNT USED TO BEING LOST. HE WAS
the kind of man who drew up plans and then
executed them efficiently, but now everything
was conspiring against him in ways he decided he
couldnt have foreseen. He had been stuck in a jam onthe A1 for two mind-numbing hours so that it was
already past the middle of the morning when he arrived
in Edinburgh. Then hed gone adrift on a one-way
system and been thwarted by a road closed because of a
burst water main. It had been raining, steadily and
unforgivingly, on the drive north and had only begun toease off as he hit the outskirts of town. The rain had in no
way deterred the crowds it had never occurred to him
that Edinburgh was in the middle of the Festival and that
there would be carnival hordes of people milling around
as if the end of a war had just been declared. The closest
he had previously got to the Edinburgh Festival wasaccidentally turning on Late Night Review and seeing a
bunch of middle-class wankers discussing some
pretentious piece of fringe theatre.
17
CHAPTER
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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He ended up in the dirty heart of the city, in a street
that somehow seemed to be on a lower level than the
rest of the town, a blackened urban ravine. The rain had
left the cobbles slick and greasy and he had to drive
cautiously because the street was teeming with people,
haphazardly crossing over or standing in little knots in
the middle of the road, as if no one had told them that
roads were for cars and pavements were for pedestrians.
A queue snaked the length of the street people waiting
to get into what looked like a bomb hole in the wall but
which announced itself, on a large placard outside the
door, as Fringe Venue 164.
The name on the driving licence in his wallet was
Paul Bradley. Paul Bradley was a nicely forgettable
name. He was several degrees of separation away fromhis real name now, a name that no longer felt as if it had
ever belonged to him. When he wasnt working he often
(but not always) went by the name Ray. Nice and
simple. Ray of light, Ray of darkness. Ray of sunshine,
Ray of night. He liked slipping between identities,
sliding through the cracks. The rental Peugeot he wasdriving felt just right, not a flashy macho machine but
the kind of car an ordinary guy would drive. An
ordinary guy like Paul Bradley. If anyone asked him
what he did, what Paul Bradley did, he would say,
Boring stuff. Im just a desk jockey, pushing papers
around in an accounts department.He was trying to drive and at the same time decipher
his AZ of Edinburgh to work out how to escape from
this hellish street when someone stepped in front of the
ONE GOOD TURN
18Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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car. It was a type he loathed a young dark-haired guy
with thick, black-framed spectacles, two days of stubble
and a fag hanging out of his mouth, there were
hundreds of them in London, all trying to look like
French existentialists from the Sixties. Hed bet that not
one of them had ever opened a book on philosophy.
Hed read the lot, Plato, Kant, Hegel, even thought
about one day doing a degree.
He braked hard and didnt hit the spectacles guy, just
made him give a little jump, like a bullfighter avoiding
the bull. The guy was furious, waving his fag around,
shouting, raising a finger to him. Charmless, devoid of
manners were his parents proud of the job theyd
done? He hated smoking, it was a disgusting habit,
hated guys who gave you the finger and screamed, Spinon it!, saliva flying out of their filthy, nicotine-stained
mouths.
He felt the bump, about the same force as hitting a
badger or a fox on a dark night, except it came from
behind, pushing him forward. It was just as well the
spectacles guy had performed his little paso doble andgot out of the way or he would have been pancaked. He
looked in the rear-view mirror. A blue Honda Civic, the
driver climbing out big guy, slabs of weightlifter
muscle, gym-fit rather than survival-fit, he wouldnt
have been able to last three months in the jungle or the
desert the way that Ray could have done. He wouldnthave lasted a day. He was wearing driving gloves, ugly
black leather ones with knuckle holes. He had a dog in
the back of the car, a beefy Rottweiler, exactly the dog
19
TUESDAY
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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you would have guessed a guy like that would have. The
guy was a walking clich. The dog was having a seizure
in the back, spraying saliva all over the window, its
claws scrabbling on the glass. The dog didnt worry him
too much. He knew how to kill dogs.
Ray got out of the car and walked round to the back
bumper to inspect the damage. The Honda driver
started yelling at him, You stupid, fucking twat, what
did you think you were doing? English. Ray tried to
think of something to say that would be non-
confrontational, that would calm the guy down you
could see he was a pressure cooker waiting to blow,
wanting to blow, bouncing on his feet like an out-of-
condition heavyweight. Ray adopted a neutral stance, a
neutral expression, but then he heard the crowd give alittle collective Aah of horror and he registered the
baseball bat that had suddenly appeared in the guys
hand out of nowhere and thought, shit.
That was the last thought he had for several seconds.
When he was able to think again he was sprawled on
the street, holding the side of his head where the guyhad cracked him. He heard the sound of broken glass
the bastard was putting in every window in his car now.
He tried, unsuccessfully, to struggle to his feet but
managed only to get to a kneeling position as if he was
at prayer and now the guy was advancing with the bat
lifted, feeling the heft of it in his hand, ready to swingfor a home run on his skull. Ray put an arm up to
defend himself, made himself even more dizzy by doing
that and, sinking back on to the cobbles, thought, Jesus,
ONE GOOD TURN
20Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8/3/2019 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson Sample Chapter
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is this it? Hed given up, hed actually given up some-
thing hed never done before when someone stepped
out of the crowd, wielding something square and black
that he threw at the Honda guy, clipping him on the
shoulder and sending him reeling.
He blacked out again for a few seconds and when he
came to there were a couple of policewomen hunkered
down beside him, one of them saying, Just take it easy,
sir, the other one on her radio calling for an ambulance.
It was the first time in his life that hed been glad to see
the police.
21
TUESDAY
Copyright KATE ATKINSON 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored