Had great fun reading it - Rated 
It starts incredibly fast... a driver in Edinburgh , an enigmatic man right from the beginning, someone whose name isn't what 's written on his identification papers, nearly dies when attacked by a brute driving a honda ,in a city collision... Ironically enough, he is saved by a writer whose laptop proves to be the perfect tool when he crashes it on the skull of the murderous wretch... The incident has been witnessed by many people... whose lives we are going to read about in the next 300 pages.
I found it frustrating at first not to find out more about the driving accident and the parts, those involved had to play.But then, reading more and more about all the witnesses I found myself caught in their life stories, always interesting, often comical, sometimes moving... And all those threads are cleverly woven until the finale reveals it all and you know who the injured driver was and why he was in Edinburgh in the first place. A very clever story, majestically told... an entertaining read that will keep you on tenterhooks.
Awful characters saved by clever plot - Rated 
My feelings about this book are mixed. I almost gave up on it because despite being introduced to dozens of characters in the first 100 pages, I didn't care about a single one of them. Fortunately after that the plot began to take over and I thought the multi-layered 'Russian Doll' theme was very original and worked really well. So 5 stars for the plot and 1 star for the characters gives 3 stars over all.
I don't get it! - Rated 
I read this and was left baffled by all its rave reviews, including those on its cover. I can't understand what all the fuss is about. It's a somewhat incredible story involving a selection of characters who are boring/cliched/unpleasant/all of the above. I didn't care two hoots about any of them! It's set in Edinburgh but there is little sense of place, so that doesn't help. I'm bemused by its 'literary' label, since here we have a writer who doesn't understand about the subjunctive tense and relies a great deal on telling rather than showing, especially at the start. Disappointing!
A Jolly Murder Mystery - Rated 
Is the subtitle of this latest enjoyable novel from Kate Atkinson. This is so much more than a crime novel and in my opinion it is wrong to see it as belonging to this genre.
The author is an expert at weaving complicated tales and `One Good Turn' is no exception. Taking place over just four days the action is fast and furious. At first I found it difficult to keep track of both the characters and the situations as they were introduced. The fairly large cast of characters and the incidents described initially appear to be unrelated but a gradual disclosure of information shows that they are all linked. Coincidence upon coincidence, incident upon incident which all seem to stack together like the Russian Stacking Dolls that keep appearing, along with the witty style of writing should keep you guessing.
To some readers it may seem that these coincidences are highly improbable! Let's remember though that this is a novel for our entertainment that sets out to amuse. I think very successfully.
The plots and twists along the way all come together in an ending that certainly took me by surprise!
Entertaining and keeps you reading to the very end. - Rated
The plot is great, unravelling slowly like the Maryoshka dolls contained in it. The characters are well drawn and none taken too seriously, leadiing to an entertaining read. An unusual who done it. I now want to read Kate Atkinson's Case Histories.
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