Death at the Sign of the Rook: A Jackson Brodie Book

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death by suicide and physical abuse.

While Death at the Sign of the Rook can be read as a standalone text, the novel builds on the fictional world of five earlier Jackson Brodie mysteries: Case Histories (2004), One Good Turn (2006), When Will There Be Good News? (2008), Started Early, Took My Dog (2010), and Big Sky (2019). Jackson Brodie, a private detective and former police officer, is the protagonist who ties the novels together. Each book features multiple storylines that converge with a twist during Jackson’s investigations. Crime drives the plots, but the emotional and psychological repercussions on the characters are the real focus of the narratives. Atkinson weaves philosophical reflections and wry observations into her narratives, breaking away from the main plot to explore her characters’ inner lives or highlight the absurdities of modern life. 

The early books reveal “the trifecta of bereavement” Jackson suffered as a child (10): his mother’s death from cancer, his sister’s murder, and his brother’s death by suicide. Atkinson also exposes the domestic violence that young Jackson witnessed and survived. The detective’s early experiences of trauma and loss drive his professional attempts to attain justice and defend the abused and oppressed.

A series of failed relationships characterize Jackson’s love life. He has an adult daughter, Marlee, from his first marriage to Josie, and a teenage son, Nathan, with his former girlfriend Julia (star of the crime TV series Collier). His second wife, Tessa, was a con artist who disappeared with his money. Meanwhile, the unfulfilled potential of a brief romance with police detective Louise Monroe (now Chief Superintendent Monroe) haunts him throughout the series. The impact of Jackson’s former relationships is highlighted throughout Death at the Sign of the Rook. Jackson hears Julia’s voice “directing him from off-stage” when posing as Dorothy Padgett’s nephew (112), and his investigation of Melanie Hope reminds Jackson of his second marriage as he wonders if “Misleading Mel might be related to Treacherous Tessa” (72). His continued belief that “Louise Monroe was the one he probably shouldn’t have let go” is reinforced by their chance reunion at the novel’s end (303).

Death at the Sign of the Rook also foregrounds Reggie Chase, a character who first appears in When Will There Be Good News? In the earlier novel, Reggie is an orphaned 16-year-old who saves Jackson’s life after a train crash. She enlists his help to investigate the disappearance of Joanna Hunter, a doctor who employs Reggie as a nanny. When they find Dr. Hunter and discover she killed her kidnappers, Jackson and Reggie collude in concealing her guilt from Detective Louise Monroe. Reggie’s history with Jackson is frequently alluded to in Death at the Sign of the Rook. She is torn between her determination to follow procedures as a police officer and “Mr. B’s” more unconventional approach to achieving justice. Her professional relationship with her boss, Chief Superintendent Monroe, is also complicated by the fact that Reggie once concealed a serious crime from her.