When Will There Be Good News? Flashcards
What are the females typically presented as?
fierce
How is this not a typical crime novel?
The New York Times calls her novels “literary hybrids” and she certainly pushes the boundaries of the crime writing genre in this text.
- she does not offer a straight forward take on the genre. There is little mystery about who commits the crimes in this text
Who are the criminals? and what are there crimes
Andrew Decker (kills Joanna’s family)
David Needler (shot the mother and sister of his wife at one of his children’s birthday parties)
Neil hunter (shady businesses)
Billy (drug dealing)
Tessa (fraud)
Joanna (killed her kidnappers, persuaded Andrew decker to commit suicide)
What is the main crime that drives the plot?
disappearance of Joanna and her son, which is investigated first by Reggie and then Brodie and Munroe.
Who are all the victims and what are they victims of?
- Gabrielle, Jessica and Joseph Mason
- the mother and sister of Alison Needler
- policeman, Marcus, who is shot by Needler.
-Reggie’s mother, Ms Macdonald and Jackson Brodie (victim of accidents) - Brodie (also a victim of identity theft by Andrew Decker and
embezzlement by his wife) - Joanna hunter
In what ways is Joanna a victim?
- the six year old who witnessed the murder of her mother,
sister, brother and dog. - victim of a father who does not love her and who does little to aid her recovery of her loss and enhances her guilt of being a survivor
-victim of her husband whose corrupt actions
lead to her kidnapping.
In what ways is Joanna not a victim?
-Atkinson does not present her as a helpless victim. Instead she is a “warrior queen” with strength
- she takes control of her life and forges a career
-killing her captors and saving herself and her baby
-secures revenge on Decker by visiting him in prison before his release and persuading him to commit suicide (he is a catholic and it is the ultimate sin)
In what ways is Reggie a victim?
- She is an orphan
- She is 16
- Ginger and Blondie, who want payment and want to know where Billy is beat her up
- They also torch her flat, destroying her books and A level notes.
In what ways is Reggie not a victim
- She finds a route out of her poverty and the toughness of her young life by pursuing education (tutored by Ms Macdonald)
- finding herself work as a nanny with Dr Hunter.
- Never is Reggie self-pitying. instead she’s optimistic and resilient
Who are the detectives?
Jackson brodie
Reggie chase
Louise Munroe
In what ways is Jackson brodie a detective?
- His character have already been established in Atkinson’s earlier detective novels Case Histories and One Good Turn.
- quick thinking and brave, shown when Joanna is found and he sees the dead bodies of her captors, he instinctively sets fire to the house, getting rid of the whole crime scene
In what ways is Reggie chase a detective?
- Reggie is exceptionally well read and educated
- Not or conventional detective, she too is a victim
- She first becomes suspicious of Joanna Hunter’s abnormal disappearance, reading the clues expertly
- “Reggie Chase, Girl Detective”
In what ways is Louise Munroe a detective?
- Although she’s a deceive she more fittingly fits the representation of the police
-She also has a previous life and
history with Brodie in Atkinson’s earlier novels - she is looking Joanna with Brodie and Reggie
- looking out for mass murderer David Needler
- Investigating Neil for an arson attack on his amusement
arcade
What are the main coincidences?
- uses it deliberately to make a point about the significance of
destiny and fate in human lives - Ms MacDonald is the cause of the Musselburgh
train crash in which Brodie nearly loses his life
-Reggie, who is house sitting for Ms MacDonald and is Joanna Hunter’s nanny, saves Brodie
-Andrew Decker happens to be on the same train and changes identity with Brodie
-when Joanna Hunter goes missing Reggie enlists the help of Brodie
- Brodie is connected Louise Munroe, who is the police officer who tells Joanna that Andrew Decker is being released from prison and who also investigates the suspicious fire at Neil Hunter’s arcade.
- The link between Brodie and Joanna are revealed in the last pages.
How are punishments shown?
- Needler and Decker both commit suicide by shooting themselves.
- two kidnappers of Joanna Hunter are murdered
- Neil Hunter is charged with arson and for
submitting a false insurance claim, he also looses Joanna - Billy loses his stash of heroin, which Reggie finds and places in Ms Macdonald’s coffin
