Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet

A novel of split-personalities, identity, and persuasion.

When Veronica throws herself under a train, her sister launches a private investigation into her death. Her chief suspect: Veronica’s psychotherapist - the notorious upstart and philanderer Collins Braithwaite, author of a book called Kill Your Self.

She adopts a new name - Rebecca - and goes undercover, posing as Braithwaite’s latest patient.

He took my bag from the floor. I was terrified for a moment that he was going to find the dead mouse wrapped in tissue paper. (45)

But for our intrepid investigator, danger comes from a most unexpected corner. She not only contends with Braithwaite’s influence, but from Rebecca herself. Can she hold true to herself? What does that even mean? Can she find out in time?

In true Macrae Burnet style, there are stories within stories and layers of narrative reality. Book-ended by a framing narrative, the story chops between the diaries of Veronica’s sister and dry biographical sections on Collins Braithwaite. I found the latter a chore.

Rebecca took a mouthful of gin. We had rather acquired a taste for it. That was one thing we had in common. Rebecca and I both loved gin. (221)

The diaries are where the sparkle is and the dialogues between the narrator and Rebecca towards the end were the highlight for me.

I wasn’t half as gripped by Case Study as I was with Graeme Macrae Burnet’s superb Man Booker short-listed His Bloody History (2015) or with the muted moods of his anti-detective novel The Accident on the A35 (2017). Looking forward to reading his first novel The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau (2014).