Kate Atkinson cannot write books fast enough to keep me happy. Or, to be more precise, she could churn out a new one every month and I would still be hungry for more. I buy them as soon as they hit shelves, and then I force myself to stare at them for months because I know–I know!–how sorry I’ll be when I’ve turned the last page.

While her early novels dissected the dark anatomies of family, Atkinson’s more recent works have focused on loss, grief, and oh, yes! Murder. Her three novels featuring ex-soldier, ex-cop, ex-husband Jackson Brodie (Case Histories; One Good Turn; When Will There Be Good News) give one a fair idea of what might have happened if Charles Dickens and Anton Chekhov had teamed up to write mysteries. And if it’s been too long since you’ve linked arms with a literary heroine who could have knocked back a drink with Dorothy Parker or stared down Norman Mailer, meet Detective Chief Inspector Louise Monroe. Would that all our blackest moments could be viewed through the wry, live-to-fight-another-day lens with which Atkinson’s characters seem to see theirs.

Sure, it’s a dark world, but somebody’s got to get up in the morning.

Knowing that Atkinson’s next book hits in August gives us all good reason.