Started Early, Took My Dog

I enjoyed Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson which is a murder mystery set in England.  Private detective, Jackson Brodie, is asked by a client in New Zealand to track down her birth parents - a simple enough job he thought, but then finds no record of his client.  Meanwhile, retired policewoman Tracy Waterhouse witnesses an act of child cruelty and impulsively "buys" the little girl from the drug-addicted mother.  She then goes on the run with the child when the mother is murdered.  The plot becomes more complicated as Tracy is being chased by unknown thugs who are concerned with the murder of a prostitute 30 years previously.  This and Jackson Brodie's case are unknowingly linked and there is a good chase as the past catches up with all concerned. 4/5