Even the Dead

November 9, 2015
Irish author Black’s atmospheric eighth novel featuring 1950s Dublin pathologist Quirke (after 2013’s Holy Orders) finds a morose Quirke on sick leave and in something of a midlife crisis, convalescing as a houseguest of his adoptive brother, Mal, and Mal’s depressed American wife. Quirke’s ticket out of the unhealthy situation comes in the form of a suspicious death: that of a young man whose charred body has been found in the wreckage of his car, but with a dent above his left temple suggesting foul play. Meanwhile, a terrified young woman begs Phoebe, Quirke’s daughter and a classmate from a secretarial course, for help—and then vanishes. With the aid of his policeman friend, Inspector Hackett, Quirke begins delving into both mysteries, which prove to be related. Black (aka Man Booker Prize–winner John Banville) certainly knows how to spin an engaging, often suspenseful noir, but the plot’s overreliance on coincidence and an implausible denouement make this entry of most interest to those already hooked on the series. Agent: Ed Victor, Ed Victor Literary Agency (U.K.).

February 29, 2016
Reader Keating’s soft Irish voice can turn gruff and harsh on a dime in this seventh entry in Black’s series about Quirke, a consultant pathologist in 1950s Dublin. The novel begins with the doctor on sick leave at the home of his stepbrother, Mal. A suspicious accident—a young man burned to death in a car crash—is Quirke’s ticket back to the real world, and he and his fast-talking pal Inspector Hackett investigate the death. Meanwhile, Phoebe, Quirke’s daughter, is approached by a former classmate, Lisa Smith, who asks her help in escaping a stalker. Eventually the paths of father and daughter connect, but the novel’s focus is less on the crime and its solution than on Quirke’s progress in dealing with the malaise and guilt that have haunted him since his debut in 2006’s Christine Falls. This time, Black fills most of the novel with the darker elements of Dublin life at mid-century, with Keating’s brogue adding its own air of melancholy. A Holt hardcover.

In this installment of Benjamin Black's (aka John Banville) Quirke mysteries, his pathologist sleuth has suffered a beating that has left him with brain lesions. While convalescing, Quirke is living with Mal and Rose, Quirke's former lover and sort-of sister-in-law, who still has a yen for him and is supposed to be from the American South. John Keating's "Southern" accent is really terrible. On the other hand, his Irish atmospherics are wonderful. This is perhaps not the place to start this series, as various subplots depend on backstory from previous Quirke novels for their payoffs here. Keating also seems to get lost on occasion in the middle of a sentence, which doesn't help. But if you're already a Quirke fan, you'll have a fine time. B.G. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine