Reviews

An excellent entry in the series. Great character development as well as an enjoyable slow burn crime story. The setting in 1950s Ireland with the influence of the Church and the recent war feels very authentic. Many thanks to pigeonhole for the chance to read.

lokroma's review against another edition

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3.0

#9 in Banville's Quirke series, this doesn't disappoint. Such a treat to read a crime novel that is not only a good story, but also superbly written...by one of the best living writers around.

saoirsha_leabharlann's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

enjoyed this book a lot. Definitely easy to read and a great way to start the year. Plenty of Irish references but not difficult to follow if you don't know the place

ajitate's review

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2.0

Apart from the regular frustration of having to read poorly constructed sentences several times to extract their meaning, and regular pov changes per page that were poorly orchestrated, the story itself is interesting, although some may consider the final outcome a poor exchange for the reading investment.

I read this book as it's billed as Strafford #3... But also Quirke #9 apparently. As Strafford barely appears in #2 and Quirke dominates this novel as well I don't know that I'll let the lax marketing suck me in a fourth time.

bigt's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is not a typical murder mystery and the detective/doctor combo responsible for investigating the crime do little detective work and don’t even like each other. However parts of the book are beautifully written and the plot has a number of interesting twists and turns. Worth reading if you are interested in Ireland - if you have visited the country or are planning a trip, this book captures a lot of the character of the cities and the people. A previous reviewer has said the author hates women. I don’t agree, but aspects of the narrative may irritate some readers. I enjoyed the book for its history, plot and Irishness, and the overall quality of the writing which is why I’ve given a 4 star rating.

margaret21's review

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4.0

We're in 1950s Dublin, some six months after Banville's April in Spain too place. A young women has apparently asphyxiated herself in her car a lock-up garage. It becomes apparent it's a murder. As ever, though the whole of the book is on the surface an account of the efforts to solve the crime and find the perpetrator, actually, that's not the reason to read it. Instead, it's about the more-than-prickly relationship between DI Strafford and police pathologist Dr. Quirke, about the complicated love affairs both men have in 1950s Dublin, still under the somewhat puritanical stranglehold of the Catholic church. And this extends to its influence over police investigations as well as moral arbitration. It's about the weather, the greyness of Dublin. And it's about simply enjoying Banville's luscious writing. So many reasons to read and appreciate this book!

_askthebookbug's review

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3.0

The Lock-up boasts itself to be a crime fiction novel but more often than not, I thought it was just an ordinary fictional tale. Of course, there’s a crime but the story somehow revolves more around its characters and their several qualities than actually focusing on the crime itself. What baffled me the most was how a book which could have been wrapped up in a hundred pages went on for about 352 pages. I almost gave up multiple times.

The story is set in the 1950s, Dublin when a young woman named Rosa Jacobs is found dead in a lockup garage due to carbon monoxide poisoning. What initially seems like a straight forward suicide case quickly takes a turn when Quirke (pathologist) points out that it is more likely to be a murder. DI Stafford is assigned to the case along with Dr Quirke as they go digging about the poor woman’s history. The two men make an unlikely pair as a doctor detective duo. Due to an unfortunate incident, the two barely get along and also don’t exchange more than 10 lines with each other in the book.

As they investigate the case, ugly heads from the recent war are discovered. Powerful families are suspected and with the help of the dead woman’s sister, the case slowly starts to make more sense. The story is also set in some interesting locations, starting off in Italy, then moving towards Dublin and Bavaria. But this book’s major shortcoming were its characters and an attempt at making them seem darkly charming. DI Stafford did nothing much to crack the case and while Quirke’s minute contribution did set the story into motion, it didn’t amount to much as compared to other detective duos. A lot of time was spent dissecting their lives and romances rather than focusing on the crime plot. The story was truly very stretched.

In short, The Lock-up was a disappointment. I love a good murder mystery but not so much when the surrounding drama takes over the actual plot.

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