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asuitablereader's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This is not your conventional police procedural. It’s more of a novel that has a mystery as part of it. The writing is gorgeous. Absolutely stunning. As you’d expect from a Booker Prize winning author.
tracey21k's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
reads_eats_explores's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Detective Strafford and pathologist Dr Quirke meet again in 1950s Dublin to investigate an apparent suicide, which of course, was still a criminal act.
Rosa Jacobs is found dead in a garage, and it initially looks like an open-and-shut case. The body of the 27-year-old Jewish woman, a history scholar at the prestigious Trinity College, is discovered behind the wheel of a car, with its hood up and most of its windows closed, a hose connecting the exhaust pipe to the gap in the driver’s side window.
Of course, life and death cannot be so simple in a crime novel, and it soon transpires Miss Jacobs's cause of death is, in fact, murder. Most likely, she was gagged and anesthetised before being put in the running car to lay red herrings for any investigators to come.
Thankfully, Strafford and Quirke are not afraid to upset the apple cart and ask uncomfortable questions, much to the disquiet of the Chief Inspector, who feels the power of Church and Government much more fiercely.
Their investigation leads them to a wealthy German family with businesses worldwide, including in Israel. Rosa apparently knew this family well, and there are rumours that Rosa was romantically involved with one member, Frank. The plot thickens as the investigators discover that a hit-and-run driver has killed a friend of Rosa’s from Tel Aviv. Are these two deaths connected?
Throughout the novel, the strained relationship between Strafford and Quirke is probed; Quirke’s wife was shot to death in Spain, and Strafford killed her killer (and I feel I missed out a doonshie bit, having not yet read April in Spain). Still, there's much more to their discomfort, with neither man really understanding the making of the other - Strafford, a wealthy Prod, Quirke, a Catholic foundling who made good of himself.
The Lock-Up has a solid plot which will have you second-guessing your speculations on whodunit, but it's the prose and dialogue that are top-notch, perfectly fitting for the era in which these books are set.
The ending was a little disappointing but overall a solid read. I look forward to more of this rather quirky (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun) pair. 4⭐
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance copy in return for an honest review, as always.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance copy in return for an honest review, as always.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Confinement, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, War, Abandonment, Classism, Infidelity, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Hate crime, Xenophobia, and Death
enchanted_reader32's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Quote:
"𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜, 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑡𝑜, 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜
𝑂𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝑑𝑜 𝑎 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙 𝑖𝑛."
Review:
This book started slow and didn't particularly intrigue me. Throughout the plot, there was no focus on the case at hand; no suspects until 2/3ds into the book and no way to know who did it. All of the focus, however rested on the detective and the doctor's personal lives and problems.
The book starts with a body in the lock-up, then it isn't mentioned again until the end of the book, where suddenly both characters have the epiphany that all the "accidents" are connected. And they don't even arrest the right guy! We're supposed to be rooting for the good guys, not watching the bad guys get away.
It was however well-written and the characters felt very authentic.
Thank you @jonathanballpublishers for the gifted copy.
"𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜, 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑡𝑜, 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜
𝑂𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝑑𝑜 𝑎 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙 𝑖𝑛."
Review:
This book started slow and didn't particularly intrigue me. Throughout the plot, there was no focus on the case at hand; no suspects until 2/3ds into the book and no way to know who did it. All of the focus, however rested on the detective and the doctor's personal lives and problems.
The book starts with a body in the lock-up, then it isn't mentioned again until the end of the book, where suddenly both characters have the epiphany that all the "accidents" are connected. And they don't even arrest the right guy! We're supposed to be rooting for the good guys, not watching the bad guys get away.
It was however well-written and the characters felt very authentic.
Thank you @jonathanballpublishers for the gifted copy.
sarec's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
coffeebooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
cdhotwing's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
emeroc's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
annemariewhelehan's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I enjoyed this book. I had read Snow and April in Spain before. When I read April in Spain, I was introduced to Quirke for the first time. When I look into it, It seems Quirke was a detective when Banville wrote as Benjamin Black. So I’m a little confused that he is now a pathologist. And the blurb for the book says its about two detectives, but all I’m seeing is Stafford. So totally confused.
This book is as much about Stafford and Quirke’s lives as it is about the murder they are investigating. It’s a period of time I love reading about, 1950s Dublin. I know the streets where all the action was, so that always endears me to a novel. It wraps up quickly in the end, so that felt a bit rushed to me. And not sure we need both of the main characters hooking up with much younger girls, feels a tad seedy. But i do like the general setting of the two guys figuring out stuff, and look forward to the next one.
This book is as much about Stafford and Quirke’s lives as it is about the murder they are investigating. It’s a period of time I love reading about, 1950s Dublin. I know the streets where all the action was, so that always endears me to a novel. It wraps up quickly in the end, so that felt a bit rushed to me. And not sure we need both of the main characters hooking up with much younger girls, feels a tad seedy. But i do like the general setting of the two guys figuring out stuff, and look forward to the next one.