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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
Entertaining so far. My standards are lower for audiobooks.
2.5 stars rounded up for book 2 in the Quirke mystery series. Quirke is a medical examiner for Dublin, Ireland. A man he knew from his days in college comes to him to ask a favor. Billy Hunt tells Quirke that his wife has been found dead on a beach, possible suicide. He asks Quirke to not perform an autopsy, because he doesn't want his wife Deidre cut up. Quirke agrees and arranges to have the body sent to him. He discovers a needle mark, and does a full autopsy, but doesn't tell anyone. He doers not mention the needle mark at the inquest. He does decide to investigate quietly, to find out who killed Deidre.
In a series of flashbacks, the reader learns that Deidre falls prey to predatory men, leading into a downward spiral. The sex scenes are sad and depressing. The word that comes to mind is tawdry and I almost did not finish, but I wanted to know who the killer was. The killer was 1 of the people I suspected, but I did not put it all together until the end. The book does have vivid descriptions of life in 1950s Dublin.
One quote, a woman friend to Quirke: "You and I are the same--cold hearts, hot souls. There aren't many like us."
I don't recommend this book to cozy fans. It was an inter-library loan.
In a series of flashbacks, the reader learns that Deidre falls prey to predatory men, leading into a downward spiral. The sex scenes are sad and depressing. The word that comes to mind is tawdry and I almost did not finish, but I wanted to know who the killer was. The killer was 1 of the people I suspected, but I did not put it all together until the end. The book does have vivid descriptions of life in 1950s Dublin.
One quote, a woman friend to Quirke: "You and I are the same--cold hearts, hot souls. There aren't many like us."
I don't recommend this book to cozy fans. It was an inter-library loan.
This is the second book in the series by Irish writer Benjamin Black, AKA John Banville (the Sea, for which he won the Man Booker prize in 2005). This book follows the further adventures of Dublin pathologist Quirke and his complicated family. Quirke has quit drinking, which has made him grumpier than usual and on edge, as he confronts the circumstances of an old acquaintance from college. His curiosity gets the better of him when he is pulled into the mystery of the apparent suicide of this man's young wife. His daughter is involved in the events as well, which puts her in great danger. The descriptions of Dublin's streets, atmosphere and climate combine with the action and mystery to create a haunting sense of place. The writing is brilliantly suited to the crime genre, yet a step above most I've read. I look forward to following these characters in many books to come.
1. I liked it.
2. Another reviewer commented that this was morally claustrophobic and there is a definite deliberate tawdriness that even one of the characters comments on. Certainly one should expect a noir to be dark, but Banville's world's incompetent sleaze is well-established even, and most importantly, in the protagonist.
2. Another reviewer commented that this was morally claustrophobic and there is a definite deliberate tawdriness that even one of the characters comments on. Certainly one should expect a noir to be dark, but Banville's world's incompetent sleaze is well-established even, and most importantly, in the protagonist.
Spoiler
3. If a forensic pathologist deliberately failed to report gross and toxicologic findings that showed illegal drug use and suggested murder, and then announced publicly in a legal action that he thought the decedent had died accidentally, at the very least he would lose his job.
This sequel to Christine Falls (one of my favorite mysteries of 2007), again features Dublin pathologist Quirke investigating another death that ends up hitting close to home. Banville, writing under the pseudonym of Black turns in another gripping, dark, atmospheric mystery.
This is so good, and even more intense than the first one. The villain reminded me of Josephine Tey's bad guys - creepy, charming, and definitely not quite right. Can't wait to start the third one.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
This is the second Quirke mystery I've read (and that Black/Banville has written). Hmmm... his literary writing is so very evident here, with vivid description throughout. That was great; more problematic is the exposition, which is too literary in tone and too much in general. Perhaps I'm just used to more genre-centric mystery writers, but there were times in this book that I simply felt "move on... this isn't needed here" vis-a-vis description and/or exposition. Still, it's an interesting series and I wouldn't avoid a third one.
