A review by genre_fiction_is_literature
A Death in Summer by Benjamin Black

4.0

The best in the Quirke series so far. An expertly crafted story without a single unnecessary brush stroke. Banville reliably elevates crime fiction to it's highest literary form but the author seems to be in an all around better mood writing this one. His last was more soaked in loathing and sad glasses of dark liquor, and don't worry, there is still plenty of disturbing material here, and Dr. Quirke remains a morose, brooding stumbler, but it is more of an actual mystery than a character study of a sad pathologist assisting the police. Also it unravels at the perfect tempo, slow but the ramps placed in all the right spots. Highly recommend!!

Banville was tricked into thinking he won the Nobel Prize in Lit in 2019 and I hope one day it happens for reall.