A review by mppilk
The Lock-Up by John Banville

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Dr. Quirke and DI Strafford are fast becoming my favourite odd couple literary figures. At different stages in their lives and careers, from very different backgrounds and with a different approach to their professions and yet their lives can interweave in a totally plausible, if slightly awkward, fashion. 
Rosa Jacobs’,(a Jewish student in Trinity College Dublin),  body is found in an apparent suicide but Quirke isn’t so sure it is suicide. Before we know it a German father and son, living in Wicklow but possibly with business interests in Israel, are suspects. But this is 1950s Ireland so the church and government are intertwined and pressure put on to ignore any possible crime. 
In some ways this is an old fashioned, classy sort of Agatha Christie murder mystery but it really is so much more. The crime and the solving of it in reality is like a backstory with the characters of Quirke and Strafford taking centre stage.  It is also in some ways a social commentary on a new Irish state hugely influenced by the Catholic Church and with a distrust of outsiders. 
Wholeheartedly recommend this novel. Looking forward to the next book already.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for this honest review