The Lock-Up: John Banville

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An angry, powerful book seething with love and outrage for a community too often stereotyped or ignored. Publishing director Angus Cargill acquired UK and commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from the Wylie Agency. Faber will publish on 6 April 2023. Inspired by David Copperfield, Kingsolver crafts a 21st-century coming-of-age story set in America’s hard-pressed rural South. Despite their mutual animosity, Strafford and Quirke attempt to connect the dots that could lead to Rosa’s murderer. There are several theories, including her ties to an old, wealthy German family, Phoebe’s ex-boyfriend, Quirke’s ex-colleague and a woman who researched an Israeli nuclear weapons plan. Rosa’s reputation is tainted posthumously by people implying that her loose morals, rebellious nature and always getting herself into trouble led to her death. Booker Prize winner and “Irish master” ( The New Yorker) John Banville’s most ambitious crime novel yet brings two detectives together to solve a globe-spanning mystery

Booker Award winner John Banville creates an intricate plot that examines Rosa's connection to the family of a wealthy German emigre and the hit-and-run death of an investigative reporter in Tel Aviv. While the storyline is well designed, Banville's greatest strengths lie in the development of character and setting. Both Quirke and Strafford are finely drawn, flawed, and very human, and very much of their time. Not only are the characters contextualized, but Banville captures the ambiance and mood of post-war Dublin. I found this book to be quite slow-paced and more character-driven than I had expected, focusing more on the drama surrounding the characters than the actual plot. While I enjoyed getting to know the characters, which were well developed from previous books in the series, I felt like their drama took away from what should have been an exciting murder mystery plot line. Additionally, I noticed that the two main characters (Quirke and Strafford) rarely talked to each other which made me feel disconnected from them both emotionally and intellectually. They have a strange dynamic, not often seen. When you want something dark in which even the "good guys" are problematic figures, in which justice is never quite fully achieved, turn to Banville and Quirke. John Banville provides a well written literary slow-burn mystery. As red herrings and clues mount up, intrigue and suspense slowly ratchet up to a satisfying denouement. This is not a barn burner, but an enjoyable and intriguing mystery, set in an interesting time in history, with exploration of political and religious differences of this time period.

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The death of the woman, Rosa, is ultimately tied to that Catholic-German (Nazi)-Israeli axis I mentioned above. That's enough on that. Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? John Banville is a literary writer but he obviously enjoys writing crime novels too which is great for me as I’m a big mystery fan and have thoroughly enjoyed his earlier books. Booker Prize winner and “Irish master” ( The New Yorker ) John Banville’s most ambitious crime novel yet brings two detectives together to solve a globe-spanning mystery There was, as you would expect from Banville and Quirke, a very complicated plot with many twists and turns. To be honest, with this one I found my credibility stretched to the point where I was pulled out of the book and started to question, something that rarely happens with this series. I felt that he was trying too hard to pull in too many historical elements, and it would have been better (for me at any rate) if he'd left it less complicated. What I was interested in was the people, the relationships, Strafford, and how Quirke was dealing with life after Spain. Yes, I was happy to see some familiar vile faces from past books, but I didn't think it needed to pull in so many strands.

I began with the prototype novel that first created the character, Detective St. John Strafford. Although it was a very unique WWII story, a sort of quasi-thriller, it was not an actual police procedural, or a true mystery, but drew an amusing and bumbling portrait of top secret wartime efforts at V.I.P. protection, while cleverly illuminating the centuries-long resentment and mistrust of the Irish for the British contrasted against the British conqueror’s withering distain and a sclerotic aristocracy. All while they attempted to cooperate -- uncomfortably -- against the common Nazi threat. It was an out-of-left-field espionage romp. Quirke tends to see things others miss and looks at a crime scene and its victims through the eyes of a pathologist rather than a detective. Their collaboration is a challenging one – Quirke despises Strafford, even more so after what happened in Spain, and Strafford can’t bear to be in the same room as the abrasive doctor. Despite the apparent similarities, they are hardly Holmes and Watson. Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland. His father worked in a garage and died when Banville was in his early thirties; his mother was a housewife. He is the youngest of three siblings; his older brother Vincent is also a novelist and has written under the name Vincent Lawrence as well as his own. His sister Vonnie Banville-Evans has written both a children's novel and a reminiscence of growing up in Wexford.Of the two main characters Strafford is the solid, dependable and more likeable one. He initially studied law, but left after a few months to join the garda. Like his marriage he drifted into his career and people often remark that he’s not what one expects an Irish detective to be. Yet, he knows how to handle unusual circumstances because of his own outsider status. Being a Protestant loyalist in the Republic of Ireland has its challenges.

The Strafford/ Quirke novels are very much character driven mystery thrillers. They’re both fascinating flawed men though I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re likeable but they feel very authentic. Strafford is solitary but contented and Quirke is deep in grief and is very emotional post events in Spain (April in Spain, the last novel), which produces uneasy, resentful and sometimes angry outbursts, especially directed at Stratford, often unfairly.Quirke isn’t the most endearing character, which is understandable given that he recently lost his second wife. His proclivity for alcohol does little to improve his demeanour and his daughter, Phoebe, is frequently on the receiving end. Quirke moved in with his daughter after Evelyn’s tragic death, which he blames on Stafford because he could only kill her murderer after she was fatally shot. For the first few years of her life, Phoebe thought Quirke was her uncle after he abandoned her after her mother’s death. The father-daughter relationship is strained and is under even more duress when Strafford shows an interest in Phoebe. Booker Prize winner and “Irish master” ( TheNew Yorker )John Banville’s most ambitious crime novel yet brings two detectives together to solve a globe-spanning mystery This is the third one in his Pathologist, Quirke and Detective Stratford series, following on directly from “April in Spain” when Quirke’s wife was shot and Stratford failed to save her. This is a major theme of the book as Quirke grieves and harbours resentment for this failure and Strafford feels guilt although he knows there was nothing he could have done. Rather than focus primarily on the plot, Banville is more interested in fleshing out his characters, exploring the complexities of their lives and highlighting how the often unseen forces of religion and politics shape decisions and outcomes.