greenblack's review
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
katykat3's review against another edition
3.0
It was a very interesting novel. I felt like there were too many characters who were trying to play detective, so we didn't really focus on the main detective. I also haven't read the earlier books featuring this detective, so although the character's backstories were explained so I wasn't completely lost, I wish I had read the other books featuring Quirke first.
Overall it was pretty enjoyable. Not too long and drawn out. The plot is more character based than actually hunting out clues.
I received this book through Goodreads Free Giveaway.
Overall it was pretty enjoyable. Not too long and drawn out. The plot is more character based than actually hunting out clues.
I received this book through Goodreads Free Giveaway.
bgg616's review against another edition
3.0
The characters in this story were unlikeable which made this book hard to like. I do like Quirke, the pathologist, and protagonist, but there was little compelling in this mystery.
nonna7's review against another edition
5.0
I finally caught up my Benjamin Black reading with this last book. This is the latest in his "Quirke" series, so it will probably be a year or two before another comes out. If you are not familiar with Black, you would probably know Mann-Booker winner, John Banville. I've become addicted to this author. They are not the "easy reads" of so many mystery writers out there. The plotting is deliberate, even slow. Motives are tangled and obscure. Endings are seldom satisfactory. In this latest story, a wealthy man commits suicide. Apparently in 1950's Ireland, the police always have questions even when suicide is obvious. The family insists that they have no clue as to why he did what he did. Then a business partner is murdered. The people in this book are so often so unpleasant, even pathological that the reader has very little sympathy for them. Despite having been raised by a well off man, Quirke still carries the stigma of having been an orphan and never knowing his real parents. He knows the wealthy, is somewhat at home with the wealthy, but he doesn't like them very much. I don't know that this noir beats his original book, Christine Falls, but it comes pretty close.
happy_hiker's review against another edition
4.0
An enjoyable installment in the Quirke series. I was a little nervous starting this book - I didn't enjoy the last book in the series and I had started reading this book last fall and couldn't get into it (I was super busy with work and I think I kept falling asleep). I guess I didn't need to worry about it - although the book is somewhat subdued, the story is well-written and compelling. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
marystevens's review against another edition
3.0
successful businessman Victor Delahaye sails out to sea with his junior partner's landlubber son Davy and...shoots himself. Of course, Davy doesn't know how to sail. That's chapter one. A second sailing death (not Davy) follows. DI Hackett and Quirke, the pathologist, embark on a roundabout investigation and eventually we learn whodunit and all about the two families. John Banville is a wonderful writer but this series is just too much of the same old, same old Irish noir; I got bored with it.
hrhacissej's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3d_dorito_4eva's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0