A review by bgg616
Holy Orders by Benjamin Black
4.0
John Banville writing as Benjamin Black does not suppress his flair for writing beautiful prose in this novel. It is atmospheric, dark, wet and gothic. A friend of Quirke's daughter Phoebe, Jimmy Minor is found murdered in the Grand Canal. Quirke in is role as pathologist recognizes Jimmy, a crime reporter for a Dublin newspaper, and later shares the news with his daughter. With his friend Inspector Hackett of the Dublin Police, he begins to investigate the killing. He suspects a popular local priest is tied to the crime.
This is Dublin of the 1950's. Seedy, poor, and sometimes squalid, it provides a moody backdrop with lots of geographical details as well as a sense of Dublin of another time. Slow moving, but hard to put down.
This is Dublin of the 1950's. Seedy, poor, and sometimes squalid, it provides a moody backdrop with lots of geographical details as well as a sense of Dublin of another time. Slow moving, but hard to put down.