A review by wsk56
Elegy for April by Benjamin Black

3.0

Benjamin Black's (AKA John Banville) third book in the Quirke series finds Quirke just out of rehab for alcoholism. His daughter Pheobe comes to him concerned that she has not seen or heard from her friend April, whom she is fairly close to and speaks to daily. The story unfolds slowly and we learn more about Quirke, Pheobe and her friends. The suspense builds as Quirke and Hackett confront April's family, who don't seem to care what has happened to her, and that they have disowned for her wild lifestyle. Black describes 1950's Dublin as a city of beauty and atmosphere, but also prejudice, class and religious divides and conservative social mores. You will want to keep reading late into the night to find out how this one ends.