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The Drowned: A Strafford and Quirke Murder Mystery

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THE BRAND NEW STRAFFORD AND QUIRKE MURDER MYSTERY FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SNOW. A CHILLING MUST-READ.



'Haunting . . . compelling.' DAILY MAIL
'Banville is one of my favourite writers alive.' REBECCA F. KUANG
'The repressed and sinister world of 1950s Ireland is exposed in beautiful, sometimes chilling prose.' FINANCIAL TIMES

He had seen drowned people. A sight not to be forgotten.

1950s, rural Ireland. A loner comes across a mysteriously empty car in a field. Knowing he shouldn't approach, but unable to hold back, he soon finds himself embroiled in a troubling missing person's case, as a husband claims his wife may have thrown herself into the sea.

Called in from Dublin to investigate is Detective Inspector Strafford, who soon turns to his old ally - the flawed but brilliant pathologist Quirke - a man he is linked to in increasingly complicated ways.

Praise for Snow:

'Superb . . . crime fiction for the connoisseur.' The Times
'Outstanding.' Irish Independent
'Exquisite.' Daily Mail
'Compelling.' Sunday Times
'Superb to the last drop.' Independent

On UK bestseller list w/e 13/11/2021-27/11/2021 for Paperback Fiction

Review

The mystery is unravelled in Banville's usual elegant and languorous prose; half the pleasure of the book is the changing relationship between the two troubled protagonists, who, as Quirke pithily observes, have one thing in common: "Death." ― Telegraph

Banville's sumptuous prose unveils a haunting web of human deceit that is both compelling and utterly beautiful. ― Daily Mail

[W]ho else but John Banville would use such a splendid word as "engrizzlement" or liken a pair of jug-ears to "the trafficators on a motor car"? Any perceived gap between his crime novels and other more "literary" works has vanished. Bravo! ― Times

A clever, astute read that both describes life at the time superbly as well as the different characters you meet. ― Belfast Telegraph

The repressed and sinister world of 1950s Ireland is exposed in beautiful, sometimes chilling prose. ― Financial Times

John Banville is one of my favorite writers alive.

Here, the Booker prize winner has it all cooking . . . it's a novel you'll want to sit down with on a chill and windy winter night and read all of. ― Guardian (Books of the Year), on The Lock-Up

As much a study of two troubled men as a cunning murder mystery. It is full of grief, rage, pain and horror.' ― The Times (Best Crime Novels of the Year), on The Lock-Up

Book Description

The richly atmospheric new Strafford and Quirke mystery, from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Snow.

Review:

4.3 out of 5

85.00% of customers are satisfied

5.0 out of 5 stars A cut above most of this genre

P. · 10 October 2024

It’s certainly not essential to have read any of the Strafford and Quirke books before you read The Drowned but I must admit it did help a little. A mystery about a missing woman involving a detective and a pathologist suggests something very different from the reality, which is much more literary than most of this type of book.Set in 1950s Ireland, the mystery is almost incidental to the character study and the book moves very slowly. The atmosphere is suffocating and rather grey and the very realistic rural setting means it’s difficult and time consuming for information to be gathered and people to reach places. The story is largely told from the viewpoint of the two main characters (and a few more minor ones) and it’s quite unusual how much of it is told using their inner voice in a kind of monologue. This leads to a slightly meandering, train of thought style which often wanders off to almost irrelevant details but brings them to life.The relationship between the two main characters is also strange. They don’t seem to like each other much but their work and private lives mean they are often drawn together. One is widowed, the other on the point of divorce and involved with a much younger woman, neither seems particularly happy and both are often quite detached, so it can be hard to like them much but they’re interesting. As I said, the mystery often seems secondary to their personalities but it’s a decent story, involving characters from the last book in the series and it seems as though the next has been set up at the end of this one - the slightly unfinished feel again makes it seem truer to life, which doesn’t usually wrap up neatly.It's certainly not fast paced but there’s something almost hypnotic about Banville’s beautiful writing which really pulled me in and it’s definitely a cut above most of this genre. I’m looking forward to seeing where the characters go next.

4.0 out of 5 stars Continuing Quirke and Stafford saga

M.E.S. · 13 October 2024

Rural Ireland in the 1950's is the scene . A missing person, a women who's husband a professor of history in Dublin declares she has either jumped into the sea and drowned , or what? with no body a certain difficulty arises . Her car abandoned in the middle of a field next to the sea and unusual individuals in the midst .Detective Inspector Strafford is called to the scene .He is faced with a certain unease and that the whole incident make him feel uncomfortable with the facts. He calls on his ally the well renown Dr Quirke , the Dublin pathologist for his wisdom and opinion.A really interesting novel that draws in the reader to a bygone world where everything moves at such a slower pace . The author has developed great characters with their tangled relationships that has the reader delving more into of the history of each of them .A lovely book to read and certainly one to curl up with in front of a winter fire.

3.0 out of 5 stars Literary mystery!

A.C. · 10 October 2024

I’ve really enjoyed this literary mystery series set in Ireland in the 1950s featuring Gardai Detective St John Stratford and Pathologist Quirk. “The Drowned” follows on from “The Lock Up” which I loved. Strafford is still dating Phoebe, Quirke’s daughter and Quirke himself is still mourning the death of his wife which occurred in an earlier book. Both men are “quirky” and introverted. Strafford is a good investigator but hopeless with women, particularly when a difficulty occurs as in this book. He doesn’t know how to react.This is more of a study of the male characters although there is a mystery involved when a professor’s wife disappears from a car she is travelling in with him and he says she has drowned in the sea. Armitage, the husband, was also in the previous novel so readers will be familiar with him.All this being said the book did not hold my attention as much as Stafford’s earlier outings, there was something missing. There was a lot of character description and scene setting which tended to slow down the narrative. There wasn’t much of a mystery, it was obvious from the outset what had happened although there was a slight twist. There was a lot of sadness for all the characters including Strafford’s boss Hackett, and another family caught up in the mystery. I would call the novel bleak and it definitely wasn’t my favourite in the series although it has not put me off reading the next book should the author decide to write one.However if you like an extremely literary thriller this will appeal.Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

Cliffhangers (pardon the pun) Abound

J. · 6 October 2024

Banville’s dark outlook thrums throughout the book; yet, the tiniest bit of optimism remains. Already pining away for the next book. Well done!

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The Drowned: A Strafford and Quirke Murder Mystery

4.1

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Product origin: United Kingdom

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