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A Quirke Novel
A suspicious death, a pregnant woman suddenly gone missing: Quirke's latest case leads him inexorably toward the dark machinations of an old foe.
Perhaps Quirke has been down among the dead too long. Lately the Irish pathologist has suffered hallucinations and blackouts, and he fears the cause is a brain tumor. A specialist diagnoses an old head injury caused by a savage beating; all that's needed, the doctor declares, is an extended rest. But Quirke, ever intent on finding his place among the living, is not about to retire.
One night during a June heat wave, a car crashes into a tree in central Dublin and bursts into flames. The police assume the driver's death was either an accident or a suicide, but Quirke's examination of the body leads him to believe otherwise. Then his daughter Phoebe gets a mysterious visit from an acquaintance: the woman, who admits to being pregnant, says she fears for her life, though she won't say why. When the woman later disappears, Phoebe asks her father for help, and Quirke in turn seeks the assistance of his old friend Inspector Hackett. Before long the two men find themselves untangling a twisted string of events that takes them deep into a shadowy world where one of the city's most powerful men uses the cover of politics and religion to make obscene profits.
Even the Dead - Benjamin Black's seventh novel featuring the endlessly fascinating Quirke - is a story of surpassing intensity and surprising beauty.
"Starred Review. From less than promising material, Black fashions a meticulously written installment notable for its palpable sense of place, a slate of fully drawn characters, and a meaningful denouement." - Kirkus
"The harshness of life in 1950s Dublin remains a stalwart facet of Black's work in the series, and fans will find this next step in Quirke's emotional journey apt." - Library Journal
"Fans will welcome this tying up of loose ends, as Black (a pseudonym for Booker-winning John Banville) crafts a way for Quirke to close the book on some his most troubling personal demons and even offers the seething pathologist a measure of incongruous happiness." - Booklist
"Black (aka Man Booker Prize–winner John Banville) certainly knows how to spin an engaging, often suspenseful noir, but the plot's overreliance on coincidence and an implausible denouement make this entry of most interest to those already hooked on the series." - Publishers Weekly
This information about Even the Dead was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo © Jerry Bauer
Benjamin Black is the pen name of acclaimed author John Banville, who was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945. His novels have won numerous awards, including the Man Booker Prize in 2005 for The Sea. He lives in Dublin.
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