John Banville is a fine writer of literary fiction. I hadn't read any of the previous Strafford/Quirke books but this is a revelation, a plot of great complexity and compelling interest, beautifully written - miles above the average police procedural.. A car is abandoned in a field, a distraught man says his wife is missing, probably in the sea - straightforward suicide? Strafford is sent down from Dublin but somehow it doesn't sit right. This is top class, I'll have to get the preceding Strafford cases.

I feel I would have benefited from reading the earlier books in the series as a lot of this story appears to reference events that from the past. It is however possible to read and enjoy this as a standalone.
The books are set in 1950’s Ireland and do paint a very bleak picture of life at that time. Tasked to investigate the disappearance of a woman on the Wicklow coast Dublin detective Saint John Stafford is puzzled by the events surrounding the disappearance and is unable to come to a firm conclusion. The story unfolds gently throughout the book with much time spent on the personal lives of the main characters. There are no graphic descriptions of brutal murders in this crime story instead we are carried along by the fluent quality of the authors writing.
At the end there are still questions to be answered which may well happen in a future addition to the series. I would compare the style of this book with that of Susan Hill’s excellent Simon Serrallier series.

Excellent read. Twists and turns in the plot. Lots of sub-stories and a quirky way of writing. I’m hooked for more Strafford and Quirke thrillers.

This is the first John Banville novel I have read. A pity, perhaps, to start at number 4 in a series, however on the basis of this offering, I shall seek out the others. This is a whodunnit with literary overtones, and works b both as a crime novel and a social commentary on Dublin in the 50's. Very atmospheric and full of character insights. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers, Faber and Faber, for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

In a field in County Wicklow, near the beach, about a mile from Kilpatrick, a Mercedes SL is sitting, the driver’s door hanging open, abandoned. Denton Wymes, heading back to his caravan from a fishing expedition decides, against his better judgement, to take a look. Suddenly, Richard Armitage runs up from the direction of the beach declaiming that his wife has jumped in the sea and disappeared. They go to the nearest house, where Charlie and Charlie Ruddock (one a rugger playing solicitor and one a gracile housewife) are on holiday. Police are called, eventually, while Armstrong gets wrecked on Ruddock’s whiskey. DI St John Strafford is assigned to the case. Is it a runaway, a suicide, a murder? Are Wymes and the Ruddocks connected or just bystanders? As he continues his investigation, Strafford begins to suspect the at there is a connection to the last case he and the pathologist, Dr Quirke, investigated; the murder of Rosa Jacobs. His personal life is also increasingly getting in the way: his estranged wife wants a divorce, and his girlfriend is Quirke’s daughter and Quirke sort of hates him.
The previous paragraph might suggest a murder-mystery with a troubled detective, but the story is the other way around, with vast amounts of biographical information on Strafford and Quirke and lots of back referencing to their previous history – this is the fourth in a series, which fallows on from a previous series of novels centred on Quirke. It does work as a standalone, but first time readers of the series might feel that they are adrift (I don’t think they really will be, but perceptions are funny things). The writing is very high grade, intellectual, introspective, psychological, what we would normally describe as literary. This is to be expected, of course, because the author is a Booker prize winner and writes in that style. This can, however, be a problem for readers who come to the murder-mystery genre expecting a twisted puzzle which they can hopefully solve before the detective. This puzzle is not challenging. The ending suggests that there is more to learn, so presumably there will be another book in the series. As a piece of literature it’s probably a four, but I need a puzzle so three it is.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

I think this would be a better read if I’d read the previous books on the series. Seems to concentrate a lot on various marital relationships rather than the murder which reads as being incidental to the other stories which intertwined amongst the characters. Its conclusion left me bewildered as there’s obviously a follow up to come.

The writing is excellent, characters believable once you get your head around who is who and who is doing that to who! 3 stars purely on the fact I wanted more murder and investigation and less interpersonal goings on

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

*A big thank-you to John Banville, Faber and Faber, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
I have been following Strafford&Quirke since the beginning and their dynamics never cease to engage me in the reading process. The two men and women surrounding them create the world that draws me in, and the investigation is merely a most appropriate background. Apart from the mystery, we receive, as always, descriptions of class and language differences, and with each offering readers get closer to Strafford's past, but not too close, mind. Enigmatic man, to say the least.
This book opens with a character whose past should distance us from him, and yet, Mr Banville made me feel more sympathetic towards him than any other male appearing as the story progresses. Unusual and unexpected feeling!
The books with Strafford should be read in order of publication, however, much is explained as to the events from the past and a new reader to the series should have no difficulty understanding Strafford or Quirke.

Love the author's writing style and depiction of 1950's Dublin and the countryside.
Quirke is rather unbeleivable as a pathologist in today's age but a bit more believable set in the 50's
The combination of Quirke and DI Strafford did not have much sleuthing to undertake as there was not too much of a mystery to solve and the body took a long time to make an appearance. And then one single post mortem finding was all it took to change the presumed cause of death.
However Quirke and Strafford had more interaction through non-murder topics and much time was given over to Strafford's relationship with Quirke's daughter Phoebe. i had read one of the previous books so i quite enjoyed reading about this but anyone new to the series may have found it a bit strange.
The ending of the book was a bit vague and i was left unsure as to the nature of the second death. Not as satisfying a finish as i would have liked but i felt the quality of the writing made up for that.
Thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for the ARC.

I was so disappointed
John Banville is a prize-winning author of repute that has been shortlisted for a Booker Prize. Consequently, I had high expectations of this book, but 6 didn't meet them for me.
The basic story it tells is fundamentally a good one, set in a repressed class conscious 1950s Dublin and the coast of Wicklow. A car is abandoned, and the female driver has apparently run off. Her husband fears she has fallen into the sea and drowned. From this simple start, the storyline develops into a larger mystery, sometimes ridden with religious discrimination.
So far, so good, but what spoilt it for me was the over elaborate descriptions of minor items that initially were giving colour and background, but for me, this just went overboard and delayed the story progressing. It's a shame.
Sorry.

This is the first in the series for me and I will definitely not be reading anymore.
I struggled to get through the book. It was so boring in places, way too much descriptive writing and the detective is awful.
There was no detective work! The guy didn’t work out anything!

Set in the 1950’s in rural Ireland, the story opens with a loner coming across a car abandoned in a field. He has good reasons not to get involved, but finds himself dragged into the mystery of a missing woman who may have committed suicide by drowning herself in the sea.
Detective Inspector Strafford is called in from Dublin to investigate and he in turn approaches Quirke the pathologist for assistance when it transpires the missing woman’s husband was linked to their previous case.
Much of the success of this series is due to the tricky relationship between Strafford & Quirke, the latter’s opinion of the former disparagingly funny.
Although the two men respect each other professionally both are deeply lonely and flawed individuals. Strafford is a weak man, useless with women, who is unsure of his feelings towards his wife who wants a divorce, and equally unsure of his commitment to Quirke’s daughter Phoebe, with whom he has started a relationship.
Quirke, whose beloved wife Evelyn was accidentally killed, has turned to drink and is not adverse to coming on to other women in an effort to forget. He is also deeply suspicious of Strafford’s intentions towards Phoebe.
The way the author describes Quirke’s musings about how his grief affects him is pure poetry and one of the highlights of this novel.
John Banville can have you howling with laughter and then just howling in the space of a few paragraphs and the actual mystery and subsequent investigation takes second place to the well drawn out characters and the lyricism of his writing for me.
There is also a bit of a plot twist towards the end which I didn’t see coming.
The Drowned can be read as a standalone, however I do think the reader will be rewarded if the earlier novels have been read first, particularly the previous novel The Lock-Up as this book is very much a follow on from that.
I’m already looking forward to the next in the series to discover where Strafford & Quirke go from here, particularly in their complicated personal lives.

Many thanks to NetGalley & Faber for an ARC

The Quirke series commenced with the author using the nom de plume Benjamin Black, then the books started appearing under the author's name. This is the eleventh title to be published. Originally the pathologist Dr. Garret Quirke was friendly with detective chief inspector Hackett. Then det. inspector St.John Strafford appeared as Hackett neared retirement.
Set in Ireland in the 1950s. A fisherman with his dog find a car abandoned in the middle of a field. They are approached by a man who is acting strangely. He claims his wife has thrown herself into the sea. Together they go to a house rented by a Dublin couple called Ruddock, who eventually telephone the police.
Strafford gets to interview the man who has a missing wife, his name is Armitage. he also interviews the fisherman - Wymes who he finds out is a convicted paedophile. He lives with his dog in a remote caravan. He also interviews the Ruddocks. Armitage's wife Deidre, despite a land and sea search is not found.
Strafford's private life is difficult. His wife wants a divorce. He is in a relationship with Phoebe, who is Quirke's daughter, much to Quirke's annoyance. Phoebe was brought up by Quirke's sister Sarah and her husband Mal. which is why she has Griffiths as a surname. Initially Quirke treated her as his neice during his heavy drinking period. Quirke a widower worries about Phoebe, but also his old friend Hackett who is very ill.
Well written as you would expect, sad at times. Strafford comes across as indecisive. Part of his problem is being a protestant in a catholic police force. Very good. Recommended.

I was asked to review this book by NetGalley

Story is set in the 50s in a small rural part of Ireland by the sea.

A woman disapears- her husband claims this was due to an argument where she ran from the car and possibly fell off a cliff into the sea! but we know there will be more to this mystery.

DI Strafford is brought in to investigate form Dublin and seeks advice from Dr Quirke a Pathologist.

Will this woman be found as another person is missing?

Really gripping compelling read.

Well written - I am now seeking out this author.

It’s 1950s rural Ireland and a man who keeps himself to himself (bar his canine companion) meets a husband who says his wife may have thrown herself into the sea after an argument. DI Strafford is called in to investigate the case, where there’s clearly a lot more bubbling under the surface than first seen, and soon he relies on the input of old ally pathologist Quirke. While the search for the missing wife continues, it’s clear Strafford and Quirke are bound together more closely than you’d expect… A clever, astute read that describes both life at the time superbly as well as the different characters you meet.

Quite an enjoyable mystery set in 1950's Ireland. Not always the easiest to read and not sure all the loose ends were tied up.

This is a continuation of the Strafford/Quirke series set in mid 20th century Ireland. Although it could be read as a standalone it is better considered as part of the series - I think that a new reader would be quite baffled by some of the ongoing issues and relationships.

An air of repressed melancholy permeates the book. On one level it is a detective story, following the disappearance of a woman. But more than this it is an exploration of relationships, both between men and women and between men, the repressions and what is left unsaid being as vital as what is said.

I admire the writing very much - the exquisite descriptions and the delicate way in which hidden emotions are revealed. The ending brings some resolution to the detective element but is more a pause, with much signalled for the next in the series.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy.

Sorry but I could not get into this book at all. Far too much meandering in descriptions and not enough of the detecting the mystery.. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

I have read all of this series which I have enjoyed immensely but this instalment was bitty and baffling.

There was a crime which had a very secondary place in the novel ceding to the ups and downs, mostly downs, of Strafford’s love life. Long passages about his feelings. Quirke hardly makes an appearance but when he does he is still, quite justly, caught up in his grief. And Phoebe needs a good shake. She is also so undecided and it is never clear what is going on between her and Strafford. Is it love? Weird if it is as nether present as attractive, especially Strafford who eyes most of the women in this novel as strangely attractive, ‘attractively flat-chested’ , her ‘jealously guarded independence…he found attractive’ and even one in ‘fisherman’s clogs..and no socks. was ‘distinctly attractive’. Three women.

And the crime is not solved at all but comes to an abrupt ending. Only the quality of the writing kept me reading on. I was disappointed though grateful for the proof supplied by NetGalley and the publishers.

Set in the Republic of Ireland, the book uses the religious differences interestingly. However, this story is meant to be a detective story which is indeed an underlying theme but obscured by too many tales of the private lives of detectives and others which have no real relevance to the story. These themes are given to much descriptive space. I cannot recommend this book.

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.