Holy Orders - (Quirke) by John Banville & Benjamin Black (Paperback)

About the Book

When the body of his daughter's friend is brought to his autopsy table, Quirke is plunged into a world of corruption that takes him to the darkest corners of the Irish Church and State.

Book Synopsis

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST MYSTERIES OF THE YEAR BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

The latest Quirke case opens in Dublin at a moment when newspapers are censored, social conventions are strictly defined, and appalling crimes are hushed up. Why? Because in 1950s Ireland, the Catholic Church controls the lives of nearly everyone. But when Quirke's daughter, Phoebe, loses her close friend Jimmy Minor to murder, Quirke can no longer play by the church's rules. Along with Inspector Hackett, his sometime partner, Quirke learns just how far the church and its supporters will go to protect their own interests.

In Holy Orders, Benjamin Black's inimitable creation, the endlessly curious Quirke brings a pathologist's unique understanding of death to unlock the most dangerous of secrets.

Review Quotes

"Absorbing...The murder mystery is solved, after its startling fashion, in due time---but not before Mr. Black has worked his lyrical magic at fine length, in scenes that unfold with a poet's grace." --The Wall Street Journal

"Sophisticated...[Black] is arguably one of the finest prose stylists writing in English today." --The Wire

"It is doubtful that anyone can write as well as Benjamin Black when it comes to a psychological mystery." --The Washington Times

"[Holy Orders] starts and ends as strongly as the best of the Quirkes." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Outstanding...[Black] has turned in his most complex plot yet in Holy Orders." --The Star-Ledger (New Jersey)

"Gripping, terrific...Although it shares the vivid settings, evocative mood, and striking characters of the earlier Quirke novels, Holy Orders has a tighter, more intricate plot." --Tampa Bay Times

"Even if Gabriel Byrne weren't starring in a new BBC series based on the Quirke novels by Benjamin Black (John Banville's alter ego), fans will be clamoring for this latest in the popular series." --Library Journal ("Barbara's Picks" for August 2013 fiction)

About the Author

Benjamin Black is the pen name of the Man Booker Prize-winning novelist John Banville. The author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed series of Quirke novels--including Christine Falls, A Death in Summer, and Vengeance--he lives in Dublin.