Quirke

7 primary works

Christine Falls

by Benjamin Black

Published 6 October 2006

In the Pathology Department it was always night. This was one of the things Quirke liked about his job...it was restful, cosy, one might almost say, down in these depths nearly two floors beneath the city's busy pavements. There was too a sense here of being part of the continuance of ancient practices, secret skills, of work too dark to be carried on up in the light. But one night, late after a party, Quirke stumbles across a body that shouldn't have been there...and his brother-in-law, eminent paediatrician Malachy Griffin - a rare sight in Quirke's gloomy domain - altering a file to cover up the corpse's cause of death. It is the first time Quirke encounters Christine Falls, but the investigation he decides to lead into the way she lived - and the reason she died - disturbs a dark secret that has been festering at the core of Dublin's high Catholic society, a secret ready to destabilize the very heart and soul of Quirke's own family...

The Silver Swan

by Benjamin Black

Published 2 November 2007

Time has moved on for Quirke, the world-weary Dublin pathologist first encountered in Christine Falls. It is the middle of the 1950s, that low, dishonourable decade; a woman he loved has died, a man whom he once admired is dying, while the daughter he for so long denied is still finding it hard to accept him as her father. When Billy Hunt, an acquaintance from college days, approaches him about his wife's apparent suicide, Quirke recognises trouble but, as always, trouble is something he cannot resist. Slowly he is drawn into a twilight world of drug addiction, sexual obsession, blackmail and murder, a world in which even the redoubtable Inspector Hackett can offer him few directions.

Elegy for April

by Benjamin Black

Published 13 April 2010

Elegy for April is the third entry in the Quirke Mysteries, a darkly compelling literary crime series set in 1950s Dublin from John Banville, writing as Benjamin Black. Now major TV series: Quirke, starring Gabriel Byrne and Michael Gambon.

As a deep, bewildering fog cloaks Dublin, a young woman has vanished . . .

Phoebe Griffin is still haunted by the horrors of her past. Unable to discover news of her friend April, she turns to Quirke who – fresh from drying out in an institution – responds to his daughter's request for help. But as Phoebe, Quirke and Inspector Hackett speak with those who knew April, they begin to realize that there may have been more behind the young woman’s discretion and secrecy than they could have imagined.

Why was April so estranged from her family? What is her close-knit circle of friends hiding? And who is the shadowy figure who seems to be watching Phoebe’s flat at night, through the frozen mists?

As Quirke finds himself distracted from his sobriety by a beautiful young actress, Phoebe watches helplessly as April’s family hush up her disappearance, and all possible leads seem to dry up. All, that is, bar one – one she cannot bear to contemplate. But, when Quirke makes a disturbing discovery, he is finally able to begin unravelling the great, complex web of love, lies, jealousy and dark secrets that April spun her life from . . .

‘Quirke is an endearing hero . . . A beguiling read’ – The Times

‘Vivid and compelling’ – Marie Claire

Elegy for April is the third of the Quirke Mysteries. Continue the enthralling series with A Death in Summer.

A Death in Summer

by Benjamin Black

Published 1 July 2011

Now a major TV series: Quirke starring Gabriel Byrne.

When newspaper magnate Richard Jewell is found dead at his country estate, clutching a shotgun in his lifeless hands, few see his demise as cause for sorrow. But before long Doctor Quirke and Inspector Hackett realise that, rather than the suspected suicide, 'Diamond Dick' has in fact been murdered.

Suspicion soon falls on one of Jewell's biggest rivals. But as Quirke and his assistant Sinclair get to know Jewell's beautiful, enigmatic wife Francoise d'Aubigny, and his fragile sister Dannie, as well as those who work for the family, it gradually becomes clear that all is not as it seems . . .

Against the backdrop of 1950's Dublin, Benjamin Black conjures another atmospheric, beguiling mystery.

Vengeance

by Benjamin Black

Published 2 August 2012

Why would suicide need a witness? On the east coast of Ireland, Victor Delahaye, one of the country's most prominent citizens, takes his business partner's son out sailing. But once at sea, Davy Clancy is horrified to witness Delahaye take out a gun and shoot himself dead. This strange event captures the attention of Detective Inspector Hackett and his friend Pathologist Doctor Quirke. The Delahayes and Clancys have been rivals for generations and the suicide lays bare the perplexing characters at the heart of the mystery, from Mona, Delahaye's toxic young widow, to Jonas and James, his strange, enigmatic twin sons; and Jack Clancy, his down-trodden, womanizing partner. And when a second death occurs, one even more shocking than the first, Quirke begins to realise that terrible secrets lie buried within these entangled families; and that in this world of jealousy, ruthless ambition and pride -- nothing is quite as it seems ...

Holy Orders

by Benjamin Black

Published 1 July 2013

She looked at him and smiled sadly. `You've lived too long among the dead, Quirke,' she said.

He nodded. `Yes, I suppose I have.' She was not the first one to have told him that, and she would not be the last.

1950s Dublin. When a body is found in the canal, pathologist Quirke and his detective friend Inspector Hackett must find the truth behind this brutal murder. But in a world where the police are not trusted and secrets often remain buried there is perhaps little hope of bringing the perpetrator to justice.

As spring storms descend on Dublin, Quirke and Hackett's investigation will lead them into the dark heart of the organisation that really runs this troubled city: the church. Meanwhile Quirke's daughter Phoebe realises she is being followed; and when Quirke's terrible childhood in a priest-run orphanage returns to haunt him, he will face his greatest trial yet . . .

Even the Dead

by Benjamin Black

Published 28 May 2015

NO CRIME IS EVER TRULY BURIED...

Visceral, gritty and cinematic, Even the Dead is the latest stylish thriller from John Banville's crime-writing alter ego, Benjamin Black.

Pathologist Quirke works in the city morgue, watching over Dublin's dead. The latest to join their ghostly ranks is a suicide. But something doesn't add up. The victim has a suspicious head wound, and the only witness has vanished, every trace of her wiped away.

On the trail of the missing woman, Quirke finds himself drawn into the shadowy world of Dublin's elite - secret societies, High Church politics and corrupt politicians. It leads him to a long-buried conspiracy that involves his own family. But it's too late to go back now...

THE DEAD WILL BE HEARD

'Fresh and original' Guardian
'Warm, sensitive, psychologically acute characterisation' Indepedent on Sunday
'Quirke is human enough to swell the hardest of hearts' GQ
'A beach read for the brainy' LA Times
'Superb' Irish Times
'Beautifully written' Literary review
'Ravishing prose' Independent