A Death In Summer. Benjamin Black (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
The chain smoking of the main protagonists in this novel tells us it takes place a few decades ago. The setting is Dublin in the fifties, a soiled sort of city – what I recall most vividly of Dublin long ago was the smell of the Liffey and (I have an abiding memory of) noisy bus brakes in need of a good oiling. The book’s plot, however, centre’s mainly on the posher south side, around and to the east of Stephen’s Green, even then quite genteel, and with its lovely Georgian architecture. The author writes his detective novels (under the pen name Benjamin Black), as a sort of light relief, in between writing his more serious stuff. That being the case, his main works, which I’ve yet to read, must be pretty good – there’s even talk of him winning a Nobel prize. This is a well constructed novel and our interest is sustained throughout. It’s not a fast paced thriller – the author’s lengthy description of scenes and character prevent that. It’s to the author’s credit that, although only a small number of the characters could possibly have committed the murder in the novel, we are kept guessing literally till the end. The characters are all well and distinctly drawn. Dr Quirke is a quirky sort of character, perhaps embodying some of the authors own traits, eg coming from a lowly background, and having a number of affairs. Detective Hackett is a more straightforward no-frills rural character, a bit ill at ease, on his own admission, interrogating his social superiors, which the suspects, representing Dublin’s business elite, clearly are. But when he interviews Teddy, the wayward son of the American entrepreneur, Carlton Sumner, his consummate interrogation skills come to the fore. In one of the book’s highlights, Teddy feels the whips of panic as Hackett plays around with him, knowing one slip and he’s finished. “How was he supposed to answer these questions? They sounded so mild, yet he knew each one of them were stretched tight like an invisible piano wire that would trip him up.” Inevitably he succumbs and reveals enough to lead the police in the right direction to help solve the murder mystery. Well worth reading, and for me a refreshing change from detective fare written by the likes of Ian Rankin, PD James and Elizabeth George. John Banville adopts the persona of Benjamin Black to write these tough minded mysteries featuring the troubled Irish pathologist Quirke. The books are a nice change of pace for the reader and I expect Banville. They probably sell better also. This is the 4th Quirke novel I have read and the same major and quite a few minor characters reappear. You can read this as a one off but it probably works better in Sequence. More character studies of flawed characters then who dunnits I like these tales set in the hypocritical world of 1940's /50's Ireland.
What do You think about A Death In Summer. Benjamin Black (2011)?
not nearly as good as the others in this series
—evergreen
Damn, loved this book up to the shitty ending.
—Emilie
