Comments (13)

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Feb 12, 2023miaone rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I just finished streaming the TV series "Quirke" which I thought was very well done. I wish it had gone on for more than 3 episodes. It took me a while to understand what was going on, as I had no idea the Catholic Church was THAT…
Jul 23, 2022JLMason rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Christine Falls is an absorbing and atmospheric mystery steeped in dreary Dublin melancholy. It introduces self-absorbed pathologist Quirke, yet another depressive, alcoholic loner who is the recurring lead in a mystery series. As befits…
Dec 28, 2021CherylHampson rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
The writing is good, but there is a depressing feel to ALL of the characters portrayed, and to the society in Ireland. You don’t finish the book feeling good. Just my opinion.
Dec 01, 2018DorisWaggoner rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I inadvertently read "Elegy for April" first--it's actually the 3rd in this series. Then I waited months on hold before getting this 1st. They are very different stories, but as the cover of "Elegy" says, it's "Irish Noir," a very dark…
Jun 13, 2018pocolocopadre rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I got this book after reading John Banville's "Time Pieces: A Dublin Memoir" and hearing that Banville considered the books he wrote under his real name as writer's art and the books wrote under the pseudonym Benjamin Black were writers…
Sep 02, 2014cheadlebeagle rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book and the characters. I am looking forward to reading the rest of them. I hear there is a tv. series too.
Jul 20, 2014threeoutside rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I liked this book quite a lot, despite the fact that there seems to be a whiff of the Literary Author stooping to dabble in Genre. The blurbs were from Literary sources who seemed over-impressed with the Originality (when a cranky and…
Apr 28, 2012DeltaQueen50 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I have to admit that I am feeling a little let down by Christine Falls, on the one hand this book is strongly written by Benjamin Black, a pseudonym for author John Banville, but on the other, the actual plot seemed lacklustre and felt…
Feb 12, 2012mbleckman rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I've read mixed reviews from a few folks saying <i>Christine Falls</i> was not the best of the Quirke series. I couldn't disagree more. I love the plot it was very unexpected and two timelines really kept you thinking. A masterful work…
Aug 01, 2011ravensview rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
Series well reviewed in Citizen, this is pen name of John Banville. Will start w first http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/books/Banville+Black+side/5175258/story.html Just got it, reads very well at start, but didn't seem to be…
Apr 18, 2011toby65 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
The first in this series of which there are now 3. I wish I had known this when I read "Elegy for April" first. I enjoyed the smooth writing and a plot that moved along nicely. But it is, as it should be, the characters that make this…
Dec 07, 2010Spillie rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed this novel much more than the last few in the Scarpetta series.
Oct 24, 2010GingerKaren rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Quirke and Malachy were raised as brothers, and married sisters. But when Quirke sees Mal changing file in Quirke's office of the morgue, he feels like he doesn't know Mal at all. Soon Quirke is immersed in a mystery that leads across…