The Lock-Up by John Banville

The Lock-Up by John Banville
Buy The Lock-Up by John Banville at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Crime (Historical)
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Summary: It's not my favourite Quirke and Strafford novel but it's John Banville, so the writing is exquisite and the plot skillfully handled.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 352	Date: April 2023
Publisher: Faber & Faber
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-0571370979
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It's six months since the dramatic events which we read about in April in Spain and Dr Quirke is now back in Dublin and living (if somewhat uneasily) with his daughter, Phoebe. The worst of his grief is over but he irrationally blames DI St John Strafford for what happened and this has made the already strained relationship between them more difficult. They're brought together by Chief Inspector Hackett when the body of a young, Jewish scholar, Rosa Jacobs, is found in a lock-up. At first, it looked as though she'd gassed herself but Quirke is convinced that it was murder rather than suicide.

This is John Banville: the plot appears quite simple as you read. It's only when you try and piece it all together in retrospect that the complexities and skill become obvious. The story reaches back some dozen-or-so years to the end of the Second World War and outwards to Wicklow, the Italian Dolomites and Israel. There's a liberal sprinkling of world politics which sets the scene rather neatly. Both Quirke and Strafford become involved with much-younger women (and this despite the fact that Strafford isn't actually sure if he and his wife have separated) but less and less involved with each other.

If you're looking for a fast-paced crime novel then this is probably not the book for you. It's John Banville, so the writing is exquisite and the plotting deftly handled. The story is character-driven: it requires an author with Banville's skill to create a plot centred on two characters who barely speak to each other. This could be read as a standalone but I suspect that the reader would be more satisfied if they started with Snow and followed that with April in Spain - and it's hardly going to be a hardship as both are superb!

Was it my favourite of the Quirke and Strafford books? No, it wasn't: that award must go to April in Spain. There were a couple of occasions when I could have given up on the book and several points when I wanted to shout at Quirke or Strafford, but much of my frustration was redeemed by a stunning epilogue which I didn't see coming and which throws everything up in the air again.

I'd like to thank the publishers for making a copy available to the Bookbag.

The Quirke novels were originally published under John Banville's alter ego, Benjamin Black and you can read the list of books in chronological order here.

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