A Death in Summer

In the latest release (after Elegy for April) from Black (a pen name for John Banville), Detective Inspector Hackett calls his longtime adviser, Quirke, to investigate the shotgun suicide of "Diamond Dick" Jewell, a much-despised newspaper publisher. Quirke, a pathologist with family ties to Dublin's upper class, does not need long to determine that murder is the likely cause of death, although the exact motive remains elusive. With questionable ethics, Quirke rapidly becomes infatuated with Françoise d'Aubigny, Jewell's captivating estranged widow, and falls off the wagon. Phoebe, Quirke's fragile, complex adult daughter, again plays a role when she becomes acquainted with Dannie Jewell, the deceased's sister, and begins to discover some dark secrets involving a grim orphanage and its wealthy benefactors, all members of the mysterious Friends of St. Christopher's. VERDICT Black's mysteries are not black and white with cut-and-dried villains behind bars at the conclusion. However, readers looking for more character development and ambiguity than Stieg Larsson's popular Scandinavian thrillers offer will enjoy getting to know Quirke and Hackett by picking up this book and Black's previous works. [See Prepub Alert, 12/12/10; library marketing.]—Christine Perkins, Bellingham P.L., WA