Tangled Web UK Review February 2008
The Silver Swan by
Benjamin Black
pbk out November 08
(Picador)
at £7.99
This book sees the return of Quirke, the pathologist who appeared in the critically acclaimed Christine Falls. Like the first book, this is set in 1950s Dublin. The author's pseudonym conceals the identity of Man Booker Prize winner John Banville, but there is no great mystery about this, since his real name is emblazoned on the cover: the idea of using the Black name was to differentiate the Quirke books from Banville's customary, less straightforward fare.
It is a good idea to read the books in sequence, since several of the surprises sprung in the first entry in the series are revealed in The Silver Swan. Quirke is as troubled as ever, and when a former acquaintance, Billy Hunt, approaches him to ask for a favour, his curiosity is aroused. Billy's wife has apparently committed suicide, but Billy doesn't want her body cut up. And when Quirke examines the corpse, he finds a tiny puncture mark on her arm. Once he starts to investigate what really happened to Deirdre Hunt, he finds himself in very murky waters. Despite the success of Christine Falls, I think the follow-up is better. In the first book, the splitting of the action between Ireland and the USA slowed the pace; this time around, there is greater intensity. But, with both novels, the real joy lies not in the plots but in the precision of the prose. Banville is a fine writer. And Black writes finely about crime.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
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