From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Dalton uses all his pacing and vocal skills and his wonderful, deep Welsh tones to keep listeners engaged and on edge through this mystery set in 1950s Dublin and Boston. He skillfully sustains our empathy for widowed Dublin coroner Quirke, the alcoholic, angry and acerbic narrator who drags himself into solving the mystery of Christine Falls's death in childbirth and the disappearance of her newborn—a scenario that parallels Quirke's own experience. Black (pseudonym of Booker Prize–winner John Banville) is a fine writer, reminiscent of P.D. James in his care for language and his emphasis on psychologically complex characters, including Mel, Quirke's obstetrician stepbrother; Sarah, Mel's wife (and sister of Quirke's dead wife), whose love for Quirke is reciprocated; and Mel and Sarah's confused daughter, Phoebe. Black weaves his characters through a neat and original plot that descends into the dark depths of Quirke's family history and rises to the highest ranks of the Catholic church. Detective fiction readers will love Black's writing and Dalton's reading, and look forward to more from both.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Audiofile
Timothy Dalton offers an excellent, fine-tuned narration of this first in a planned series of crime novels by Booker Prize winner John Banville, writing as Benjamin Black. The series will feature Garret Quirke, an alcoholic Dublin pathologist as quirky as his name. The dark, densely plotted novel focuses on illegal transatlantic trafficking in orphans by prominent Catholics who want to create a stockpile of future priests and nuns. Dalton differentiates his Dublin and Boston Irish accents beautifully. He's also adept at creating believable personality studies of a wide range of characters, including women, the very young, and the old. His narration, which grabs the listener's attention from the first, never flags. R.E.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
