Looking for an engrossing mystery? Skip this. Enjoy lively characters and action? This is not for you. On the other hand, if you favor Irish angst, drunken maundering, men and women having casual sex and then regretting it, and pages and pages of characters dwelling on their interior failings rather than getting on with anything that advances the plot, dig right in.
This is my first--and last--Quirke novel. I had another one on my to-read pile, but it is going to the used bookstore unread. You could really read the first two chapters and the last two and skip the entire middle of this book if all you want is the "mystery" that is the thin excuse for this story.
Benjamin Black (John Banville) writes beautifully, but I didn't enjoy spending time with these sad, depressing characters, and even the mystery itself wasn't much of one. As for Quirke, I can't imagine why people keep returning to read more of his story. I found him lacking in charm and devoid of any redeeming personality traits that might tempt me to enjoy spending time with him. Only Inspector Hackett seemed appealing, and we see too little of him in this outing. Not recommended, unless you like a good wallow in other people's troubles.