Postwar, corruption-laced Dublin is as much a character in Black’s strikingly detailed, psychologically intricate crime series as his hard-drinking, brooding hero, Quirke, a pathologist who, as his equally ruminative daughter, Phoebe, puts it, can’t resist playing at detective. The sixth installment begins with the gruesome murder of Phoebe’s friend, pint-sized reporter Jimmy Minor, a key character in the earlier books. The ensuing investigation is as slow and sticky as molasses as Quirke and shrewd if grubby Inspector Hackett visit an imperious priest at the spooky Trinity Manor and an almost mythological tinker encampment. Quirke is in a bad way. Not only is he wracked by guilt over his inability to express love, his grip on reality is slipping under an onslaught of disorienting hallucinations and anguished memories of his boyhood abuse by priests. Phoebe, meanwhile, comes under the spell of Jimmy’s alluring and alarming twin, Sally. Though most intrigued with the mysteries of the mind, Black succeeds brilliantly in delivering piquant social satire and chilling revelations of the church’s unholy power over the justice system and the press. --Donna Seaman
Named One of the 10 Best Mysteries of 2013 by
The Wall Street Journal"Absorbing… The murder mystery is solved, after its startling fashion, in due time—but not before Mr. Black has worked his lyrical magic at fine length, in scenes that unfold with a poet's grace.… Long may we wander Dublin's damp streets in the dour doctor's melancholy presence."—
The Wall Street Journal"Sophisticated… Banville is arguably one of the finest prose stylists writing in English today."—
The Atlantic Wire
"It is doubtful that anyone can write as well as Benjamin Black when it comes to a psychological mystery... And it is significant that the silken skill with which he writes of past and present death matches the literary talent that marked the author in his incarnation as John Banville, winner of the Man Booker Prize."—The Washington Times
"[Holy Orders] starts and ends as strongly as the best of the Quirkes...This book may well introduce many readers to the series, as it is sure to get major attention this year when the BBC airs in Great Britain its production of Black’s work. It stars Gabriel Byrne as Black’s protagonist, the dour, self-hating, sometimes alcoholic pathologist, Quirke, in 1950s Dublin."—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Outstanding . . . Black (nom de plume for the Quirke books by acclaimed Irish author John Banville) has turned in his most complex plot yet in Holy Orders, the sixth book in this 1950s-Dublin-set series."—The Star-Ledger (New Jersey)
"[Quirke] appears for a seventh time in Black's gripping, terrific new novel, Holy Orders. . . Although it shares the vivid settings, evocative mood and striking characters of the earlier Quirke novels, Holy Orders has a tighter, more intricate plot."—The Tampa Bay Times
"Banville’s knack for drawing the reader in with a good story remains forcefully intact."—The Daily Beast
"Black masterfully evokes an Ireland in the iron grip of Mother Church…Quirke, a product of his environment, is a fascinating character."—Washington Independent Review of Books
"Black breaks out of the pack . . . The latest book, Holy Orders, is just out. It’s an excellent addition to the series, opening with the murder of a reporter, a friend of sorts with Quirke’s daughter in previous books . . . Black is an excellent host."—WBUR (Boston NPR)
"Deceit, suspicion, jealousy, doubt: Banville and Black join, through Quirke and Phoebe, the ageless concerns of storytellers. Holy Orders freshens them. May my lack of plot details encourage you to encounter their treatment for yourself, for their evocation proves this to be the most powerful Quirke novel yet."—Pop Matters
"Engaging…The strengths of Black's methodically paced mystery series echo Quirke's own personality traits…Holy Orders, which will leave Black's readers eager for the next installment."—Shelf Awareness
"Strikingly detailed, psychologically intricate . . . Black succeeds brilliantly in delivering piquant social satire and chilling revelations of the church’s unholy power of the justice system and the press."—
Booklist"The solid detecting. . .will keep readers engaged, but the book’s power stems from its multifaceted lead."—
Publishers Weekly"A turning point in the series . . . While mortality permeates the novel, its real mystery is the mind of Quirke . . . For Black, the mystery of the human condition remains impenetrable."—
Kirkus Reviews"Even if Gabriel Byrne weren’t starring in a new BBC series based on the Quirke novels by Benjamin Black (John Banville’s alter ego), fans will be clamoring for this latest in the popular series."—
Library Journal ("Barbara’s Picks" for August 2013 fiction)