The Lock-Up: The Times Crime Book of the Month

'The ultimate page-turner.' Irish Independent'Like drinking Bollinger when your usual tipple is Babycham.' The TimesThe Sunday Times bestselling author of Snow and April in Spain returns with Strafford and Quirke's most troubling case yet.1950s Dublin. in a lock-up garage in the city, the body of a young woman is discovered - an apparent suicide. But pathologist Dr Quirke and Detective Inspector Strafford soon suspect foul play.The victim's sister, a newspaper reporter from London, returns to Dublin to join the two men in their quest to uncover the truth. But, as they explore her links to a wealthy German family in County Wicklow, and to investigative work she may have been doing in Israel, they are confronted with an ever-deepening mystery. With relations between the two men increasingly strained, and their investigation taking them back to the final days of the Second World War, can they join the pieces of a hidden puzzle?Praise for the Strafford and Quirke series:'Crime writing of the finest quality, elegant, distinctive and utterly absorbing.' Daily Mail'[The Strafford and Quirke series] promises to elevate the crime novel to new artistic heights.' Financial Times'John Banville is one of the best novelists in English.' Guardian'Superb and shocking. . . more than a touch of genius.' The Times**APRIL IN SPAIN AVAILABLE NOW**

Product description

Review

As much a study of two troubled men as a cunning murder mystery. It is full of grief, rage, pain and horror ... Reading [Banville] is like drinking Bollinger when your usual tipple is Babycham.' ― The Times, ‘Book of the Month’

'He is a master of the set scene . . . The Lock-Up is to be relished above all for its richly realised characters, and their understanding of the vagaries of human nature.' ― Scotsman

The ultimate page-turner, expertly paced and beautifully written. ― Irish Independent

'A hypnotic thriller. . . with prose this lush and mordantly funny, it's a shame it has to end.' ― Sunday Business Post

'Propulsive . . . [and] a novel of great sensory description, whether Banville is capturing the
pungency of a pub at closing time or the shrieking cacophony of a kitchen manned by aflustered cook.'

― TLS

Elegant and acute . . . masterly. ― Yorkshire Post

Deeply atmospheric; forensically psychological. -- Mick Herron

'Banville's elegant crime novels [are] almost as addictive as Simenon.' -- Jake Kerridge ― Daily Telegraph --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Book Description

The Sunday Times bestselling author of Snow and April in Spain is back, as Strafford and Quirke return with their most troubling case yet. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

About the Author

JOHN BANVILLE was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945. He is the author of many novels, including The Book of Evidence, The Sea, winner of the 2005 Man Booker Prize, and, more recently, the bestselling crime novels, Snow and April in Spain, both of which were shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

From the Back Cover

1950s Dublin, in a lock-up garage in the city, the body of a young woman is discovered, an apparent suicide. But pathologist Dr Quirke and Detective Inspector Strafford soon suspect foul play.

The victim's sister, a newspaper reporter from London, returns to Dublin to join the two men in their quest to uncover the truth. But, as they explore her links to a wealthy German family in County Wicklow, and to investigative work she may have been doing in Israel, they are confronted with an ever-deepening mystery. With relations between the two men increasingly strained, and their investigation taking them back to the final days of the Second World War, can they join the pieces of a hidden puzzle? --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.