This was a hard read for me to start but once I got into it I appreciated the story building and twists and turns. I felt a little out of the loop not having read any other books from Banville, as it appears there are character crossovers. I appreciate the chance to access this ARC from NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing.

While I enjoyed the story, I found the characters to be bland and almost predictable in their decisions and all that. The plot was good and the execution was good as well!!

In 1950s Ireland, in a small rural area by the sea, a woman disappeared. Her husband (Armitage) claims after an argument she ran out of the car and probably threw herself off the cliffs into the sea. He is behaving strangely even as a nearby family offers to call for help. Ultimately it is Detective Inspector Strafford who is brought in from Dublin. He consults with Dr. Quirke, a pathologist he has known for a long time. Interestingly, Strafford is seeing Quirke’s daughter. The character of Quirke is in a long-standing series by this author. The Drowned is an atmospheric character study with several tangents. There is soon another missing person to find. While the mystery is solved by the end, it is the complex and interwoven characters that serve as the basis of the book. John Banville is an excellent writer who brings them to life in this dark and foreboding story. With thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC. My opinions are my own. susanh_bookreviews

Well-developed characters. Interesting plot. Vivid descriptions. A good, solid read.

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

The Drowning is my second John Banville novel, but my first Strafford and Qurke novel. There are some references to previous novels but for the most part it works as a stand alone. The writing is great. I love the lyrical yet sparse prose where surprising facts just come out of nowhere.

Strafford is called to a home where a distraught husband says his wife has drowned. There is no body yet to be found. They were driving in the countryside when he says the wife has disappeared and he goes to the nearest house to report this and ask for help. What is the connection between all of these people? A bystander out with his dog is dragged into the drama against his will.

Meanwhile, Strafford and Quirke’s already strained relationship is put to the test when his daughter Phoebe begins a relationship with Strafford.

I did not like the ending of this novel, too ambiguous for me. However, I did enjoy the writing and will look at more books in this series.

Thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and the author for an ARC to read and review.

First off: I am a huge John Banville plan. His novel, The Untouchable, ranks as one of the finest achievements in literary fiction for the past half-century. I am not so keen on his seemingly endless "crime novels" starring the forensic pathologist Quirk and (lately) Detective Strafford. In the latest, "The Drowned,' the tone for many pages is more farcical than I've seen in the other crime novels, and the plot--concerning the mystery of a possibly drowned woman--takes a back seat to Strafford's marital chaos. The mystery itself takes a backseat during all of this, which contributes little to the sense of forward narrative motion. Plot as such rarely seems to interest Banville and, with his stellar list of earlier novels (Book of Evidence, Shroud, Athena, Ghosts, etc.), that's never a problem. Why? Because he's a genius with language and his prose is always wonderful to read. For the crime novels, the pacing is different (though not noticeably faster) and there's always a lot of stage business going on (opening a pack of cigarettes, lighting a cigarette, smoking the cigarette, putting out the cigarette). This is just not as appealing as the hijinks going on in his earlier novels, The Infinities, and lately the Singularities--two truly brilliantly crafted novels.

I thought this was a standalone book, but as I read I felt like I was missing background information that I was supposed to know. The book was ok and enjoyable. I just feel I should have read the other one first even though it was never mentioned in the synopsis.

Took me a while to get into it but I did enjoy it. I can see others enjoying it as well. It left me wondering from chapter to chapter.

Spotting a sleek Mercedes SL sports car parked in a sloping field below a house, its engine still running and the driver’s door left open, Denton Wymes, on his way home from fishing, pauses to investigate. It’s a moment that the isolated loner will soon regret as he becomes caught up in a missing-person case that will turn his life upside down. Before Wymes can retreat, a man named Armitage approaches, claiming his wife has thrown herself into the sea. Together they walk up to the house to telephone for help. Armitage’s behavior is odd (“he seemed more excited than distressed’) and Wymes senses that the tenant answering the door, Charles Rudduck, recognizes Armitage. Called in from Dublin to investigate is Detective Inspector St. John (pronounced “Sinjun”) Strafford, who is also juggling a complicated personal life (an estranged wife and a lover who is the daughter of his colleague, state pathologist Quirke). In late 1950s Ireland, divorce is illegal, and Anglo-Irish social tensions remain strong. Banville deftly captures the prejudices and suspicions between the groups. “You’re not a Paddy, then” says Armitage to Wymes, who stiffly corrects him that he is Irish, but not “bog Irish.” In a mostly Catholic police force, Strafford stands out as the rare Protestant. His investigation gradually uncovers secrets that go back years and into previous series installments, but enough back information easily guides new readers through the complex plot. Banville ends his fourth Strafford/Quirke crime novel (after The Lock-Up) on a haunting, ambiguous note. With its complicated, not always likable protagonists, this beautifully written book will appeal to fans of literary mysteries in the vein of Kate Atkinson’s and Tana French’s works.

this uses the mystery elements perfectly in this book. I enjoyed how the characters worked in this universe and that they worked overall. It had a great atmosphere and I was hooked from the first page. It was written perfectly and I enjoyed the overall story. John Banville writes a strong story and hope to read more.

The Drowned, the title of John Banville's latest book, refers to a woman who may or may not have drowned in the Bay near Wicklow, Ireland. Her husband intercepts a man who is trying to figure out why a beautiful BMW is sitting in the middle of a field with its doors open. He begs for help so the two trudge up to the top of a hill to a house that a couple have rented for a two week vacation. Yes, there is a mystery but the book is so much more. It delves into the fascinating, Irish, dark characters that these people are. Included are two police and the forensic pathologist who take over once the disappearance of the woman is reported.
Wicklow is a small community so it's not surprising that many of the characters not only know each other but have history. The question hovers 'do more of them know each other than they are saying?'
I like John Banville and found this a fascinating read. There were so many twists and turns of who did what to whom and who was what to whom that the ending, in which the mystery is solved, was almost an afterthought.
So if you like a deep character study of complex people and their complicated lives, you will enjoy this book.

The Drowned, like the other titles in the Quirke series by John Banville, doesn't disappoint. The prose reflects the work of a master craftsman, the crime meticulously peeled back layer by layer as the pages fly by until its suspenseful and surprise ending. The further development of Stratford's character continues with this book, making it easy to root for him as he helps solve the crime with Quirke, though not as his equal--yet. Five stars! Highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance reading. It was an absolute thrill to read another enjoyable title from this great author.
I look forward to reading The Drowned again when it is released in hardcover in October, when I will also post this review again on various platforms to spread the good work about this book.

After having read the synopsis, I was really interested in this book. However, I was disappointed.

It’s marketed as a stand alone novel, it is not. John Banville has combined two previous series into one — Quirke and Stafford. This was not clear until I looked further into the author after having been confused on supposed details Banville assumed I knew.

It’s suppose to be a mystery novel., right? Nope! It focuses less on the mystery and more on unrelated tangents. I love mystery novels in which you can play detective. This was not one of those.

I also found Wymes’ character to be unnecessary. Why do we need a pedophilic character? And why does it feel like we should feel a little sorry for him? It’s gross. He was a teacher who took advantage of children.

Overall, it should have focused on the death of Armitage’s wife rather than meandering into many other plot lines.

Danville also set up for another book after this. I will not be reading it.

Published on Goodreads March 19, 2024.

This is a detective novel set in the 1950s on the coast of Ireland. A man is out walking his dog when he spots a car running with the door open and a man claiming his wife has drowned. Strafford is the detective on the case and Quirke is a pathologist. The character driven part of this novel was very interesting and the backstories of all the main characters and how they interweave was very interesting. However, the mystery element of this novel takes a back seat and isn’t very interesting or surprising and has no twists or turns. There are secrets, infidelities and sexual abuse. This book is part of a series and I think the reading experience would be richer if you had read the previous novels so you could have a better grasp on the returning characters and why their relationships were the way they were. Without that context I found Quirke’s relationship with his daughter strange. I haven’t read the previous books on this story and felt that it did impact my readin experience. There is no doubt this author can write but I think I may prefer his more literary works to his detective series

I truly enjoyed this read! I found in captivating from the start and it immediately pulled me in! I would strongly recommend this book!

Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for this digital ARC of John Banville's 'The Drowned.'

Although this is obviously part of a series - there are references to previous crimes/cases - and while you'd probably benefit from having read them I didn't feel like I was missing out on too much by diving into this highbrow detective novel by a writer I associate more with the high literary genre. That said, this novel does contain numerous spoilers for those earlier books so reading this would be problematic if you were planning to back and read earlier instalments of the series.

The action starts when an oddball encounters a Mercedes, doors open and engine running, in the middle of a field along the coast of Wicklow or Wexford in Ireland. A man comes running at him exclaiming that his wife had disappeared into the sea. From there unspools a rambling tale of various crimes and events focusing on Detective Inspector St. John (Sinjun) Strafford and the various characters with whom he interacts in his personal and professional lives. There's a complex web here which stretches back years and into previous instalments but, as I said above, these are handled in such a way that you're provided with enough of a summary of those occurrences and relationships that you can easily comprehend what's happening. Central to the narrative is the tortured relationship between Strafford and the state pathologist, Quirke - a relationship which bleeds deeply into both of their private life and careers.

Judging from the descriptions of time and place I'd guess that this is set in Ireland in the 1960s, early 1970s at the very latest and it's very evocative of that period when the church and state were omnipotent and omnipresent and women were in the home and men were expected to bottle everything up. You get a very clear picture of the social and cultural castes that existed in Ireland then and from where they'd come in the history of the country.

The writing - as you'd probably expect from a Booker-winning author - is superb, laconic but compelling. Characters and situations are so well drawn it's very easy to picture them and their ways.

Very clever and enjoyable read.

unique and well done thriller. will post more about it later as this one is comingout in Oct!!! tysm for the arc, will rec