So slow and meandering that at times I almost forgot a murder was being investigated. When an infamous newspaperman is found shot with his own shotgun it is thought at first that it was suicide. No one was particularly upset. Despite the title I always visualize Black's Quirke stories in dismal, smoky, black and white, particularly fitting for this bleak story that looks at Dublin's anti-Semitism and dark topics that were usually kept quiet in 1950s Ireland. As always, Black's writing is outstanding. ( )

Cuando el magnate de la prensa Richard Jewel aparece muerto en su casa de campo una calurosa mañana de verano, pocos lo lamentan. El doctor Quirke y el inspector Hackett no tardan en darse cuenta de que, lejos de tratarse de un posible suicidio, «Diamante Dick» ha sido asesinado. La investigación lleva a Quirke al orfanato de St. Christopher, donde vivió su infancia, y a frecuentar a la problemática Dannie, la problemática hermana de Jewell; a Carlton Sumner, el empresario rival, y a Françoise d’Aubigny, la elegante y misteriosa viuda.

Mejora don Black, aparentemente un suicidio que no fue tal hace que Quirke de nuevo trate de resolver un crimen, aquí se mezcla su hija con la hermana de la víctima y Quirke se engancha con uno de los testigos para complicarla más. Si bien sique siendo oscura, es algo más liviana que las tragedias anteriores. describe una Irlanda cerrada, con gran poder de la Iglesia, y algo antisemita ( )

How is Quirke so easily seduced by every woman he meets? Ending in some way similar to the last book. ( )

In the fourth of Benjamin Black's (aka John Banville) crime novels to feature pathologist Quirke, the people of Dublin are suffering through a stretch of scorching summer weather. Widely reviled newspaper owner Richard Jewell has been found dead in his home office, his head blown off by a shotgun blast. He’s holding the gun, which gives the death the trappings of suicide. But no one knows why he would kill himself. What’s more, the details of the scene don’t add up, so Quirke and Detective Inspector Hackett decide that the death must be treated as a homicide. Hackett takes charge, but Quirke, ever curious, cannot help but be drawn into the investigation, especially after encountering Jewell’s sultry widow, the imperturbable and enigmatic Françoise d’Aubigny. It turns out that Richard Jewell (known to his many detractors as “Diamond Dick”) was a ruthless businessman with shady connections and lots of enemies. The list of potential suspects is long and includes employees, business rivals and family members. In addition to Françoise, Richard’s troubled sister Dannie is also of interest to Hackett and Quirke, less as a suspect than as a source of information. In a bizarre coincidence, Dannie Jewell is a friend of David Sinclair, Quirke’s taciturn and socially awkward assistant in the path lab at the Hospital of the Holy Family. Quirke’s attempt to encourage friendship (possibly even romance) between David and his daughter Phoebe, situates Phoebe at the periphery of the case: through David, Phoebe meets Dannie and starts forming her own theories about Richard's death and the Jewell family. Quirke, back on the booze and at something of a loose end in his life, is seduced by a mystery that only grows more perplexing the deeper he digs, and by a widow who doesn’t seem to be grieving. The narrative shifts seamlessly among perspectives—mostly Quirke’s and Hackett’s. As the story progresses, Quirke time and again pokes his nose where it doesn’t belong, placing himself and others in danger but also exposing secrets that suggest an array of credible motives for murder. The story Banville has concocted moves at a leisurely pace, veers in unexpected directions, and is never less than enthralling. The writing throughout is elegant and dripping with atmosphere. Quirke is a man wracked by self doubt, alert to his many flaws and weak in the face of temptation—be it booze or women. A loner at heart, he does not trust easily, and yet craves companionship. Women find him attractive, but whenever he drops his guard he ends up in a compromising situation and wakes up the next morning hungover and burdened with regret. As a pathologist who deals in death and who’s seen it all, he is sensitive to the depths of depravity to which humanity can sink. But there are also times when he speaks and acts impulsively and imperils himself by downplaying the importance of his own observations. His fallibility and contradictory nature make him achingly human. The overall mood of the novel is sombre, and the book exhibits once again Banville’s unparalleled skill at individualizing characters and using setting to project states of mind. A Death in Summer is a dazzling addition to a stellar series, one that leaves us hungry for the next. ( )