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The Drowned

by John Banville

A disappearance on Ireland’s coast

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Awards & Recognition

  • Critical praise

    Praised by The Boston Globe for its simmering dramatic tension

    The book is described as “full of simmering dramatic tension.”

AlbakiReads Editorial

A disappearance on Ireland’s coast

In 1950s rural Ireland, an empty car found in a field sets a missing-person investigation in motion. Detective Inspector Strafford is called from Dublin and consults pathologist Quirke as they examine a case shaped by a husband’s account and by events from the past. The coastal town provides the setting for a mystery that also considers the hidden lives people lead and the consequences of what has gone before. The description positions the novel within Banville’s Strafford and Quirke series, bringing its investigation together with questions of secrecy and the persistence of history.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in historical mysteries set in rural Ireland.
  • Readers who enjoy investigations involving Detective Inspector Strafford and pathologist Quirke.
  • Readers drawn to stories about disappearance, secrecy, and the influence of past events.

Themes

Missing-person investigationSecrecy and hidden livesThe consequences of the pastRural Ireland in the 1950s

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

"John Banville is one of my favorite writers alive, and I pick up his books whenever I need a reminder how to write a good sentence." --R.F. Kuang

Booker Prize winner and "Irish master" (New Yorker) John Banville delivers a richly atmospheric new mystery about a woman's sudden disappearance in a small coastal town in Ireland, where nothing is as it seems.

1950s, rural Ireland. A loner comes across a mysteriously empty car in a field, and soon finds himself embroiled in a troubling missing person case, as a husband claims his wife may have thrown herself into the sea. Called in from Dublin to investigate is Detective Inspector Strafford, who turns to the flawed but brilliant pathologist Quirke. But as the case unfolds, events from the past resurface that may have life-altering ramifications for all involved.

At once a searing mystery "full of simmering dramatic tension" (Boston Globe) and a profound meditation on the hidden worlds we all inhabit, The Drowned is the next great Strafford and Quirke novel from a beloved writer at the top of his game.

"Banville's reputation precedes him." --Parade
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