The Lock-Up Paperback – 1 January 2023

Set in 1958 in Dublin, this is the story about Rosa Jacobs who is a young history scholar who has been found dead in her car. Everyone initially thinks it’s a suicide but pathologist Dr. Quirke and DI St. John Strafford thinks it’s a murder. Rosa’s sister, Molly, who is a journalist, also helps with the investigation.It seems that Rosa was friends with a powerful German family that arrived in Ireland under mysterious circumstances. As Quirke and Strafford investigate this case, their personal lives also become intertwined.This was an interesting thriller. I enjoyed the unlikely pair of Quirke and Strafford, and how even after having some internal disagreements between them they still investigate this case together. They made a good pair.However, I thought this book was kind of slow paced for my taste and was more character driven than plot driven. Also since both the lead characters were middle-aged men, who were often drunk, I also found it hard to relate to them or to enjoy their POVs.Overall, it was a decent thriller, albeit a bit slow paced. I’d definitely recommend this one if you like reading detective mystery thrillers!Please keep in mind it’s the fourth book in the Strafford series and this book has spoilers for the third book, April in Spain. Other than that, this book can be read as a standalone.

<i> "The thing about grief was that you could press upon it at it's sharpest points and blunt them, only for the bluntness to spread throughout the system and make it ache like one vast bruise." </i>.My Rating : 3.5/5 🌟🌟🌟✨.The Lock-up is a murder mystery set in 1950's and follows DI John Stafford and Dr.Quirke. From the beginning, the atmosphere and the dialogue transports you back to the time it's set in..This book started off with a very confusing event, but I really liked the chaotic nature of the characters and their flaws so openly discussed on the page. The alternate pov's between the characters provide some insight as to what they are personally dealing with, and how the case affects them as well. I'm going to be honest, it took a bit of time and a few chapters to get comfortable with the writing style for me, but once that was done, I was quite invested. The mystery element to the story takes a backseat when the characters that are introduced to us make *ahem* stupid and rash decisions..Coming to the story and character development, I felt like the pacing was a bit erratic and it took away the flow of reading for me. The murder investigation also took a backseat with so many characters and their personal prejudices as well. I wasn't a fan of any of the characters in this book (it's a surprise really) but I think Dr.Quirke got the better character arc. (Even if it was for the worse). Over-all, it was an enjoyable read, and I liked that epilogue (totally surprised me) and the ending was so much more satisfying than the entire story..Thank you so much Penguin India for the gifted copy of the book !

In contrast to what I had anticipated, I found this novel to be rather slow-paced and character-driven, concentrating more on the drama that surrounded the individuals than the narrative itself. Also, I noted that the two primary characters, Quirke and Strafford, hardly ever spoke to one another, which left me feeling both intellectually and emotionally distant from them. This is not the book for you if you want a thriller with lots of action. This literary murder mystery has many insightful insights about post-war Ireland, such as the blatant antisemitism and the church’s role in supporting the Holocaust perpetrators. The book does have a murder at its core, but that is not its only goal.

Another wonderful book by John Banville continuing the Quirke series which started under his Benjamin Black nom de plume. A well written excellent story with a great surprise ending.

Interesting plot & enjoyable read

The finest Quirke-Strafford novel, if not the best of all Quirke’s. Contrary to some lack of insight of some commentaries here, it is subtle on the characters and well researched on its background. Alberto Villanueva

Lire.

I really liked this book. It does great 1950s-Ireland atmosphere, and the story is engrossing throughout. It was immersive for the couple of days it took me to read it. The Lock-Up is the third in John Banville's Strafford and Quirke series. The first is Snow (my review is also on Amazon); the second is April in Spain. The three books feature the pathologist Quirke -- central character of the eponymous earlier series by Banville, then writing as Benjamin Black -- and introduce the Protestant Garda detective inspector Strafford. Protestant is a big deal in 1950s Ireland; a police inspector from the minority 5% of the population is so rare as to be unheard of.In summary: a Jewish woman, Rosa Jacobs, is found dead in a car parked in a Dublin lock-up garage, poisoned by carbon monoxide piped inside from the exhaust. It is made to seem like suicide, but Strafford and Quirke suspect foul play and begin their investigation.In a separate strand of the tale, Wolfgang Kessler is squire of a large County Wicklow estate; we suspect that he's the same person as the one depicted at the start of the tale as on the run from post-war Germany. Suspicion falls on him and his son Franz (Frank). Also in the frame is Professor Armitage, Rosa's supervisor at Trinity College. Molly Jacobs comes from London to mourn her sister. Quirke's daughter, Phoebe, reappears. And the story unfolds from there.The Lock-Up is ostensibly about the murder mystery. Really, it's about 1950s Dublin in all its poverty and meanness; the dysfunctional, alcoholic, characters of Quirke and the Garda Chief Inspector Hackett; the character of the somewhat colourless Strafford; and the influence over the State of the Catholic Church, personified by Bishop McEvoy ("Bishop Tom"). Mr Banville describes the locations, characters and scenes in beautifully written, loving detail. If you analyse it, the murder and associated mystery get a minority of space and are something of a sidebar. And the whole is written in gorgeous, leisurely, prose by a great master of the art.For all the mastery, the book is far from perfect. Quirke and Hackett have evolved from mere alcoholic boorishness into sinister, thuggish, caricatures. Strafford is something of a drip. He and Quirke have a relationship bordering on hate, yet continue to work together. Quirke -- implausibly and far too quickly -- falls for Molly and (even more implausibly) she for him. It all stretches credulity, rather. And yet, you keep reading it because it's so good to read.Molly is run down by a car in a Dublin street and almost killed. That provides the break that allows the story to be (mostly) resolved. In the course of the resolution, Strafford starts a romantic involvement with Phoebe -- a sure recipe for a murderous Quirke response, perhaps in a sequel. The full explanation of Rosa's death is given in a nice twist at the end.For all its faults and tendency toward caricature, The Lock-Up is great, immersive, stuff written by a master. It is a delight to read and I recommend it.