More of the same Quirke. ( )

Quirke con su esposa va a san sebastian y a raíz de un accidente, se cruza con una médica que le recuerda a una vieja. y desaparecida amiga de su hija. y ello desencadena todo ( )

John Banville's “April in Spain” (2021) turns out to be a sequel to Benjamin Black's “Elegy for April” (2010). What does this mean, other than that April Latimer, the troubled young doctor presumed murdered at the end of the earlier novel, remains alive? It means that respected Irish novelist John Banville has finally gotten wise.

Banville may have been respected for his many literary novels, but he wasn't making much money. Thus he turned to writing mysteries, which he may have thought beneath him, under the name of Benjamin Black. The mysteries, also beautifully written, feature Quirke, a troubled pathologist who manages to uncover mysteries when he isn't drunk. Now Banville, apparently realizing that his mystery novels aren't really as bad as he thought they were, is putting his own name on them. Good.

“April in Spain” opens with Quirke vacationing in northern Spain with Evelyn, the wise and patient woman he has married since the earlier novel. He still drinks, but not nearly as much as he once did. But is he drunk when sees a doctor named Angela Lawless when he goes to a hospital after an injury and the doctor reminds him of his daughter Phoebe's friend, April Latimer? Isn't she supposed to be dead? He calls Phoebe and asks her to join them in Spain.

Unfortunately Phoebe first speaks with Bill Latimer, April's uncle and a powerful government official with a sinister reputation. This triggers a series of events that lead to the novel's exciting conclusion.

Quirke, once he telephones Phoebe, fades into the background. The spotlight falls mostly on Phoebe, who was an adult before she learned that Quirke is her real father, and on Terry Tice, a killer for hire. The novel is actually more a thriller than a mystery.

Banville leaves so much hanging at the end that readers will feel compelled to grab up the next book in the series. That's something that probably never happens with his literary novels. ( )

The vast majority of this was a drawn-out character study, rather than a detective drama or mystery or something. So it felt more plodding than I was expecting. We bounce around in multiple POVs and locations, and I wasn’t super captured by any of the characters. But once I got into the story it was interesting enough to hold my interest. I will try something different by this author to see if that grabs me more. ( )

April in Spain
This is a very good story by John Banville from Ireland. The story takes place in London, Dublin and St. Sebastian in Spain in April.
There are three story lines that converge in the final chapters.
The first is about Terry Tice, an orphanage boy in Dublin who ends up as a professional hitman because he’s very good at his job.
The second story is about Dr. Quirke, a pathologist with a drinking problem and his wife Evelyn, a psychiatrist who are vacationing in St. Sebastian in April. He and his wife are very much enjoying the hotel, beach and food until he stabs himself trying to open an oyster and ends up in the ER at the local hospital. The attending physician Angela Lawless is a young woman Quirke recognizes and is supposed to have died/disappeared 4 years before. Because Angela Lawless/April Latimer was a friend of his daughter Phoebe, he persuades Phoebe to travel from Dublin to check out this woman.
The final story line deals with a politician called Latimer who is the uncle of the ER doctor. He is hiding lurid stories about and family secrets about his brother, Angela’s father. When Phoebe informs him of his niece’s possible whereabouts, the plot thickens.
Very good characters, good flow, very good story. ( )