The Silver Swan: In Search of Doris Duke Audiobook

" This is the second book in the series by Irish writer Benjamin Black, AKA John Banville (the Sea, for which he won the Man Booker prize in 2005). This book follows the further adventures of Dublin pathologist Quirke and his complicated family. Quirke has quit drinking, which has made him grumpier than usual and on edge, as he confronts the circumstances of an old acquaintance from college. His curiosity gets the better of him when he is pulled into the mystery of the apparent suicide of this man's young wife. His daughter is involved in the events as well, which puts her in great danger. The descriptions of Dublin's streets, atmosphere and climate combine with the action and mystery to create a haunting sense of place. The writing is brilliantly suited to the crime genre, yet a step above most I've read. I look forward to following these characters in many books to come. "

" Wonderful, rich, evocative descriptions. I love the writing. Dublin in the 1950s seems to materialize in front of your eyes. Also the characters are beautifully fleshed out and real. I would rate this book at 5 stars but for one thing. The plot is preposterous. Protagonist Quirke is a pathologist who, as a favour, agrees not to cut open the body of an old schoolmate's dead wife. She has turned up dead in the water, apparently a suicide and hubby doesn't want the humiliation of suicide and desecration of her body. But during his visual examination of the dead woman he notices a puncture mark in her arm and so does a full post mortem after all, finding no evidence of drowning but residues of alcohol in her blood and a fatal dose of morphine as well. At the inquest he reveals nothing of this information and suggests accidental death by drowning to be the cause. At this point I was no longer able to invoke the necessary suspension of disbelief to enjoy this book fully. However, as I said in the first couple of sentences, the man is an incredible writer. Worth reading for the character descriptions and sense of place that he invokes. "

" To drawn out and ultimately rather anticlimactic. I was not able to develop any sympathy for the characters. "

" The second in the series of Mr. Quirke mysteries got a little less believable. Dublin, the city is the most interesting character now that the bad old church and Kennedy-esque patriarch's are gone. I felt more annoyance with Mr. Quirke than pity as in the first one. "

" Despite the literary prose, I could not find any sympathy for the characters in this second book of the series on Irish pathologist, Quirke. "

" Good Noir mystery. Slow in pace but it suits the main character's personality. Exactly what I would expect from a Noir novel. "

" What an odd book. The main character was wrong...wrong...wrong about everything. Not sure I want to read about him flubbing up again. "

" I was disappointed. John Banville is a great writer but his plotting on this was weak. "

" I found this book harder to engage with than the earlier one, 'Christine Falls'. The moody and evocative descriptions of 1950s Dublin were good, but didn't make up for the slow pace. The characters didn't seem to develop much, especially Quirke, and the plot didn't work for me. "

" One of a series of high-class policiers, with a difference. Quirke is aptly named. His creator has a marvellous touch with sounds and smells, the way the weather feels, and the wickedness that lurks in human hearts, even or especially in 1950s Dublin. "

" Didn't enjoy as much as Christine Falls, but its still stellar writing. "

" This book got its own review in NY Times, rather than just a blurb in the Mystery column. I guess the writer is a big deal in the literary world. This book is really well written, but the plot was thin. I figured out the big secret about halfway through. "

" I enjoyed the first Black novel way more than this one... I thought I was betraying my age when I started reading Thrillers. Maybe it's a mood thing? "

" This is a new series that I just discovered and which I'm enjoying very much. "

" The second in Benjamin Black's sordid sex-and-crime sagas set in dreary 1950s Dublin -- as atmospheric and well-constructed as the first one. Now, can we have John Banville back please? "

" Good book. Overall good read, though I was a little disappointed that I figured out who dunnit before the main character. I'm not sure if that was what was intended or if I was actually supposed to be surprised along with him... "

" Second book featuring Quirk. Excellent read, good characters and plot, well written. I would recmmend reading "Christine Falls" first otherwise you will not quite get the relationships between the characters. "

" I would give this 3.25 stars really; it was a little better than most but not riveting or totally engrossing. I was surprised by the resolution, because I was wrong for most of the book about what really happened. That sneaky author... "

" Strips away some of the kerfluffle of Christine Falls and comes up with a lean, mean, and ultimately pretty excellend (and depressing) sequel. Enjoyed jumping around in time between Quirke's investigating and Laurie Swan's story leading up to her tragic end. "

" Book -- 3.5 -- baffling Irish story of mysterious pasts. very adult reading. "

" Black is a great writer as is his dopelganger John Banville. I think he enjoys the noir side of things. "

" Probably the best of the Benjamin Black books to date. "

" Great writing. Good story. So now I want to read some of his books written as John Banville. "

" An English pathologist with a messy family history uncovers long-kept secrets. A followup to Christina Falls. Really enjoyed this book, especially with Timothy Dalton's reading. "

" Entertaining so far. My standards are lower for audiobooks. "

" The second in the series of Mr. Quirke mysteries got a little less believable. Dublin, the city is the most interesting character now that the bad old church and Kennedy-esque patriarch's are gone. I felt more annoyance with Mr. Quirke than pity as in the first one. "

" As good as Christine Falls, maybe better. Beautifully written but with a grim outcome, like so many Irish novels. Quirke is a great, flawed protagonist. "

" While good, the series trends towards the dour. The first two books in the series have a few too many convenient connections for the plots to be completely plausible but Black/Banville can create a powerfully evocative atmosphere. "

" This is the second of the three Quirke novels; both the first, Christine Falls, and the third, Elegy for April, are better. "

" Not as good as Christine Falls. But still VERY good "