The Lock-Up cover art

The Lock-Up

A Strafford and Quirke Murder Mystery

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The Lock-Up

By: John Banville
Narrated by: Stanley Townsend
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About this listen

'The ultimate page-turner.' Irish Independent

'Like drinking Bollinger when your usual tipple is Babycham.' The Times

The Sunday Times bestselling author of Snow and April in Spain returns with Strafford and Quirke's most troubling case yet.

1950s Dublin. in a lock-up garage in the city, the body of a young woman is discovered - an apparent suicide. But pathologist Dr Quirke and Detective Inspector Strafford soon suspect foul play.

The victim's sister, a newspaper reporter from London, returns to Dublin to join the two men in their quest to uncover the truth. But, as they explore her links to a wealthy German family in County Wicklow, and to investigative work she may have been doing in Israel, they are confronted with an ever-deepening mystery. With relations between the two men increasingly strained, and their investigation taking them back to the final days of the Second World War, can they join the pieces of a hidden puzzle?

©2023 Faber & Faber (P)2023 Faber & Faber Crime Thrillers Fiction Historical Mystery Police Procedural Thriller & Suspense Ireland Thriller

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All stars
Most relevant  
I thoroughly enjoyed the story, the atmosphere, the dialogue and the characters. Minor point: surely Quirke had an ulcer? So many people like him had stomach ulcers back then.

Dublin in the 1960s - wonderfully recalled

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I really enjoyed this. It’s a different kind of crime story with an unexpected twist at the end, the historical background is really interesting. The reading was good too.

Good story development, interesting historical backdrop, great characters

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great place making , brilliant narrator again. good plot, twists and turns. just to highlight audible wrongly had this listed as the 2nd book in the 'St John Strafford series' after snow, but it is in fact the 3rd book in this series. Audible's listing of the 'Strafford and Quirke' series has these in the correct order. just so nobody makes the same error I do and missing April in Spain!

atmospheric & strong plot

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Quirke confirms the inner dialogue of all men as hovering between curmudgeon to misanthrope, and ultimately disgust and self disgust for all humanity, oneself included. I normally end up laughing to myself after a passage of Quirke interior monologue. They reassure me I’m not the only one who is tormented by such thoughts. Nice also to see how Bishop Tom, McQuaid in Dundrum and other representatives of the “old hocus pocus” as Banville describes religion, being set up as omnipotent in those times. One can only enjoy from our point in the viewing gallery of time the guiltless schadenfreude of how Ireland has watched those great totems fallen from grace with descent of Bishop Casey and others. How and why could they ever have had such a supremacy of power. Anyways, I’ll be bored now waiting for the next Banville opus to be published.

Vintage Banville

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Thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing with all the charm we’ve come to expect from 1950s Dublin, but most of all, the engaging and poetic writing of Banville.

Banville at his masterful best!

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What a treat listening to John Banviile latest offering to a world of literature bulging with boring " Who Done it'novels , but as usual Mr. Banviile doesn't disappoint, an excellent listen with added enjoyment supplied by a great narration, Top Marks

John Banviile excellent as always

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One of those books where you didn’t want the story to end

Made all the more enjoyable by the brilliant reading on Audible

Must listen to more of Banville

Loved it

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John Banville’s beautiful prose never fails to excite me. Great story even though I was not sure about the ending?
The Quirke series of books are very enjoyable. Banville’s descriptions can be wonderfully funny, bitterly bleak, occasionally sumptuous but always satisfying.

A wonderful few hours spent with John Banville’s characters

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Excellent plot very well drawn and characters plausible and relatable. Would recommend this beautiful book with it’s interesting characters .

Beautifully read

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This proves crime writing can be up there with any other genre and have to say Stanley Townsend perfect reader

Brilliant writing and reader superb

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