April In Spain

Quirke is an Irish pathologist and recovering alcoholic (kind of) who appears in a number of novels which were written under Banville's pen name Benjamin Black.  In this novel set in the 1950s Quirke is on holiday in northern Spain with his wife, Evelyn, when he cuts his hand shucking a shellfish. While getting the wound tended to in hospital he sees a doctor who bears a strong resemblance to April Latimer, a troubled friend of Quirke's daughter Phoebe, who is presumed to have been murdered by her brother several years ago. He contacts Phoebe to tell her he thinks he has seen April. Phoebe tells a member of April's family and this sets a chain  of events in motion. Phoebe, a Dublin policeman and a disturbed hitman make their way to Spain to find April. Driving the plot is the fact that every character has a painful, complicated emotional history. It is not a thriller and there are no surprise twists.

Years ago I read Untouchable, Banville's fictionalization of the true story of the Cambridge spies in the 30s and more recently I read Snow in which Detective Strafford is the main character. I also saw Gabriel Byrne playing Quirke in a TV crime series. I've enjoyed them all and intend to read more of Banville's work.