The Drowned: A Novel (Strafford and Quirke, 4)

An empty car, engine still running, driver’s door open, is left abandoned in a field on the southeast coast of Ireland. A fisherman, the first to happen upon it, is soon joined by Ronald Armitage, who claims he was the passenger in the car, and that the driver, his wife, had jumped out, run down to the beach and, he fears, drowned in the sea. Accident? Suicide? Or murder?

The pair make their way up to a nearby house to seek help. There, the fisherman senses that the occupants have some unspoken connection with Armitage. When Detective Inspector Strafford arrives from Dublin to lead the investigation, he, like the fisherman, has his suspicions, but without a body, evidence is scant. In the end, the mystery abruptly and violently resolves itself.

It is the journey rather than the destination, however, that makes The Drowned such an engrossing read. John Banville’s exquisite prose, whether it be word-perfect descriptions of the leading characters, subtle but insightful renderings of their emotional states, or the atmosphere he imparts to every scene, that grips the reader. The Drowned is a must read for anyone who savors literary mysteries at their best.