Book lover. Stephen King Fanatic. Will try anything once. General Lover of Fiction. Reviewer Everywhere. All views my own. Mostly.
Even the Dead was my first "Quirke" novel - which didn't matter one bit - and I have to say that I'm definitely wanting to read more.
I've been a bit down on crime recently - with a few notable exceptions I've been findig them all very samey and indeed I have picked up and put down a few - with Even the Dead I picked it up and it stayed picked up. The writing is gorgeous, invoking the senses and really embedding you into Quirkes world - a supposedly gentler time that still erupts into violence and with some real old school mystery storytelling at its heart.
An accident that is not an accident, a scared girl who feels all alone and Quirke is back in business having been away for a while. For me as a first time meeting the characters, it was beautifully done, no problem picking up threads and the current mystery was intriguing and atmospheric.
Even the Dead floats along carrying you with it, a firm sense of place and time, some really really fascinating and engrossing characters and would definitely come highly recommended from me.
Happy Reading Folks!