Welcome to Litsy!

'I saw the story in the Irish Press,' he said.
'So did I. What about it?'
'I suppose the press release came from the palace?'
'We issued one too, but it was ignored. Church business is none of our business.'
'Even when it's a murder?'
Hackett was silent.
'The paper had it that he fell down the stairs,' Strafford said.
'And?'
'And he didn't fall down any stairs.'

Ireland, 1950s, the Catholic church vs the police
Image: roaringwaterjournal.com

Soft pick. A parish priest is murdered in 1957 Ireland and the Catholic church naturally wants to cover it up. I don't think it's a spoiler alert to say he was a child rapist because it is pretty obvious early on, plus, well, many of them are. The detective, a bit of an outcast determined to solve the crime, is likeable, and the politics are kind of interesting, but I didn't find the story terribly memorable.

It is like a cozy mystery. A murder occurred in a small town. Victim was surrounded by many scandals and rumors. A secret that everyone knows but no one said. due to religion power? I didn‘t know this is the 2nd book of inspector St. John Stratford Mystery. The end was okay everything was abruptly/convenient resolved. You will see controversies between Catholics and Protestants, the story is developed in Ireland. 3⭐️I want to read the first book.

Rural Ireland, 1950s, snowy winter, murdered priest, family secrets... perfect ingredients for a perfect crime fiction. John Banville at his best!

This was a recent book club pick (but not by some of us that‘s for sure). I DNF‘d it hard and everyone (literally) in book club hated it.

Didn‘t really enjoy this book. Has some twists but couldn‘t really get into it.

Oh, how I enjoyed Banville‘s writing style.

But then he ruined it with a completely unforgivable section that felt like an assault. All the trigger warnings here. It utterly spoiled the whole work for me. I‘m still recovering.

Thankfully, my trusty cat Scully is here to comfort me. Here she is looking particularly fetching and entirely goofy.

This is a traditional literary mystery set in Ireland in the 1950s. The detective is interesting, but the descriptions of the setting were the most engaging. The plot is very predictable once the murder victim‘s identity and means of death are revealed. Banville has interesting insights into class and the Catholic Church in Ireland. One caution: I am not squeamish, but the descriptions of violent sexual abuse were too graphic for me.

Set in Ireland of the 1950s, this is an engaging mystery with a whodunit set-up not unlike Agatha Christie - “The body is in the library.” so the story begins. The plot is nothing new, it‘s not so much about who the murderer is, I think. It‘s more insightful in its depiction of the Irish society then..the Catholic-Protestant relations, the social class difference, gender inequality, and the authoritarian of the Catholic Church. I was ⬇️

I'm going to get back in the swing of #bookreport! My reading total is down this year and probably will be next but I love the weekly tag! This week I finished Snow and The Mistletoe Murder, I'm going to finish Mystery in White hopefully today and I've had Starling Days out the library for over 9 months now so I need to get going! Thanks @Cinfhen xx

Somewhere between a pick and a so-so and I think mainly because I wasn‘t expecting the subject matter. I can‘t say anymore than that without giving the whole story away though.
Slow unravelling of the murder, very Christie like in that sense. Posh people being posh people, some religious bigotry and it‘s 1957, so some other things that are a bit meh too. Be very interested to see what others think when they get there.

It definitely is 📚

Just starting this one. So tired tonight though I don‘t think I will be getting through many pages. But diving in 😁

I want you all to know I have a friend who holds a special place in my heart. The funny thing is we've never met in person. Only because of Litsy have I been blessed to know @gradcat
Thank you Minette for the new author to fall in love with! I've never read and I'm so grateful for the present and YOU❤🥰😘

My newest audiobook.

https://www.luulit.com/product/snow-a-novel-audible-audiobook-unabridged/

(New Release)

The incomparable Booker Prize winner‘s next great crime novel – the story of a family whose secrets resurface when a parish priest is found murdered in their ancestral home