The Silver Swan: A Novel

Written by Benjamin Black

Narrated by Timothy Dalton

Two years have passed since the events of the bestselling Christine Falls, and much has changed for Quirke, the irascible, formerly hard-drinking Dublin pathologist. His beloved Sarah is dead, the Judge lies in a convent hospital paralyzed by a devastating stroke, and Phoebe, Quirke's long-denied daughter, has grown increasingly withdrawn and isolated.

With much to regret from his last inquisitive foray, Quirke ought to know better than to let his curiosity get the best of him. Yet when an almost-forgotten acquaintance comes to him about his beautiful young wife's apparent suicide, Quirke's "old itch to cut into the quick of things, to delve into the dark of what was hidden" is roused again. As he begins to probe further into the shadowy circumstances of Deirdre Hunt's death, he discovers many things that might better have remained hidden, as well as grave danger to those he loves. Haunting, masterfully written, and utterly mesmerizing in its nuance, The Silver Swan fully lives up to the promise of Christine Falls and firmly establishes Benjamin Black (a.k.a. John Banville) among the greatest of crime writers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Mar 4, 2008
• ISBN: 9781427202901

Benjamin Black

Dr Benjamin Black is a descendent of Iranian, Jewish, and British roots. His family heritage of persecution and forced migration led him to a career in medical humanitarian relief. He is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist based in London and a specialist advisor to international aid organisations, including Médecins Sans Frontières, government departments, academic institutions, and UN bodies. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic he provided frontline healthcare to pregnant women and supported the development of international guidelines. Benjamin teaches medical teams around the world on improving sexual and reproductive health care to the most vulnerable people in the most challenging of environments.

Reviews for The Silver Swan

[bfolds_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A welcome addition to this outstanding series. These are very absorbing characters, all of them flawed in ways that make them much more interesting than many that populate mystery fiction. I would not recommend reading this book without first reading Christine Falls, as there are many allusions that would be difficult to follow otherwise. I look forward to the next Quirke novel and am anxious to read Banville as Banville for a comparison.

[kylenapoli · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Black (Banville) has a special way of resolving a mystery plot while completely deflating any attendant sense of satisfaction. The prose is too good to be considered truly noir or hard boiled, but the lead character -- Dublin pathologist Quirke -- is certainly taciturn and utterly opaque.

[bccjillster · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

When I get a book as an ARC I always want to really like it, but I couldn't manage this one. It may have been more the fault of mood than the book, but I just couldn't go back into the bleakness with Quirk. He brings a pervasive attitude of gloom for me. And this from someone who loves the guilt-ridden, haunted hero of the Charles Todd books.I made it through the first of the Quirk books, but not as a happy camper, so I felt after a while I knew where we were going and I reluctantly exited the train. Sorry.

[pandalibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Quirke is one weird character. I enjoyed the 1950's Dublin setting but found the story to be a bit slow moving for me and I didn't like the ending. The new character, Inspector Hackett, was a welcome addition to the cast of characters. I hope that Hackett and Quirke pair up for future investigations.

[adithyajones · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An intelligent whodunit from Black who with his atmospheric,literary writing brings forth Ireland of 50's with its share of quirky characters and in depth study of darkness lurking behind human mind.

[kconcannon_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting mystery, I haven't quite finished it. I wish that I had read the first one in the series first, but it hasn't hampered my understanding of anything except Quirke's daughter. It's quite dark and seems to take itself quite seriously, but I'm enjoying it.

[piratejenny_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Won on LibraryThing's Early Reviewers and I'm so glad I did! This is the sequel to Christine Falls and finds Quirke still working as a pathologist a few years after the events of the previous mystery. Things have changed a bit, though Quirke is mostly the man he was. Then one day, he receives a call from a man he knew in college. Seems that Billy Hunt's wife has died, possibly suicide. Billy is horrified at the thought of her body being cut up and requests Quirke not to do an autopsy. Quirke tells the man that by law there must be one in the case of suspicious deaths, but Billy is so distraught that Quirke tells him he won't perform one. But when he performs an external examination of Deirdre Hunt's body, he finds something that causes him to have to perform an autopsy. And once again, he finds himself drawn into a mystery surrounding a young woman's death.Just as good as the first. I hope Banville keeps writing these Benjamin Black mysteries.

[terrib_54 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Silver Swan is a follow up to Christine Falls and features Garrett Quirke, a pathologist who just can't resist investigating a mystery; in this case, a suicide that turns out to be a murder. Benjamin Black (a pseudonym for John Banville) uses a noir structure in The Silver Swan to probe the human psyche. This probing of the darker areas of human activity and the human soul does not make for a very uplifting read, but that should be expected when dealing with the noir genre. The Silver Swan is full of typical noir elements: cynical characters, bleak settings, and a sense of hopelessness. I'm not a big fan of noir due to these elements and I'm sure this affected my enjoyment of both Christine Falls and The Silver Swan. In spite of my lack of enjoyment, it is clear that Black/Banville is a fantastic writer. I enjoyed his use of metaphor, and the ability to evoke such a strong emotional reaction left me in awe of his skill. I look forward to reading those works of his outside of the noir genre.I would like to thank the publisher, Picador, for sending me a review copy of The Silver Swan.

[drneutron_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Quirke's back in The Silver Swan, Benjamin Black's sequel to Christine Falls. He's as quirky as ever - except now he's stopped drinking and he's trying in his own way to make amends with his daughter. In The Silver Swan, an old school acquaintance has asked Quirke to help cover up his wife's suicide. Except things aren't what they seem and Quirke can't let it go until he uncovers the truth.Unfortunately, this one wasn't up to the level of the first. Quirke and his family came off as whiny and unrealistic instead of dysfunctional. The story really lagged in the middle and until the last couple of chapters I very nearly didn't care whether I finished or not.

[coyote99_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sequel to Christine Falls. Black/Banville scored again. Great characterization.....Quirk is as dark and gloomy as before and has another engrossing mystery surrounding a dead young woman. A smart, well written book.

[nmele_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This sequel to Christine Falls [book: Christine Falls] by John Banville [author: John Banville] is less complex and therefore more quickly paced than its predecessor. But it felt a bit padded to me, more of a novella or short story rather than a full novel.

[literaryfeline · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to read Christine Falls before tackling this one and I'm glad I did. While I found Silver Swan enjoyable, I liked Christine Falls much better. Quirke is an interesting character to say the least. I love the noir feel to the book but found it slow in spots, which impacted my enjoyment of the novel. Perhaps it was a novel better read at a time when I had more energy and attention to give it--not right after having a baby.

[icolford · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Period murder mystery set in 1950s Dublin. Sublimely written, as we would expect. Characters are fresh and intricately drawn, as is the setting, which fairly drips with the pervasive Irish dampness. The mystery, while maybe not as compelling as one could hope, is still engaging and the book is never less than entertaining. But there's no denying that Banville is a master of the language, and his prose is worth reading even when the story lacks the power of his best work.

[bcquinnsmom · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Back again to Dublin and to Quirke, the pathologist featured in Black's Christine Falls. The events of Silver Swan take place some two years after Christine Falls, and there are a lot of changes in Quirke's life and those of the other continuing supporting characters as well. Like Christine Falls, The Silver Swan remains a dark and broody type of novel, so if you're looking for warm fuzzies and a lilting tone, forget it. It's just not in Quirke's nature, and after the events that transpired in Christine Falls, not in the nature of any of the other characters either. The novel begins with a former school acquaintance (Billy Hunt) contacting Quirke about the death of his wife Deirdre. She had been found dead, drowned in a local beach, apparently of suicide. Hunt knows that there will be an autopsy, and comes to beg Quirke not to cut her open. Quirke agrees to the idea, but come the day when he gets the body, he notices a small puncture mark and thus has to break his promise. From there it's a ride into a seamy side of life and secrets -- all of which affect Quirke somewhat personally. He just can't let it go (as was the case in Christine Falls); he has to get to the bottom of what happened to Deirdre Hunt. The case takes a more personal turn when Quirke realizes that his thoroughly depressed daughter Phoebe is involved with one of the principals.Gloomy in tone, it seems that the events which have transpired over the last couple of years have left all of the continuing characters sunk in the quagmire of individual unhappiness and depression, to the point where you wonder how much worse it can possibly get. Black's incredibly well-drawn characters are what make the novel, and his descriptions of Dublin and its denizens make the reader feel as if he/she were there. The writing, of course, is superb, and it's uncanny how Black (aka John Banville) can get into the skin of each character he's created. The epilogue is a bit ambiguous, so if you expect everything to be tied up in a neat package with all problems resolved, you may not want to read this book. I look at it like this -- this is an ongoing story and there are loose ends in life in general, so ambiguity does not bother me. I HIGHLY recommend this book, but PLEASE start with Christine Falls or you will lose much needed detail for understanding the angst, turmoil and dark broodiness that seems to be the hallmark of this series. Readers of Irish crime fiction will love it and serious mystery readers will enjoy it as well. It may be awhile before the next one arrives, so I'll try to be patient.

[writestuff_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Silver Swan is the second novel in the Quirke series written by John Banfield under his pseudonym Benjamin Black. Dysfunctional Dublin pathologist Quirke’s return appearance happens two years after solving the Christine Falls case. Finally sober, he is mourning the loss of his unrequited love Sarah and trying to make amends with his daughter when he receives a phone call from an old school friend whose wife’s body has been fished out of the dark waters near Dublin. The man requests that Quirke ignore the law and refrain from performing an autopsy to cover up the apparent suicide. But Deidre Hunt’s death is not as straight forward as it first appears, and Quirke once again finds himself embroiled in the dark side of human behavior. He is unable to let the mystery alone. It was a postmortem he had performed on the body of another young woman that had led to the unraveling of the Judge’s web of secrets; did he want to become involved in another version of that? Should he not just let the death of Deirdre Hunt alone, and leave her husband in merciful ignorance? What did it matter that a woman had drowned herself? - her troubles were over now; why should her husband’s be added to? Yet even as he asked himself these questions Quirke was aware of the old itch to cut into the quick of things, to delve into the dark of what was hidden – to know. - from The Silver Swan, page 25 -Banfield’s writing is dark and rich and The Silver Swan, like its prequel Christine Falls, reads more like literary fiction than straight genre mystery. Characters are well-developed and plot is secondary to the motivations of the characters. The story unravels through alternating point of view which gives the mystery greater depth and interest. Once again, I found myself not entirely liking Quirke who always seems to be struggling with ethical decisions, while unable to deal with his personal demons. But, despite this, Banfield’s strong prose engaged me in Quirke’s story. I found The Silver Swan less predictable and with more intriguing twists than its predecessor – just when I thought I had solved the mystery, the story took an unexpected turn which kept me guessing. He flicked the stub of his cigarette over the embankment wall. A gull, deceived, dived after it. Nothing is what it seems. - from The Silver Swan, page 55 -Both Christine Falls and its sequel The Silver Swan will appeal to those readers who enjoy a good mystery, but also appreciate literary fiction. Speaking for myself, I know I would not hesitate to pick up another thriller-mystery by this author.Highly recommended.

[cbjames_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When a mystery novel opens with the discovery of a dead body, it has my full attention. Avoid the eccentric neighbor characters and get right to the chase. Benjamin Black, John Banville to the Mann Booker Prize jury, opens The Silver Swan just the way I like it. A young man drops by the Dublin morgue to ask pathologist Garret Quirke not to perform an autopsy on his wife. She has just committed suicide by drowning, and he cannot bear the thought of her being cut up for examination. The Silver Swan is off to an excellent start.Things have not gone well for pathologist/detective Garret Quirke in the two years since he was introduced in Christine Falls. His wife has died, his father is in a hospital, and his daughter is making every effort she can to avoid him. Quirke does not want to become involved in another investigation, not after how turned out in Christine Falls, but when an old acquaintance makes a special effort to ask him not to perform an autopsy he cannot stay out of the case. What follows is an entertaining detective story that makes a successful effort to grab its readers and force them to keep turning the pages. But, because it strays from its central character, it's not as successful as Christine Falls. Quirke could have walked out of a Dashell Hammet or a Raymond Chandler novel. He has a drinking problem, a jaundiced view of the world, trouble with women, and he really doesn't want to be involved--all things make good hard-boiled detective fiction. When he is present on the page, The Silver Swan has the goods. But over half the time, the focus shifts to other characters: his daughter, his friend, the victim and her backstory, various suspects. These are all interesting people and the book would suffer if their scenes were removed completely, but it would definately gain if they were cut. Mr. Black is up to more than just telling a detective story, of course. In Christine Falls he shone a light on parts of Irish history many people would prefer be kept in the dark. The Silver Swan has a much more domestic agenda. No societal ill is examined, nor is any great historical scandal brought to light. Instead, the characters traverse the conflicts men have with women, fathers have with daughters, and one jaded man has with the world around him. The actual mystery operates as a means to explore these relationships. That's fine if you're looking for a novel, but it's problematic if you're looking for a mystery.

[towncalledmalice · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

very well-written and gripping

[bill_11 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I read mysteries for their entertainment value and to relax. The Silver Swan is not your typical mystery, at least the mysteries that I enjoy do not come with their own list of discussion questions. I do not intend to say the Silver Swan is a bad book. On the contrary, it is well written with a complex plot. The main character, Quirke is a complex man with his own difficulties and challenges in life, not unlike his daughter. But, the Silver Swan is not my choice for escape. If my interests ran to a complex mystery wrapped within serious literature, the Silver Swan would be near the top of my list.

[viking2917_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received a copy of Silver Swan as part of LT’s early reviewer's program. In this sequel to Christine Falls, Quirke is on the wagon and sober, his relationship with his daughter (whom he formerly thought was his niece), is broken, and his wife Delia and his wife's sister Sarah, whom he loved, are also dead. Billy Hunt, an old school associate, has come to ask Quirke not to perform an autopsy out of respect for his dead wife. Deirdre Hunt, (or Laura Swan as she’s come to be known in her business), has apparently committed suicide by drowning; Quirke being Quirke, of course, he performs the autopsy anyway. When he does, he concludes she didn’t drown after all. His relentless curiosity compels him to learn what happened. The Silver Swan is not nearly as atmospheric as Christine Falls in my view, but perhaps that's just because it's the second book of Black's that I've read, and perhaps I have adjusted to his writing style. Oddly enough the atmospherics of the novel are often lighter - there's much less smoke (see my previous review of Christine Falls for more on that), and even when the interpersonal relationships seem strained, Dublin seems a fine place to be:...They set off walking together down the hill road to seafront. For Quirke there was something at once dreamy and quintessential about the summer afternoons; they seemed the very definition of weather, and light, and time. The sunlit road before them was empty. Heavy frondages of lilac leaned down from the garden walls, the polished leaves mingling their faint, sharp scent with the salt smell of the sea. They did not speak, and the longer the silence between them lasted the more difficult it was to break. Quirke felt slightly and pleasantly ridiculous. This could only be called a date, and he could not remember when he had last been on one. He was too old, or at least too unyoung, for such an outing. He found this fact inexplicably cheering.Or..The day was hot already, with shafts of sunlight reflecting like brandished swords off the roofs of motorcars passing by outside in the smoky, petrol-blue air. In any case, Black spends a lot of time and verbiage describing scenes, settings, and details (often to no apparent point). The writing is lovely, and Dublin is well rendered. Quirke’s constant itch for a drink is palpable, and the mystery is intriguing. But in the end I found this book less compelling than Christine Falls; Quirke’s motivations seem unclear, and while he still smokes like a chimney, his personal challenges never seem to lead anywhere. The mystery, while entertaining, and progressively more salacious, doesn’t rise to the intricately interwoven plot of Christine Falls. It’s a fine book, but doesn’t rise to the level of its predecessor.

[owenre · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent, literate, atmospheric mystery. I will be reading every Benjamin Black.