I found Snow rather mediocre, I’m afraid. It’s not actively bad, but it does plod, it’s not as clever as it thinks it is and there’s not much Banville brilliance in evidence.

The set-up is like a vintage Agatha Christie. Set in December 1957, a Detective Inspector is sent from Dublin to investigate the murder of a priest in a large country house. It is peopled by stock Christie characters - which Banville points out several times - it contains some arch references to Murder On the Orient Express and so on. Banville “subverts” the genre with some explicit sex scenes, but otherwise it pretty much plods through a Country House Mystery plot. It’s all terribly knowing and postmodern, but for me it did not make a good read and became pretty irritating. Even the intimate characterisation and evocative scene-setting which I have found so involving in books like Ancient Light aren’t really there; just little sparks every so often.

The plot and motivation are very well-worn, with pointers toward priestly malfeasance very early on. I think that by now we know that priests and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Ireland last century did some dreadful things which were covered up; as a core plot it really needs more than Banville gives it here to be other than a rehash of what we’ve read many times by now.

The book does have its moments; a scene between the Inspector and the Archbishop is very well done, for example, but even the structure is very clumsy in places, with an out-of-place monologue from a different point of view toward the end and an unconvincing epilogue.

Snow isn’t terrible by any means, but it was a bit of a slog and didn’t do much for me. I suspect that I may have reached the end of the road with John Banville; I haven’t genuinely enjoyed a book of his for some time and I can’t really recommend this one.

(My thanks to Faber & Faber for an ARC via NetGalley.)

"Snow" is both a stock-standard police procedural, set in the Republic of Ireland in the 1950s, and a sly oddity. John Banville, a Booker Prize being one of his many achievements in the literary fiction field, has also penned seven fast mysteries set in the same milieu under his Benjamin Black penname, and one wonders why Snow did not more properly fit into that universe. I think the difference is the sensibility of Snow. Starring Detective Inspector St John Strafford from Dublin, Snow features a claustrophobic, isolated manor in the Agatha Christie or Daphne du Maurier tradition, and the murder victim, a castrated priest, creates a tableau of subterranean horrors contrasted with pristine glitz. Strafford is an engaging, capable, somewhat detached puzzle solver, Banville is a consummate wordsmith with an easy rhythm, and the plot unfolds in a well-controlled fashion. I really did feel like I was reading a mystery from my teens, albeit with a modern macabre edge. If the easy read did not translate into palpable tension, if the twist ending was not really a twist at all, if Strafford's otherness left him a cypher ... none of these spoiled a juicy period piece mystery.

This was my first time reading John Banville, but it certainly won't be my last. I'm a huge fan of golden age murder mysteries set in locations that could be a character in and of themselves. The setting here is perfect, with the seemingly angelic, beautiful snow masking a lot of the nefarious machinations at work. The characters are wonderfully eccentric and suspicious, and our protagonist is a very interesting person whose inner life reveals a melancholy that I really want to know more about. Being Irish myself, I loved the way in which the author wove in our history - the definitive lines drawn on the basis of religion and class, and even an appearance by John Charles McQuaid who is suitably unnerving. More than anything, I adored the author's use of language, description and tone - his writing is really magical.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Detective Inspector St John Strafford is sent to Ballyglass House, the seat of the aristocratic Osborne family, where a Catholic priest has been found castrated and murdered.
John Banville's novel is much more than just a detective story. It looks closely at the religious tensions in the Republic of Ireland in 1957, and the way in which the Catholic church sought to protect it's priests at all costs.
The author evokes a strong atmosphere of time and place and eventually reveals the true horror behind the body in the library.

A solidly written storyline, beautifully descriptive and highly absorbing. Not exactly a murder mystery, as it is fairly easy to predict the direction of the plot from very early on, however this in no way spoils a highly satisfying, quality read.

After a body is discovered in a home library, Detective Inspector St John Strafford is called in from Dublin to investigate. The death of a highly respected priest is one that gets everyone interested. St John struggles to pit the pieces together, but is finally able to answer all of the lagging questions.
Overall, an ok book. Although it did take me a bit longer to get into the book, I did find a connection to some characters and all loose ends are tied up in the end.
Reccomended for those who enjoy darker police mystery novels.

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Set in the Winter of 1957 (albeit with a back flip to 1947 to make the underlying themes more torrid) we have DI St John Strafford sent out from his Dublin police posting to investigate a murder in the rural County in which he was raised. It is clear from the start that this is a highly politically toxic situation he is walking into. It is not entirely clear to him whether he will be able to solve the crime; but whether he was intended to in the first place.
A supposedly popular Catholic priest - Father Tom – is reported dead in the house of a Colonel Osborne and his family. This is a Church of Ireland family, but he apparently visits regularly as he stables a horse here so he can hunt locally. Instead of returning to his home, managed by his sister, he has stayed overnight. He has been found dead in the downstairs library and has been mutilated. When DI Strafford arrives the body has clearly been moved and the place cleaned, but he still has to resolve what has happened. Pressure is on to claim an outsider is responsible, but on examination, this seems unlikely. To the reader once it becomes clear that Father Tom has been castrated, an alternative motive for the killing is clear. But this is supposed to be the time when the Church is all powerful and Clergy are not only unlikely to be killed, but will have any misdemeanours quietly covered up, even if they are reported.
DI Strafford has to walk into an unknown household and community and carry out an investigation. Nobody is seemingly inclined to be overly helpful to his investigation. The local Sergeant is off sick – suffering serious alcohol problems after the suicide of his son. It is not just the 40’s with lack of the most basic technology (access to phones, reliable cars etc) but it is a very deep winter with snow. So practicalities are an increasing challenge. Needing first to investigate the family in the house, Strafford has then to look to the staff and the wider community to build a picture. Hints will be given, but most will be covering up what may be critical information to his understanding. Overarching this Strafford is under pressure to resolve this crime fast and with the minimum of fuss or fallout.
Just because Banville is writing crime there is no loss of his extraordinary writing skills, his ability to create a deep sense of place – in this case rural Ireland in winter. His presentation is so visceral you cannot just see the places, but feel the biting cold and snow. His Strafford is a character seen before and a conflicted man, that too is shown and how it plays out with daily challenges and uncertainties. But his other characters all seem real too in their actions and reactions to others. The apparent “reason” for the murder is only slowly revealed. But it should be remembered, too, that the reader’s suspicions or hindsight due to recent church abuse cases could be seen as a reflection of hidden or unspoken knowledge of abuses by family or community members in the book who do not talk.
The murder and following actions while awful are not depicted in gruesome detail; the reader has to apply this which actually makes the whole tenor of the novel even more ominous. But the investigation trips off another murder and other violences so it speaks to a deeper malaise in the community and land. Strafford’s response to the whole scenario reflects the seriousness of the matter – so this is not a “light” crime read. It speaks to a desolate and dysfunctional milieu and the impact it has on people bedded in their belief that they cannot change things for the better.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

"Who murdered the highly respected parish priest at Ballyglass House? Detective Inspector St John Strafford is called in from Dublin to investigate."

An okay police procedural/murder mystery. Lagging a bit towards the end as everything comes to a conclusion. Warning: abusive sexual situations

3.25☆

‘The body is in the library,’ Colonel Osborne said. ‘Come this way.’

Winter 1957, County Wexford, Ireland. The mutilated body of a highly respected parish priest is found in the library at Ballyglass House, the home of the aristocratic Osborne family. Detective Inspector St John Strafford is called in from Dublin to investigate. The doors were locked, the house was not broken into. The crime scene has been cleaned and Father Lawless’s body has been ‘tidied up a bit’. Who killed Father Tom Lawless, and why? A murdered Catholic priest in a Protestant house: the police and the Catholic Archbishop both have an interest.

It has been snowing, and the snow continues to fall. It is quite a contrast: the pure white snow, masking the usual surroundings as well as making movement challenging. There’s mistrust as well between Catholics and Protestants, as well as between members of the Osborne family. Detective Inspector Strafford meets silence at almost every turn. The Archbishop wants to substitute his own version of what has happened to Father Tom Lawless, members of the Osborne family have some misdirection of their own.

‘A person acting on impulse can be lucky. He’ll strike out without thinking, and afterwards everything looks natural, because it is. But a plan always has something wrong with it. There’s always a flaw. Our job is to find it.’

DI Strafford and his investigations held my attention. In the murder of Father Tom Lawless, the why might seem clear and the how will be obvious but the who hangs over the story. There are secrets to be uncovered and, in an environment where the community is riven by mistrust, where covering up what happened is seen as desirable, finding answers was never going to be easy.

The characters and their relationships are (mostly) well developed. The snow, by disguising the surroundings, adds a layer to the intrigue. In this novel, Father Lawless’s murder is secondary to Mr Banville’s depiction of time and place.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

A dead priest in the library heard that one before but this is different the state of the death makes you think what has he done to be murdered in this way.The weather is bad will this help or hinder the invsetigation .The house has not been broken into and the doors are locked so who killed the priest.

The winter of 1957 is a harsh one especially around Christmas time which makes for a chillingly atmospheric setting for the murder of a priest. DI St John Strafford is summoned to Ballyglass House, the Wexford home of Colonel Osborne where Father Tom Lawless has been found murdered in the library. However, this is no Agatha Christie style mystery but rather a snapshot of a community in Ireland at this time.

The snow is a very important part of the storytelling as it blankets and covers up all and is a metaphor for the ensuing attempt at a cover up by both the community and the all powerful Catholic Church. At many a turn Strafford faces silence or as near as. I like how the author reflects the well documented historic situation and so there are no great surprises here especially with the priests background and death but it is well depicted. I like the character of Strafford who is enigmatic, incisive and quietly determined. He is very unusual too in that he is a Protestant in an overwhelming Catholic Garda. All the characters are colourful and at times it feels very theatrical which is a good counterpoint or the brutality of the murder. I especially like Lettie Osborne who is very clever and funny and the dialogue when she’s around is whip-smart I really like the way the book is written, at times it all feels a bit mad although you appreciate this is a deflection for Strafford’s benefit. The Osborne household is very intriguing from the hunting, shooting and fishing Colonel to the cook who can’t. The Archbishop of Ireland is a very smooth and powerful operator who is determined that the murder will be his version of truth rather than the actual truth.

My only negative is the point of view of Father Tom Lawless which appears towards the end which feels very contrived and I don’t feel it adds anything to the story.

Overall, this is a very atmospheric and interesting read. There are no huge shocks in the plot as the focus in on characterisation and depicting an era which John Banville does really well in this enjoyable book.

With thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for the ARC.

It’s almost Christmas 1957 and detective inspector St John Stratford is called to investigate a murder of a well known priest in a country house. The winter is severe, snow blanketing and muffling everything. Strafford recognises the cliched setting and the atmosphere of unreality, which affects his investigation. Everyone has secrets, even in plain sight.
I found this a difficult read in parts - particularly the infrequent scenes of sexual violence. I admired the plotting, the prose and the intent to uncover the stench of corruption under the layers of social mores and concern for status. In the end, did Strafford succeed? Or is there always a deeper layer?

It is December 1957 in rural Ireland.
Detective Inspector St John Strafford is called to investigate the murder of a Catholic priest at the remote Ballyglass House.
This is an richly written book with a brilliant portrayal of icy cold winter in unheated decrepit houses that will make you want to turn on the central heating.
The ice at the heart of this novel contrasts with the heat of exploring the depth of sexual depravity, exploitation, abuse, religious prejudice and mental illness at a time when the power of the Catholic Church in Ireland touched every part of the police and judiciary.
Some of the characters are stereotypes from post-war society and unconvincing as a result, but the isolation and flawed morality of ever character, including the police officers, adds layers to the story.
The flashback that explained the motivation for the murder didn't work for me. The motivation was clear from the opening chapters and the method of death.
Otherwise an evocative, well-written account of a time in Ireland's history from which the country has never truly recovered.

"Snow" will probably disappoint the hardcore thriller/crime readers. I'm not one of those. I'm more interested in characterisations, atmosphere and the overall writing style - which, as I've come to expect from John Banville, were top notch. It's a bonus if I don't find any gaping plot holes - there were none.

It's 1957. Detective Inspector St. John Strafford is sent to a small village in County Wexford, Ireland to investigate the gruesome murder of a catholic priest. He was the guest of a retired protestant colonel who lived in a big old mansion. St John a was an interesting main character, not your stereotypical smoker, drink to oblivion kind of detective.

Banville affords us a glimpse of the era - the divisions between the Catholics and the Protestants that penetrated every aspect of life and the overwhelming influence of the Catholic church in all aspects of life.

The novel has a good, steady pace, in keeping with the times, the era, and the season. I could easily imagine the characters and the locations.

The only thing that I found jarring was a small chapter from the deceased priest's point of view, I thought it was random and unnecessary, and I say that as someone who enjoys hearing from unreliable characters. Other than that, this was excellent, as you'd expect from such a talented writer.

This is the first book I have read by John Banville and I was impressed.

It is wonderfully written. The descriptions of places and in particular the weather are striking. They bring the story to life and really make you feel that you are there among the freezing snow.

Detective Inspector Strafford is charged with investigating the brutal killing of a priest. Beginning as it does with news that 'the body is in the library' the book at first appears to be a knowing parody of classic murder mystery stories.

Strafford remarks on more than one occasion how the people he comes across appear as characters in a play, each playing their stereotyped part. But the book is much more than a straightforward 'whodunnit' - and there is a terrible story buried within it that will ultimately explain the murder.

The character of Strafford is very well drawn and it is easy to like and empathise with him. He is one of the main reasons why I liked the book so much.

During the course of the investigation, a number of other sorry tales come to light. At times there seems to be death, depression and repressed desires everywhere, as various characters appear left reeling by some tragedy or other in their lives.

The broad range of characters, even those who appear only briefly such as Strafford's boss, add to the richness of the book. And things don't always have clear-cut resolutions, making the story seem all the more true to life.

For all the brilliant description in the book, Banville also often writes in a simple and straightforward way. This kind of pared back writing means certain scenes have a bigger impact and the writing doesn't feel 'cluttered'.

Banville has told a very moving and all too real story. I would very much recommend Snow..

An Interesting Irish mystery. The detective, Lt. Strafford is from the big city of Dublin and there are numerous characters - odd and unusual. The local priest has been murdered, in a most gruesome way. It's winter, and the snow falls daily to wash away any overnight activity or clues. An unexpected conclusion. Not as exciting as I hoped but still a great read.

Everything that I didn't like about this book my mum loved. After much thought and discussion we have come to the following conclusion:

There is nothing in the time or the place that I can relate to so little things like the detective just picking up and wearing boots he found by the door pushed me too far into unbelievable territory whereas the same detail pushed my mum the other way and she was delighted that that was included because it brought back memories of her doing the same thing.

I think the plot is pretty obvious,

It is really well written and the imagery it conveys at times is wonderful.

I've gone with my mum's rating because I think she is more the target audience.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book

A whodunnit in the Agatha Christie mode complete with a body in the library combined with Banville’s delicious prose and dense characterisation, Snow is a delight from start to finish. The first half outlines the murder in a country house and our Poirot is an unlikely Protestant Garda – Strafford not Stafford as he needs to repeatedly remind everyone. However as our victim is a Catholic priest and our setting is mid 20th century Ireland it doesn’t take long before the story takes a turn towards Ireland’s murky clerical past, complete with the inclusion of Archbishop John Charles McQuaid as a supporting character in the drama.

A cast of characters are skilfully drawn and as usual Banville’s language is a joy to behold: ‘reflected light on the cheek of the teapot seemed to wink at him in spiteful mirth’, ‘he would be wearing a dead man’s boots – no end to life’s grotesqueries’ not to mention the ‘snow falling heavily in flabby flakes the size of communion wafers’.


For the combination of whodunnit with a final twist reserved for the last pages and Banville’s mastery of language, this is a perfect read for a dark winter’s evening – Banville at his best.

This is part Agatha Christie pastiche (' 'It's a library,' he muttered incredulously to Hendricks. 'It's an actual fucking library, and there's a body in it!' ') and part dark uncovering of Ireland's troubled history with scandalous priests and Catholic Church cover-ups. It's pretty obvious where the book is going from the opening pages and Banville doesn't change direction.

It's a slightly odd combination: the 'cosy' elements of Christie such as the dysfunctional family in the 'big house', complete with a daughter called Lettice (a very Christie name) mingled with traumatic events including multiple suicides as well as murders. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, to be honest - it subverts the cosiness but also taints it with this modern-ish overlay.

Banville's writing is always elegant and he keeps things moving more briskly than in some of his books - but expect upsetting and disturbing things to happen cocooned in a structure that can accommodate them but only by distorting itself.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. The characters were clever and engaging, and getting to spend time with them was a treat. I liked the writing too - it was descriptive without ever veering into flowery territory, and I would certainly be interested in reading more work by this author. The cover is great too!