This was my first John Banville book and I will definitely be seeking out more. The book is set around London and Dublin but focused upon San Sebastián in Northern Spain.

In the beginning the story was based in Dublin, we follow a hired killer who grew up in an orphanage, enjoys killing, living off others and getting money from wherever he can. We then move on to Spain where Pathologist Quirke has gone on vacation with his wife. Matters take an intriguing turn when he spots, who he believes to be a friend of his daughter, who has been missing, presumed dead for many years following a notorious family scandal. After the sighting, Quirke can't think of anything else but how to find her and confront her. When he phones his daughter Phoebe to discuss the sighting and invites her out to Spain to confirm his suspicions, he doesn’t realise the chain of events he is about to unleash and what secrets some people have tried so hard to hide.

Nearly halfway through and all that has happened is Quirke thinks he has uncovered a woman who was thought to have been murdered.

The only interesting character is Tice the assassin and there is not enough focus on him.

Very dull and lacking in intrigue

I wished I had started at book 1. But I did fit in well. The book has an interesting plot that Kees you interested. The book is well written. I definitely need to go look for book one now

An excellent read, moving between Ireland and San Sebastián. Some of the storyline and characters follow on from Banville's previous Quirke novels, but you don't have to have read them to follow the plot of this book. The characters are keenly drawn and the settings wonderfully conveyed, and Banville builds up a mounting sense of inevitability as the story draws to its conclusion.

Great understated literary thriller with engaging prose, fully formed characters and a well constructed plot.

Set predominantly on the Spanish coast as well as London and Dublin, April In Spain is a follow up to the Quirke series (written under Banville's pen name Benjamin Black) and also sees the return of DI Strafford who has his own series, although as a more peripheral character here.

Irish pathologist Quirke is holidaying in Spain with his wife when a chance encounter brings him face to face with an unexpected past acquaintance.

In a parallel thread, we follow orphan and hit man Terry Tice as he parts ways with his employer and moves to Ireland.

Machinations are underway involving police and government as we uncover the sinister series of events.

Having recently read Snow which introduced the police officer Detective Inspector St John Strafford I was keen to pick up on his story with April in Spain. A title, fans of Quirke the main character in some seven crime novels by Banville writing under the pen name of Benjamin Black, will also want to catch up with.

Here is a wide-reaching novel set across London and Dublin but focused upon San Sebastián in Northern Spain.
Quirke has gone there on vacation with his wife but struggles to settle into a holiday mindset. Matters take an intriguing turn when he thinks he recognises a friend of his daughter. This woman is working in a local hospital and going by another name. It can’t be the same person as he only saw her the once in Dublin and afterwards she was presumed dead in a notorious scandal.
The sighting plays on his mind to the point where he rings his daughter to share this strange event and possible discovery of April Latimer.
By this action Quirke sets in motion a series of events that will come home to haunt him.

I would seriously suggest you read a John Banville novel.

As an Irish voice he is informative and entertaining. His writing is clear, precise and full of wonderful language. The sense of place and the history of Ireland gives great insight that country, it’s struggles and it’s people. The author’s characters are real and quite self conscious giving them a three dimensional feel.

In this terrific book the stage is carefully prepared. The mystery deepens and the sense of danger intensifies. The action and tension is unrelenting in the second half of the book and you feel like you are helpless to prevent two trains crashing into each other.

I was riveted until the very end and then finally could let out a captured breath. This is a wonderful novel demonstrating perfectly a very talented author. To my shame although I own all the preceding Quirke books I had never begun any of them. Happily having found at last this authentic voice that holds a reader so well in a crime thriller I shall not leave them unread for much longer. But first I cannot wait until The Lock Up comes out in April 2023 to take up this story.

Thank you to Faber & Faber and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of April in Spain by John Banville.

I seem to be in the minority with this book, in that I didn't enjoy it. I felt it was very slow and that it dragged on in some places. The book is well written, but disappointingly it wasn't for me. I was really looking forward to this book as this is one of the genre's I enjoy reading. Perhaps I should try another John Banville book?

I couldn't relate to the characters, and I didn't feel that I was being drawn into the story line.

"April in Spain" could well be described as a literary crime novel, which is very true to Banville form. Having written previous Pathologist Quirke stories under his pen name "Benjamin Black" and a foray into a new series (under his own name) with main character Detective Strafford, he merges both into this novel "April in Spain" where Quirke heads to Spain on holidays with his wife, and ends up convinced that he has seen a woman there who couldn't possibly be - starting a chain of events which he couldn't have fathomed.

The writing is detailed and the setting evocative; we get wonderful descriptions of San Sebastian, the weather, the food, and the lazy holiday amblings of Quirke and wife Evelyn. In fact, a lot of the first third of the novel is pretty much this - which isn't necessarily a bad thing as we get a really decent insight into Quirke and Evelyn as characters, plus their relationship dynamics. Things start to get a little more tense when Quirke sights the woman, a local doctor, and he begins to make enquiries about her, but until the last few chapters of this the pace remains quite slow. This novel is very much more about the people and the writing than the action.

I did enjoy it, there was something quite endearing about the 1950s setting, and the chacracters as a whole were interesting enough , and I do plan to go back and read "Snow" (the first Strafford novel) but if you're looking for a more traditional, fast-paced crime novel this won't be the one for you.

John Banville needs my review like another hole in his head. Just another perfect Irish tale. Folk are odd. Nobody captures those oddities quite like JB. Captivating, intriguing. His characters are so real, brilliant and stupid at the same time. Just like real people. And I suppose that's the best compliment that you can pay any novelist. His characters ooze life, they are real people. Here's a mystery novel, that right until the last chapter you're not even sure if there is a mystery. Masterful

This novel gripped me right from the start. Quirke, a Dublin pathologist glimpsed what he thought was someone he know in the distance while enjoying the Spanish sun, but it can't be that of April Latimer, for she is dead, long dead at the the hands of her brother many years before. Her death rocked Ireland's political scene and still has not fully recovered many years later. Tie in such questions with hit men and one running for one's life and we've got another gripping tale. This was enjoyable, well written and kept me enthralled right up until the very end. I really did enjoy it.

I enjoyed this book for the.most part but found it a little bit slow at times but I’m glad I did stick with it.

I enjoy reading books sets in locations, imagining being there amongst the characters. Unfortunately I didn’t feel transported with this novel as I would have liked, and I had some difficulty having not read any of the authors previous works; and the story moved at a very slow pace.

I haven't read any of the other books in this series and maybe should have as I couldn't engage with the characters at all. I couldn't find anything particularly likeable in any of them and Quirke is probably the most unlikeable of the lot, which isn't good for a main character.
Banville is clearly is good writer. The descriptive passages are wonderful but there has to be a good plot to go with it. I enjoyed the first few chapters but then the story just dragged. I enjoy slow paced novels but because I disliked the characters so much I ended up skimming some parts just to get to the end.
Which brings me to the ending. The probable result is so obvious that when it comes it's a damp squid.
Not for me I'm afraid.

In another wonderful John Banville novel we are re-introduced to the pathologist Dr Quirke and his new wife Evelyn, a psychotherapist and survivor of the holocaust. The couple are holidaying in San Sebastian and meet the mysterious Dr Angela Lawless who peaks Quirke’s interest and he contacts his daughter Evelyn Griffin with his suspicions on her real identity. The scene then sifts to Dublin and we continue to learn more about
hired killer Terry Tice a damaged young man who finds himself in Ireland and under contract to a morally bankrupt politician. The characters then converge in San Sebastian and the tension increases as they move towards a tragic ending.

Let’s cut t9 the chase - I liked this book much more than I expected to from reading some other readers’ reviews. This is a book to treat with a degree of patience, keep reading and wait for the narrative strands to fall into place, as they most assuredly do. First impressions were of a slightly aimless and meandering plot. However, the skill of the writer shows in the way the slowly simmering plot comes to a violent climax. Banville is able to deploy some well developed writing skills that show in some careful descriptive passages and the empathy with which characters are brought to life. At times it feels as if the reader has unwittingly picked up an unknown novel by one of the classic thriller writers, such are the echoes that the reader will find round unexpected corners in the unfolding plot. Recommended.

Promising in places but actually amounts to a mildly interesting story. Could have been so much better and I'm sorry for the time I invested in it waiting for something surprising to happen.

My first John Banville book but it certainly won’t be my last. For the full review go to https://joebloggshere.tumblr.com/post/668120270063697920/april-in-spain-by-john-banville-this-is-i-think

A stylish thriller in the classic tradition. Banville is an excellent writer and this bears his hallmark strong writing, pacing and characterisation. He's a master of the trade.

That said, I didn't enjoy this quite as much as I liked Snow or other Banville novels I've read. Or indeed as much as some other Quirke novels, written as Benjamin Black, that I've read in the past. I can't really put my finger on why... I was not fully engaged with any of the characters and not very emotionally invested in the outcome.

A very enjoyable, well written, historical mystery, set mainly in Ireland and Spain.

This story has some good, believable twists, characters that are realistic and place descriptions that resonate as correct.

I really enjoyed this story.

Quirke is a pathologist, staying in a hotel on the Basque coast of Spain with his wife. He sees a woman who he vaguely recognises, later realising she is a young woman - April Latimer - reported dead a few years earlier. He recounts the sighting to his daughter, Phoebe, back in Dublin and she ends up coming to Spain to verify his report, accompanied by a police detective, Strafford.

The young woman is a subject of interest to others, notably a high-ranking Irish politician, Bill Latimer, who wanted April out of the way due to a family scandal. On learning that his niece has surfaced and fearful of the consequences should she talk, he takes steps to have her silenced for good.

The hired gun is Terry Tice, who has killed before, an unpleasant individual with no compunction when it comes to getting the job done and adept at leaving no trace. He identifies his target but things don't quite go as planned.

This story took a little while to warm up but was well written. I particularly enjoyed how deft pen strokes revealed facets of people's characters and their inner thoughts. The social awkwardness between characters, especially in the restaurant meal scene with Quirke and his wife and the two doctors, was beautifully executed.

Not having read any of the author's previous books featuring Quirke, he came across as an irascible and complex man, yet strangely vulnerable. I also liked Phoebe and the air of determination about her, despite being in a relationship with a man who is plainly not her type.

The ending is swift and yet perfect, leaving a sense of unfinished business.

There is a prequel to this book that introduces Strafford and he is a character worth exploring further, as is Quirke.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Faber and Faber Ltd, in return for an honest appraisal.