Christine Falls

A Novel

By: Benjamin Black

Narrated by: Timothy Dalton

Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

It's not the dead that seem strange to Quirke. It's the living. One night, after a few drinks at an office party, Quirke shuffles down into the morgue where he works and finds his brother-in-law, Malachy, altering a file he has no business even reading. Odd enough in itself to find Malachy there, but the next morning, when the haze has lifted, it looks an awful lot like his brother-in-law, the esteemed doctor, was in fact tampering with a corpse—and concealing the cause of death.

It turns out the body belonged to a young woman named Christine Falls. And as Quirke reluctantly presses on toward the true facts behind her death, he comes up against some insidious—and very well-guarded—secrets of Dublin's high Catholic society, among them members of his own family.

Set in Dublin and Boston in the 1950s, the first novel in the Quirke series brings all the vividness and psychological insight of Booker Prize winner John Banville's fiction to a thrilling, atmospheric crime story. Quirke is a fascinating and subtly drawn hero, Christine Falls is a classic tale of suspense, and Benjamin Black's debut marks him as a true master of the form.

©2006 Benjamin Black (P)2006 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

Critic reviews

“Christine Falls is a triumph of classical crime fiction, finely, carefully made, not a single false move or wrong word--why don't they write books like this anymore?” —Alan Furst

A Mystery of Interest

The title fooled me at first. I greatlly enjoyed Timothy Dalton's narration. The story was a little difficult to get into at first, but once I did, I truly enjoyed the book. It took me a short time to figure out the characters and to put everything into place. I do recommend this book .

Intriguing and dark, but I'm not sorry I read it!

What made the experience of listening to Christine Falls the most enjoyable?

I don't know that I would call this book "enjoyable". The story was compelling and kept me drawn in. It took me awhile to listen to it because some days I needed to hear a story that was less intense, happier, if you will. This story was all in blacks, grays, and slate greens in my mind.

The writing was very good. Timothy Dalton's performance was at times a little too dramatic.

What three words best describe Timothy Dalton’s voice?

I can't describe it in 3 words. Great accent, nice characterizations, at times over-the-top dramatic.

Any additional comments?

I will read Benjamin Black again. But only when I'm in a certain mood.

Mystery without apologies

I'm not really a big fan of mysteries, but there are a few authors I'll read: Kate Wilhelm for the characters, Ellis Peters for the backgrounds, Tony Hillerman for the textures of Navajo life. Now I can add Benjamin Black to the list. Unsurprisingly (in his other identity of John Banville, he is a Booker Prize-winning literary novelist), Black writes fine novels that happen also to be mysteries.

Some level of mystery is an element of most literary novels. How will the protagonist resolve this problem? But Quirk, Black's hero in this series, is a pathologist, the man who does the post-mortem on patients and on his own sins, as he sees it. He is, in fact, no more a sinner than the rest of us, but being an Irish Catholic in the 1950's, he feels it more strongly. And it is his character that keeps us enthralled from book to book.

The mystery here is more than sufficiently complex, but it is used as a vehicle for a portrait of a world, of the power elite of a place and time that was no more or less corrupt than any other. Even the villains are human, and get to speak for themselves.

Actually, Timothy Dalton speaks for them, and there are few readers who are better than he. Don't think of him as James Bond, but as, say, the young king of France in The Lion in Winter, and you'll get an idea of just how fine an edge he brings to these books.

Dalton and Black: perfection for the ear and mind

Dalton is an excellent reader who imbues this book with a texture of nuance, atmosphere and moral imperatives. Worth a thoughtful listener's time and involvement.

Too dreary

It's funny how some listeners loved Timothy Daltons reading and others didnt. I found it to be way too monotone. I felt like I should have read this one myself and then I could have decided if indeed the book was as dark and dreary as it seemed while I was listening. I am going to try another book of his and see, because I think the author has potential.

Awesome

I am partial to dark, atmospheric books... especially when they are set in Ireland. I loved Timothy Dalton's reading. His voice is perfect for the role of Quirke. I will eagerly await other cases for Quirke to investigate.

More character development than mystery

I greatly enjoyd the book and the myriad of characters. I bought it thinking it was a murder mystery but it ends up being more of a character development story with some elements of the mystery thrown in at the right time to keep you engaged. Quirke is an untypical hero and the narator does an excellent job of bringing over the characters. Looking forward to the follow up The Silver Swan.

Excellent

Such a great, complicated but intriguing story. Well read. Really well read. I highly recommend this book.

Great story, great reader.

It’s a perfect match, Benjamin Black and Timothy Dalton. I intend to read, then listen to the whole series.

Why is a Brit reading an Irish book?

Story line is good, but of a Ulysses ramble, but entertaining enough and authentic content, though the narrator, though talented, sounds completely out of place.