Holy Orders Audiobook By John Banville, Benjamin Black cover art

Holy Orders

Quirke, Book 6

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Holy Orders

By: John Banville, Benjamin Black
Narrated by: John Keating
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.24

Buy for $20.24

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

When the body of his daughter’s friend is brought to his autopsy table, Quirke is plunged into a world of corruption that takes him to the darkest corners of the Irish Church and State.

"At first they thought it was the body of a child. Later, when they got it out of the water and saw the pubic hair and the nicotine stains on the fingers, they realized their mistake."

So begins the latest Quirke case, a story set in Dublin at a moment when newspapers are censored, social conventions are strictly defined, and appalling crimes are hushed up. Why? Because in 1950s Ireland the Catholic Church controls the lives of nearly everyone. But when Quirke’s daughter, Phoebe, loses her close friend Jimmy Minor to murder, Quirke can no longer play by the Church’s rules. Along with Inspector Hackett, his sometime partner, Quirke investigates Jimmy’s death and learns just how far the Church and its supporters will go to protect their own interests.

Haunting, fierce, and brilliantly plotted, Holy Orders is Benjamin Black writing at the top of his form. His inimitable creation, the endlessly curious Quirke, brings a pathologist’s unique understanding of death to unlock the most dangerous of secrets.

©2013 Benjamin Black (P)2013 Macmillan Audio
Crime Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Mystery Noir Ireland
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup
All stars
Most relevant  
Benjamin Black never fails to entertain and what a superb mystery writer with wonderful details

Great book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I have enjoyed all of the novels in this series. keeps you coming back for more. the author has the ability to impart psychological depth with the intrigue of the mysterious in everyday life.

consistently well told and well read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

If you could sum up Holy Orders in three words, what would they be?

Rambling, sluggish, uninspired.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

No. It's really a couple of character studies told inside not-quite-a mystery.

Which scene was your favorite?

Phoebe, Sally and David having tea. John Keating was brilliant in developing and distinguishing all three characters.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Rain, rain, go away.

Any additional comments?

I'd listen to anything John Keating reads. He is a gifted actor.

Loose story telling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This latest installation reminded me of when a new author takes over an established ones work. Regurgitating the back story is half the novel. And the new parts introduced are flimsy and with little consequence. Wait for the next book and all you would have missed is what happened to Jimmy Minor.

Is Benjamin Black ok?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.