Quirke is back, and the Irish pathologist is investigating a murder that was staged to look like a suicide. Richard “Diamond Dick” Jewell is found with is head blown to bits and a shotgun in his hands. His wife, Francoise, is strangely indifferent to his demise, as is his young daughter, Giselle.

The plot thickens as Quirke’s colleague, David Sinclair, spends more time with the victim’s sister, Dannie. It appears that Jewell had more enemies than was originally thought, and the bad relations with others extended beyond mere business competition.

It is up to Quirke to find Jewell’s killer and resist the charms of Mrs. Jewell. The question is: is Quirke strong enough for this assignment? As we already know, Quirke is a flawed man. When he gets involved with Mrs. Jewell, our faith, as readers, is put to the test. Can Quirke prevail, in spite of his weakness?

I really enjoy this series because Quirke is such a flawed man (and sleuth). He is so much more real to me than the average sleuth in today’s mystery novels.