Writing as Benjamin Black, John Banville gives us the short thriller or mystery novel set in New York City, about finding out the truth and uncovering long-kept secrets. Protagonist John Glass is a journalist who is hired by his father-in-law William Mulholland to write his, 'Big Bill's', biography. The Irish-American Bill Mulholland is a former CIA operative turned billionaire heading up the Mulholland Trust. Tasked with writing his biography, John Glass hires the researcher Dylan Riley whom he just calls 'The Lemur', who is found dead shortly thereafter. While suicide is the assumed cause of death, matters look a bit fishy as the 'Lemur' dies of a gunshot directly through the eye. Coincidentally, a former colleague and friend of Bill Mulllholland's, died in the same way several years ago. Not so much concerned with the biography anymore, John Glass only wants to find out the truth about those two deaths and what is going on in his family. With only 185 pages, the novel is rather short and also a real page-turner.

Release #206 for 2019 ..

Caught today.

Skillfully written and nicely pace the story is interspersed by apt (and sometimes wry) descriptions of people’s appearances and their motivations. Overall an entertaining read.

on to the shelves

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