Ellen's comments:
I do like a good mystery, and Christine Falls fills the bill. There is an unnecessary death and
an outright murder. The mystery, however is not whodunit, but why.
Quirke (Quirk? Quirky?) is pathologist at a Dublin
hospital morgue. He drops in to the morgue one evening and sees his
almost-brother (Quirk had been raised from boyhood by Mal’s parents) altering a
death certificate to read “pulmonary embolism,” when, in reality, Christine
Falls had bled to death during a home birth. She could have been saved if she
had been taken to a hospital.
When Quirke arrives at the morgue the next day, both
the body and the file are gone, and there is no record of the birth or the
baby. Fearing that Mal may be covering up an “indiscretion,” Quirke begins to
follow leads and visits the midwife in whose home the woman died. The day after
Quirke confronts Mal with what he has learned, and mentions that the midwife
has a written record of all her cases, she is found murdered and her home
ransacked.
Quirke continues to follow leads, putting himself
and others at great physical and psychological risk. He eventually uncovers a
20-year-old transatlantic baby-selling business in which his and Mal’s family,
their in-laws, and even church leaders are embroiled.
To tell much more would spoil the suspense, should
you choose to read the book—but if you do, be prepared for startling
revelations.
No comments:
Post a Comment