Holy Orders is the sixth entry in the Quirke Mysteries, an enthralling literary crime series set in 1950s Dublin from John Banville, writing as Benjamin Black. Now major TV series: Quirke, starring Gabriel Byrne and Michael Gambon. Read by John Keating.

She looked at him and smiled sadly. ‘You’ve lived too long among the dead, Quirke,’ she said.

He nodded. ‘Yes, I suppose I have.’ She was not the first one to have told him that, and she would not be the last.

When a body is found in the canal, pathologist Quirke and Inspector Hackett are tasked with uncovering the truth behind this brutal murder. But, in a world where the police are not trusted and secrets often remain buried, there is perhaps little hope of bringing the perpetrator to justice. As spring storms descend on Dublin, Quirke and Hackett’s investigation will lead them into the dark heart of the organisation that really runs this troubled city: the church.

While their investigation proceeds, Quirke’s daughter Phoebe realizes that she is being followed. And for Quirke, as his terrible childhood in a priest-run orphanage returns to haunt him, he must face his greatest trial yet . . .