As one example of the style of A Death in Summer: A Novel, Banville describes a buffet table which includes "at its center, a mighty salmon, succulently, indecently pink, arranged on a silver salver..." Or as another example, "The priest was studying him closely again, running ghostly fingers over the Braille of Quirke's soul." I discovered this all atmospheric and evocative - which is equally well, as there is a lot of atmosphere and character and a great deal of Fine Writing but, frankly, not all much plot. What plot there is certainly, is a bit thin cover up very well-trodden ground - child abuse, the wealthy believing they can behave as they wish and so on - also it flagged pretty badly in places. However it serves well enough like a vehicle for conveying the author's character analyses and a feeling of the mores of 1950s Ireland, which generally seems to me to become the real point of the book
I figured Inspector Hackett (just a relatively minor character, sadly) an excellent creation, then there is one prolonged interview scene conducted by him which is utterly compelling and quite brilliantly done, I was thinking. Although less engaging, Black's other characters seem very real and well-drawn if you ask me and that i thought he made some penetrating observations concerning the way people think and behave.
Simply speaking, A Death in Summer: A Novel is simply not a real whodunit type of crime novel, however it is an extremely well written, thoughtful book and an enjoyable, intelligent read.