Snow is an unfortunately predictable murder mystery written by John Banville. The story takes place in Ireland during the year of 1957. A young detective named St. John Strafford is the protagonist investigating a gruesome murder of a Catholic priest.

Detective Inspector Strafford is understandably perturbed by the murder and mutilation of a priest in a manor owned by the influential Osborne family. The case takes an even stranger turn when his deputy disappears. Strafford is told that the priest was popular in the community, but some very dark secrets are unearthed, and the victim may not be as virtuous as one would hope.

It’s an interesting setting. I have an automatic affection for stories that take place in Ireland. I just had a hard time staying interested in the plot, and Strafford doesn’t really draw me in. He seems kind of boring, honestly.

The motive for the murder is something would easily expect considering that it’s a Catholic priest who is the target. He was castrated, so it’s not hard to guess why the killer took that extra step.

Banville does have a nice prose style. He isn’t a terrible writer, but this particular novel may have just been the wrong one to introduce me to him.

My efforts to read new authors sometimes misfires, and Banville just didn’t do it for me.

Time to move to an old favorite of mine in the world of fictional detectives with Robert B. Parker’s Broken Trust, which is actually written by Mike Lupica, who has continued the Spenser series since Mr. Parker has been deceased for some time now.