JOHN BANVILLE was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945. He is the author of eighteen novels, including The Book of Evidence, The Sea, which won the 2005 Man Booker Prize, the Quirke Series of crime novels under the pen name Benjamin Black, and most recently the bestselling Snow, his first novel to feature Detective Inspector St John Strafford. Other major prizes he has won include the Franz Kafka Prize, the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Achievement in Irish Literature and the Prince of Asturias Award. He lives in Dublin.

'An impeccably executed novel . . . Fans of [Benjamin] Black and Banville alike should be heartened to hear that Snow and April in Spain are only the first instalments of the new Strafford series, which promises to elevate the crime novel to new artistic heights.' ― Financial Times'Deeply atmospheric; forensically psychological.' - Mick Herron'Superb and shocking . . . more than a touch of genius.' ― The Times'The narrative . . . is well constructed and full of excellent descriptions, but the book's most striking features are its characterisations and the psychological acuity of the writing.' ― Literary Review

JOHN BANVILLE was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945. He is the author of eighteen novels, including The Book of Evidence, The Sea, which won the 2005 Man Booker Prize, the Quirke Series of crime novels under the pen name Benjamin Black, and most recently the bestselling Snow, his first novel to feature Detective Inspector St John Strafford. Other major prizes he has won include the Franz Kafka Prize, the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Achievement in Irish Literature and the Prince of Asturias Award. He lives in Dublin.

'An impeccably executed novel . . . Fans of [Benjamin] Black and Banville alike should be heartened to hear that Snow and April in Spain are only the first instalments of the new Strafford series, which promises to elevate the crime novel to new artistic heights.' ― Financial Times'Deeply atmospheric; forensically psychological.' - Mick Herron'Superb and shocking . . . more than a touch of genius.' ― The Times'The narrative . . . is well constructed and full of excellent descriptions, but the book's most striking features are its characterisations and the psychological acuity of the writing.' ― Literary Review