Elegy for April

Reading the series in publication order is recommended to fully appreciate the evolution of Quirke's complex family history and his ongoing struggle with sobriety. This book is the third entry in the series, following Christine Falls and The Silver Swan.

A three-part television miniseries titled Quirke, which stars Gabriel Byrne in the lead role, adapts several of the novels in this series.

John Banville adopted the pseudonym Benjamin Black to distinguish his crime fiction from his mainstream literary work, viewing the former as a distinct craft.