The Casual Vacancy by Joanne Rowling. Short summary

5 seconds

In the town of Pegford, local councilman Barry Fairbrazier died suddenly. There are three citizens running for the vacancy.

1 minute

The action takes place in the fictional English town of Pegford. Here, at the age of 45, local councilman Barry Fairbrazier dies of a ruptured aneurysm. The townspeople amicably discuss the event.

For the vacant «bread» place there are three candidates: best friend of the deceased Colin Wall, printer Simon Price and Miles Mollison, partner of the law firm «Edward Collins and Company».

Against the backdrop of a council election, passions boil over in a provincial town. The seemingly quiet town has long been at war. The rich clash with the poor, children quarrel with their parents, wives quarrel with their husbands.

The «decent» residents of Pegford, in fact, turn out to be liars and hypocrites. Each of the characters has many skeletons in their closet: some beat their housemates, others lie, others can’t spend a day without alcohol and drugs. The town’s last hope is the teenager Crystal and her little brother Roby. Both characters die in the finale.