The Casual Vacancy

by J.K. Rowling
512 pages

Barry Fairbrother, a town councilman and leading citizen in the community has died suddenly.  This leaves a seat open on the town council and a huge gap in the hearts of many citizens of Pagford.  However not everybody is upset by Fairbrother's passing; his opponents on the town council see it as an opportunity to find a more "suitable" replacement.  Rowling portrays the  effect one person can have on a community, as well as they darker side of humanity.

This is definitely grittier than any Harry Potter novel.  The teenagers portrayed are far more "real" than Harry and his friends.  Drug use, bullying, welfare, and computer hacking play a prominent role in this novel.  This being said, I really enjoyed this novel and hope that Rowling writes more novels for adults in the future.