Petty politics, drug abuse, domestic violence, wrist slashing — JK Rowling dives headfirst into the world of ‘adult’ issues in her latest, The Casual Vacancy. The book takes off from the death of Pagford’s local councillor Barry Fairbrother and the reader is soon entrenched in small town politics as the tussle to fill in the ‘casual vacancy’ begins. Barry, as the councillor at Pagford’s Parish Council, had been struggling to keep the Fields within Pagford’s jurisdiction, something that a majority of the town was opposed to. To the Mollisons, his death seems like the perfect opportunity to rid the town of the burden of the Fields. Colin Walls, Fairbrother’s best friend, feels that the only way to continue Barry’s fight was to stand for election against Miles.

Author JK Rowling during a u00a0photo call for her new book, The Casual Vacancy.u00a0File Photo