What is the name of J.K. Rowling’s 2012 novel about a small English town after a councillor’s death?

The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s 2012 novel about a small English town after a councillor’s death.

The story begins when Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in Pagford, creating a vacant seat on the local parish council. The resulting political contest exposes tensions involving class, poverty, addiction, family conflict, and the neighboring housing estate known as the Fields.

The novel was Rowling’s first published work for adults after the Harry Potter series. It was released by Little, Brown Book Group in the United Kingdom on 27 September 2012 and by Little, Brown and Company in the United States. Unlike the fantasy novels, it is a contemporary social novel with no magic.

The title refers to the open council position created by Barry’s death. The book was later adapted into a BBC television miniseries broadcast in 2015. Its pseudonym is not asked here: Rowling published it under her familiar author name.