What is the title of J.K. Rowling’s 2012 adult novel about a contested local election?

J.K. Rowling’s 2012 adult novel about a contested local election is The Casual Vacancy. Published by Little, Brown and Company on 27 September 2012, it was Rowling’s first novel for adults after the Harry Potter series.

The story begins with the unexpected death of Barry Fairbrother, a parish councillor in the fictional English town of Pagford. His death creates the “casual vacancy” in the local council, and the resulting election exposes tensions involving class, poverty, addiction, family conflict and public policy.

The novel is not a fantasy story and does not take place in the wizarding world. Its title refers to the constitutional term for an unfilled elected position, rather than to an empty house or a personal absence. The book received strong commercial attention because it followed Rowling’s globally successful children’s series, but its tone and subject matter are markedly more adult. BBC One later adapted it as a three-part television drama in 2015.