What is the title of J.K. Rowling’s 2012 novel for adult readers?

J.K. Rowling’s 2012 novel for adult readers is The Casual Vacancy.

Published by Little, Brown Book Group in the United Kingdom and Little, Brown and Company in the United States, the novel was Rowling’s first published work after the Harry Potter series. It is set in the fictional English village of Pagford, where a vacant seat on the parish council triggers conflict.

Unlike Rowling’s fantasy novels, The Casual Vacancy is a contemporary social novel. Its story examines class, poverty, politics, addiction, family tensions, and relationships within a seemingly ordinary community. The book’s adult classification reflects its themes and language.

Readers sometimes confuse it with Rowling’s later crime fiction, which she published under the name Robert Galbraith. The Casual Vacancy was written and marketed under Rowling’s own name, and it is separate from both the Harry Potter and Cormoran Strike series.