What was J.K. Rowling’s first adult novel, published in 2012?

J.K. Rowling’s first adult novel was The Casual Vacancy, published in 2012. Little, Brown released it on 27 September 2012.

The novel is set in the fictional English town of Pagford. Its plot begins after the sudden death of parish councillor Barry Fairbrother, which creates a vacant seat on the local council and exposes conflicts involving class, poverty, addiction, family life, and local politics.

Unlike the Harry Potter books, The Casual Vacancy is written for adults and has no magical setting. Its title refers to the unfilled council position, a formal political term that drives the story’s central conflict.

The book was followed by Rowling’s crime novels written under the Robert Galbraith pseudonym. Readers sometimes confuse those novels with her adult debut, but The Casual Vacancy was the first adult novel published under Rowling’s own name after the Harry Potter series.