What was the name of J.K. Rowling’s 2012 novel about the fictional town of Pagford?

J.K. Rowling’s 2012 novel about the fictional town of Pagford is The Casual Vacancy.

Published on 27 September 2012, it was Rowling’s first novel for adults after the completion of the Harry Potter series. The story begins when Barry Fairbrother, a member of Pagford’s local council, dies unexpectedly, creating a vacant seat and a political struggle over the community’s future.

The novel explores class, poverty, addiction, family conflict, and local government. Unlike the Harry Potter books, it is realistic fiction and is set in contemporary England rather than a magical world.

The title refers to the empty council position caused by Fairbrother’s death. Readers sometimes confuse it with Rowling’s later crime novels written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, but The Casual Vacancy was published under her own name and is not part of the Cormoran Strike series.