Which 2012 J.K. Rowling novel follows the residents of Pagford?

The Casual Vacancy follows the residents of Pagford.

Published in 2012, The Casual Vacancy was J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults after the Harry Potter series. It is set in the fictional English town of Pagford, where a vacancy on the local parish council triggers political conflict. The dispute exposes tensions involving class, poverty, addiction, family life, and access to social services.

The title refers to the open council seat created by the sudden death of Barry Fairbrother. His death becomes the event that drives the novel’s competing campaigns and reveals the private lives of people on both sides of the political argument. Pagford is fictional, rather than a real town that readers can visit.

The book differs sharply in tone from Rowling’s children’s fantasy. It contains no magic, Hogwarts setting, or supernatural plot. Its characters are adults and teenagers living in a recognizably contemporary British community. A television adaptation was broadcast by the BBC in 2015, with Michael Gambon playing Howard Mollison.