Which 2012 novel by J.K. Rowling was written for adults rather than as fantasy?

The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s 2012 novel written for an adult audience.

Published by Little, Brown and Company, the novel is set in the fictional English village of Pagford. Its story begins after the death of Barry Fairbrother, a member of the local parish council, creates a vacant council seat. The resulting political struggle exposes conflicts involving class, poverty, addiction, family, and local government.

Unlike the Harry Potter novels, The Casual Vacancy is contemporary social fiction with no magical setting. Its characters include adults, teenagers, and children, and the narrative examines how decisions made by local institutions affect residents with very different levels of power.

The book was Rowling’s first novel published after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A BBC television adaptation aired in 2015. Readers sometimes mistake it for a fantasy title because Rowling is strongly associated with wizard fiction, but its setting is realistic.