Rowling pens a ‘blackly comic tale’

JK Rowling’s first book for adults will be a “blackly comic” tale about an idyllic town ripped apart by a parish council election.

Details of her novel, The Casual Vacancy, to be published later this year, were released by her publisher.

The 480-page book will be set in Pagford, a dreamy spot with a cobbled market square and ancient abbey, which becomes a town at war with itself.