“How easy it was to capitalize on a person’s own bent for self-destruction; how simple to nudge them into non-being, then to stand back and shrug and agree that it had been the inevitable result of a chaotic, catastrophic life.”
The Cuckoo's Calling
Robert Galbraith (AKA J.K. Rowling)
★★★★★
Available for purchase here, and several other places as well!
There's been a ton of buzz about this book, especially after the fairly recent reveal that Robert Galbraith, the author of The Cuckoo's Calling, was actually a pseudonym used by the brilliant J.K. Rowling. After reading the synopsis on Goodreads, I decided to give it a go and picked up this lovely hardcover copy from Vroman's two days ago. Absolutely absorbed, I promptly finished it the very next day.
The Cuckoo's Calling follows private detective, Cormoran Strike, and the mystery behind supermodel Lula Landry's alleged suicide. John Bristow comes forward a few months after the tragedy and pleads with Detective Strike to further investigate the death of his supermodel sister, believing that what the police thought was suicide was really cold-blooded murder. I can't say too much more about the book, for fear of giving any of the mystery away! But I will say that Detective Strike truly came alive in the pages of Rowling's book; over time the reader gets to know Strike's character and background, and Rowling fluidly and interestingly integrates Strike's memories of fighting in the Afghan war with his modern private eye life.
I think overall this read was a riveting one, and it truly kept me on the edge of my seat, trying to figure out who the murderer was - or if there was a murderer at all. I also give Rowling kudos because it was so well-written than I didn't stop once to think about the fact that Rowling was the author (and I'm a huge HP fan so that has to say something!) Rather, I found that I was so sucked into the plot and the person of Cormoran Strike that I sometimes forgot I was reading a book altogether. All I can say is I hope this isn't the end of Strike and his crime-solving!
If you're looking for a great crime novel, or just a new read in general, I highly recommend this for a day when you just want to get wrapped up in a book and read for leisure. Check out more reviews for The Cuckoo's Calling on Goodreads and Amazon.
