Author: Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
First Published: April 2013
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Series: Cormoran Strike #1
455 pages (hardcover)
I finally got around to it; I finally read J.K. Rowling’s (using pseudonym Robert Galbraith) new series, The Cuckoo’s Calling. I didn’t really know what to expect because on the one hand, I love the Harry Potter series, but on the other hand, her first adult novel, The Casual Vacancy wasn’t exactly stellar. Well, I always thought she did the “mysteries” in the Harry Potter universe pretty well, so I guess I should really say, I had some cautious optimism for this book. I just finished this book about 15 minutes ago, and I have to say, I really, really enjoyed this. Oh, it’s not without its flaws, but it did a pretty good job keeping me up late at night.
The book is about a struggling private detective named Cormoran Strike, whose life isn’t going so well. He lost a leg during the war in Afghanistan, his fiancee and him just broke up, he’s homeless and living in his office for now; oh and his business isn’t so well, so he’s up to his ears in debt. He can barely afford his temporary secretary, Robin, even though she’s very good at what she does.
One day, in walks into his office John Bristow, a lawyer. He needs Strike to investigate his sister’s supposed suicide, because he believes she didn’t kill herself, but rather, was murdered. To make the case more interesting, John’s sister just so happens to be the incredibly famous supermodel, Lula Landry. Strike is skeptical at first that this is actually a murder. He chalks it up to a bereaved brother who can’t handle the idea of his beloved sister killing herself. However, after John offers Strike a hefty amount of money for him to take on the case, Strike accepts. As he investigates the case, he comes to the realization that John’s right: someone did kill Lula.
Let’s start with the thing I didn’t like about this book first and get that out of the way. The entire structure of this novel is Strike interviews person after person after person, and near the end, obviously, fits the pieces together, confronts the murderer by monologue-ing to the murderer exactly how the murderer committed the crime, and voila, mystery solved. I did think it was rather boring of a structure, to just have Strike basically interview people for the entire book. I guess I was hoping for some sleuthing of some sort, where he would find himself searching for clues in places he shouldn’t be. Anyway, so there’s that, but luckily, I found all the interviews to be very interesting to read. I really do like the conversations Strike has with people. To sum up, I liked the content but not really how it was delivered.
What I really loved about this book was the characters. I have always thought J. K. Rowling has a wonderful way with characterization and I’m glad she continues this in this novel. The characters really came alive to me, they each had a memorable personality, and personal problems that really added to how the character felt and thought about things. My favourite was Robin, Strike’s secretary; I just picture this super keener whose desperate to please, she’s so funny sometimes. And of course, there’s Strike, who comes with so many personal problems that are left unsolved in this novel, I’m sure they will carry over into the next book (don’t worry, his personal problems are rather secondary to the main plot).
The best part was that this book successfully kept me wondering the “whodunnit” aspect of the mystery the entire time. I just had to keep reading to see who was the murderer! I figured it was probably going to the be the last person I’d suspect — and then I toyed with the idea that maybe it’s actually someone really obvious — regardless, I was surprised at the end at who the true culprit was. I enjoyed the tease and the mystery of trying to figure out who the murderer was (even though I do not think, as a reader, you could figure out the mystery on your own), but I have to say I’m actually kind of disappointed with who it is. I don’t want to spoil things, so I’ll just leave it at that …
All in all, a great book that I enjoyed reading. It’s a very classic kind of mystery, and I don’t read mysteries all too often. I look forward to reading the second book in this series!
My Rating: 5/5
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