The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith
May. 4th, 2014 12:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
When a troubled model falls to her death from a Mayfair balcony, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts and calls in private detective Cormoran Strike to investigate.
Strike is a war veteran – wounded both physically and psychologically – and his private life is in disarray. The case gives him a financial lifeline but it comes at a personal cost: the more he delves into the young model’s world, the darker things become and the closer he gets to terrible danger …
When troubled supermodel Lula Landry falls to her death from the balcony of her Mayfair apartment, the subsequent police investigation proves that it was suicide. But Lula’s brother, John, believes it was murder and he’s got evidence that the police may have missed a few things. He asks private investigator Cormoran Strike (an ex army policeman who was invalidated out after an IED took half his leg) to look into the case again.
Strike can’t believe his luck. Having just split from his girlfriend, he’s living in his office and can barely afford to pay Robin Ellacott, the new temp who’s mistakenly been sent to work for him. As he looks into Landry’s life though, he discovers that celebrity has a dark side and Landry was a woman keeping secrets, secrets that could get Strike killed …
As everyone knows by now, Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym of J. K. Rowling and this is her first crime novel. Judging the novel on its own terms, I thought that this is a strong debut with Rowling taking the traditional elements of the genre and making them her own. Strike is an interesting character with a background that promises much – notably the rock star father who’s disavowed him, a mother who died in tragic circumstances and an ex girlfriend skilled in mind games who he finds it difficult to stay away from. I also liked Robin – competent, new to London, she’s got the detecting bug but is engaged to a man who wants her to get a better job. The novel’s strongest on its themes of celebrity and money with Rowling using her own particular insights to interesting effect – I especially enjoyed a lunch that Strike has in a posh restaurant with two bored but moneyed sisters, which oozes in snobbery, power plays and insecurity and also Strike’s interview of a bitchy fashion designer who’s worked his way to the top. However, the novel falls down in its revelation of the killer, which I found a little melodramatic and I didn’t buy the killer’s motivation at all. That’s a big shame because I was enjoying the novel up until this point – Rowling may not be a great technical writer (there’s a lot of head hopping and she over-writes descriptions at times) but she knows how to tell a story and I definitely want to read more of this series.
The Verdict:
As everyone knows by now, Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym of J. K. Rowling and this is her first crime novel. Judging the novel on its own terms, I thought that this is a strong debut with Rowling taking the traditional elements of the genre and making them her own. Strike is an interesting character with a background that promises much – notably the rock star father who’s disavowed him, a mother who died in tragic circumstances and an ex girlfriend skilled in mind games who he finds it difficult to stay away from. I also liked Robin – competent, new to London, she’s got the detecting bug but is engaged to a man who wants her to get a better job. The novel’s strongest on its themes of celebrity and money with Rowling using her own particular insights to interesting effect – I especially enjoyed a lunch that Strike has in a posh restaurant with two bored but moneyed sisters, which oozes in snobbery, power plays and insecurity and also Strike’s interview of a bitchy fashion designer who’s worked his way to the top. However, the novel falls down in its revelation of the killer, which I found a little melodramatic and I didn’t buy the killer’s motivation at all. That’s a big shame because I was enjoying the novel up until this point – Rowling may not be a great technical writer (there’s a lot of head hopping and she over-writes descriptions at times) but she knows how to tell a story and I definitely want to read more of this series.
When a troubled model falls to her death from a Mayfair balcony, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts and calls in private detective Cormoran Strike to investigate.
Strike is a war veteran – wounded both physically and psychologically – and his private life is in disarray. The case gives him a financial lifeline but it comes at a personal cost: the more he delves into the young model’s world, the darker things become and the closer he gets to terrible danger …
When troubled supermodel Lula Landry falls to her death from the balcony of her Mayfair apartment, the subsequent police investigation proves that it was suicide. But Lula’s brother, John, believes it was murder and he’s got evidence that the police may have missed a few things. He asks private investigator Cormoran Strike (an ex army policeman who was invalidated out after an IED took half his leg) to look into the case again.
Strike can’t believe his luck. Having just split from his girlfriend, he’s living in his office and can barely afford to pay Robin Ellacott, the new temp who’s mistakenly been sent to work for him. As he looks into Landry’s life though, he discovers that celebrity has a dark side and Landry was a woman keeping secrets, secrets that could get Strike killed …
As everyone knows by now, Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym of J. K. Rowling and this is her first crime novel. Judging the novel on its own terms, I thought that this is a strong debut with Rowling taking the traditional elements of the genre and making them her own. Strike is an interesting character with a background that promises much – notably the rock star father who’s disavowed him, a mother who died in tragic circumstances and an ex girlfriend skilled in mind games who he finds it difficult to stay away from. I also liked Robin – competent, new to London, she’s got the detecting bug but is engaged to a man who wants her to get a better job. The novel’s strongest on its themes of celebrity and money with Rowling using her own particular insights to interesting effect – I especially enjoyed a lunch that Strike has in a posh restaurant with two bored but moneyed sisters, which oozes in snobbery, power plays and insecurity and also Strike’s interview of a bitchy fashion designer who’s worked his way to the top. However, the novel falls down in its revelation of the killer, which I found a little melodramatic and I didn’t buy the killer’s motivation at all. That’s a big shame because I was enjoying the novel up until this point – Rowling may not be a great technical writer (there’s a lot of head hopping and she over-writes descriptions at times) but she knows how to tell a story and I definitely want to read more of this series.
The Verdict:
As everyone knows by now, Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym of J. K. Rowling and this is her first crime novel. Judging the novel on its own terms, I thought that this is a strong debut with Rowling taking the traditional elements of the genre and making them her own. Strike is an interesting character with a background that promises much – notably the rock star father who’s disavowed him, a mother who died in tragic circumstances and an ex girlfriend skilled in mind games who he finds it difficult to stay away from. I also liked Robin – competent, new to London, she’s got the detecting bug but is engaged to a man who wants her to get a better job. The novel’s strongest on its themes of celebrity and money with Rowling using her own particular insights to interesting effect – I especially enjoyed a lunch that Strike has in a posh restaurant with two bored but moneyed sisters, which oozes in snobbery, power plays and insecurity and also Strike’s interview of a bitchy fashion designer who’s worked his way to the top. However, the novel falls down in its revelation of the killer, which I found a little melodramatic and I didn’t buy the killer’s motivation at all. That’s a big shame because I was enjoying the novel up until this point – Rowling may not be a great technical writer (there’s a lot of head hopping and she over-writes descriptions at times) but she knows how to tell a story and I definitely want to read more of this series.
