Stacy's Books

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)

The Cuckoo’s Calling. Finished audio 10-10-14, rating 4.5/5, pub. 2013

Unabridged audio read by Robert Glenister. 16 hours.

Book 1 of the Cormoran Strike series.

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you’ve never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you’ve never seen them under an investigation like this.

from Goodreads

Like most readers of Harry Potter, I am a JK Rowling fan, but unlike some I wasn’t too keen on reading her adult books.  I think I just wanted her to live in my Hogwarts bubble and that would have been a shame.  After reading mixed reviews of her first book The Casual Vacancy I decided to skip it, but when I started seeing the reviews for this one I knew I’d have to give her a post Harry Potter chance to win me over again.  And she did.  I loved the start of this new series.

Strike is a smart but struggling private investigator in London who has money and girl problems.  He hires a new temp, Robin, and manages a new client, an old childhood acquaintance, so things are looking up.  The only problem is that he has to prove the infamous suicide felt ’round the world wasn’t a suicide at all.  As far as mysteries go this was solid with lots of characters and potential suspects.  I didn’t know for sure what would happen at the end although I had a sneaking suspicion every now and then.

What sets this apart from others in this genre is the flawed and solid character of Strike.  He’s a mess but an honest and earnest one.  While his fledgling business shows his shortcomings, the way he treats people and his intelligence made me love him.  I am excited to see what’s in store for Strike and his not-so-temp Robin in the next book. I already have it on hold at the library.

I loved the narration by Robert Glenister. He became Strike for me so it looks like I’ll be going the audio route for the series.

Checked this one out of the library.

October 23, 2014 - Posted by stacybuckeye | 4 1/2 Star Books | Books