“Robin was also a charming and capable character who reminded me somewhat of Della Street from the Perry Mason series.”

Review by Rayleigh Gray

When a troubled model falls to her death from a snow-covered Mayfair balcony, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts, and calls in private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case.

A war veteran, wounded both physically and psychologically, Strike’s 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 complex world, the darker things get – and the closer he gets to terrible danger . . .

A gripping, elegant mystery steeped in the atmosphere of London – from the hushed streets of Mayfair, to the backstreet pubs of the East End, to the bustle of Soho – The Cuckoo’s Calling is a remarkable debut. Introducing Cormoran Strike, it is a classic crime novel unlike any other book you will read this year.

Detective Cormoran Stike and his temporary assistant, Robin, are a likable detective duo in this high stakes case where a model's suicide appears to hide something far more sinister. 

At this point, everyone knows that "Robert Galbraith" is the pen name belonging to J.K. Rowling. I can understand an author wanting to separate the two series by using an entirely different name because the writing style in this detective novel is unrecognizable as the author who penned Harry Potter. 

Cormoran Strike is a war veteran who has his fair share of demons. Despite this, he is a likable character and it's easy to root for him. Robin was also a charming and capable character who reminded me somewhat of Della Street from the Perry Mason series. The plot was equally fun to follow along and difficult to predict while wrapping everything up nicely at the end.

My only complaint is that it's extremely slow paced for a mystery and it's a gigantic book (over 500 pages) that only focuses on one case, instead of multiple. I think this is really the only aspect where we see the "Rowling" in "Galbraith", because there is a lot of backstory building and long-winded descriptions that is generally uncommon in mysteries. It wasn't necessarily "bad", but it did make the book a beast to get through and there were several chapters that were just slow.

Note: There’s a LOT more cursing than I expected. I’m not one to shy away from cursing in books, but there were times where I had to make sure the audiobook was connected to my earbuds because the f-bomb and hard “c” were both dropped constantly. It just seemed a little excessive.

Content Ratings:

5.  Action present (frequent and mildly detailed battle sequences and/or fights).

0. None.

10. Very extreme cursing (does this person even know how to speak English without a curse word?)  

Other Trigger/Content Notices:

Some specific triggers to mention are mental illnesses, suicide, and crime. There are also many instances of smoking and alcohol overindulgence.

Our Reviews of Other Books by these authors:

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