The Cuckoo's Calling

J.K. Rowling has written a proper detective novel -- the kind where the reader can sift through the clues as the detective discovers them, but doesn't know the solution until the detective reveals it. Rowling then layers the whodunit with commentary on classism, racism, and our cultural obsession with the famous and flawed. Cormoran Strike, illegitimate son of a rock star and "super groupie," wounded veteran, and down-on-his-luck private investigator, perfectly illustrates many of the points Rowling is trying to make. His case -- determining whether the apparent suicide of a troubled super model was, in fact, murrrrrder -- fills in the rest of the picture.

My book group chose this book, which wasn't even on my radar, because we haven't show more read a mystery in a while. ([b:The Club Dumas|7194|The Club Dumas|Arturo Pérez-Reverte|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327896341s/7194.jpg|372756] is the only one we've read in the 2 1/2 years since I joined.) I am a big HP fan, but not a rabid J.K. Rowling fan. I've chosen not to read [b:The Casual Vacancy|13497818|The Casual Vacancy|J.K. Rowling|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358266832s/13497818.jpg|19926990] so far, because I've seen it described as a book about a whole town of Dursleys. The cast of CC is alright though. Strike is a gruff, troubled figure, but I found him sympathetic and likable. His temporary assistant, Robin, is just lovely, not only (conveniently) in appearance, but also in spirit and intellect. The supporting cast is a mixed bag: some rich bastards as well as some poor ones, characters who have risen above their circumstances, others who have used them as an excuse. All in all, they're an interesting group, even if some do tend towards stereotypes.

Rowling has a crisp, somewhat formal, prose style that fits the genre. I've seen some comments regarding her use of unusual vocabulary. Considering that I grew up reading Nancy Drew mysteries with the dictionary nearby, I didn't find this disturbing. Most of the uncommon words she uses are easy enough to figure out in context. For example, "His face contrasted strangely with his taut, lean body, for it abounded in exaggerated curves: the eyes exophthalmic so they appeared fishlike, looking out of the sides of his head." Another possible issue is the length. Several hundred pages in, I was still thinking that 450 was an excessive number of pages to tell the story, but then Rowling got up to full speed and it ended up feeling like just the right length. If the book was any shorter, Strike wouldn't have come so fully to life.

I'm interested to see what Cormoran and Robin (yay!) gets up to next.

Read for book group -- May 2014. show less

J.K. Rowling proves once and for all that she can write adult novels and that she can do so brilliantly. Mystery/detective novels are far from my favorite to read, but this novel seems to transcend some of the tropes that turn me away. The characters are sympathetic, there is a depth to the actual story that involves more than just a possible murder (what I perceived as a scathing rejection of the upper class as well as predators without money), and the ending was a complete surprise that still managed to fit within the clues.

Read it.

"Ridiculous. You ought to give up detecting and try fantasy writing, Strike."

This isn't the only reference to herself. Rowling must have been incandescent when her identity was revealed.

Great book. The pacing is flawlessly done, seriously, look at the rate at which she deals out the characterisation and plot. It's as good as Pratchett's punctuation.

Strike's an interesting character. Damaged, but not unbelievably so. There's enough there to make most people identify with him. I look forward to his further adventures.

The interview scenes are real set-pieces, beautifully done. She's almost showing off, and justifiably so.

And the whole thing just feels real. It's worth mentioning for the benefit of non-Brits that many of the characters show more are reminiscent of famous British people. An element from here and another from there, never enough to get sued. A very clever book with clear evidence of a high level of authorial intelligence show less

Cormoran Strike is on the last of his money when a rich lawyer asks him to investigate the death of his adopted young sister. Lulu Landry was a beautiful supermodel reaching the top of fame--until she plummeted off a balcony. Her brother is sure she was pushed, but the police have already ruled it a suicide. With few resources, a troubled personal life, and a brand new (yet very efficient) secretary, Strike investigates to the best of his ability. At first I feared his best wasn't very good, and I read in agony as he stumped around London, seemingly directionless. But by the end I was very, very impressed.

I was also impressed by the author--Galbraith/Rowling does some very clever things in this book. At one point Strike sees branded show more gloves in Lulu's ex boyfriend's apartment. At the time I thought this was a sign that he'd been in Deeby Macc's apartment, but later realized that seeing the gloves had made Strike realize that perhaps the CCTV footage hadn't seen a hooded black man, just a hooded man wearing dark gloves. This kind of thoughtful use of details that the reader sees but doesn't understand is my favorite kind of mystery writing. Too, Galbraith/Rowling writes a kind of character I loved in her Harry Potter series: detestable jerks who are nevertheless not evil. Tony Landry is such a jerk that it was very easy to imagine him as the killer, but in fact he's the only member of his family capable of recognizing his nephew for what he is.

I really liked both Strike and Robin, and I look forward to reading more about their mystery solving adventures. show less

Cormoran Strike is on his last leg. Literally. An injured war veteran, split up with his fiancee, homeless with a failing detective business. A very dysfunctional family. This man has about had it, but he isn't a quitter. When a new temp shows up at his office (he thought he had called the agency to cancel further temps), he hasn't the heart to turn her away. But she seems to bring him a change of luck. Suddenly he has a new client and case as well.

I enjoyed this mystery. It was well told, clues abundant, and yet not obvious. The characters were well fleshed. Cormoran Strike could have seemed a very unpleasant man full of self-pity, and yet he didn't. He reminded me more of the detectives of noir fiction; determined like a bulldog, dark show more and yet not without humor when examining their lives. Robin was delightful as a young woman learning to find her talents and have a voice. I look forward to reading other books with these two in them. show less

So, I finally read it. It's been sat on my book shelf staring at me, willing me to pick it up and start it and I (fool that I am) refused.

Any guesses why I was so reluctant to read it?

Yup. I love JK Rowling.

Harry Potter (in one form or the other) has been helping me sleep for nearly 20 years. I know the stories so well I can start at any point and not be lost. Alan Dale's audio-book versions have been on my mp3 player since the day I got each one and have been listened to a thousand times over or more. They are my comfort books, they are where I go when I need to escape.

So when I found out that she had written The Cuckoo's Calling I knew I would have to get it but the idea of reading it worried me. I didn't want to be disappointed. show more It didn't help that detective stories are not a genre that I generally seek to read.

So finally I relented. I didn't mean to pick it up particularly, it was just the first one I grabbed as I was being hustled out of my house into an ambulance which for the second time in a month was going to transport me to the hospital. During a week that I was faced with falling asleep with no noise but the beeping of my fellow patients "keep us all alive" machinery this book kept me sane. I didn't know I would be there for a week, I planned on reading it whilst I waited the hours in A&E it would take for them to send me home again. No such luck.

The story of how Comoran Strike discovered the truth about a Supermodels death was not the greatest piece of literature I have ever had the fortune to read. Neither has it started a love affair with Mystery / Crime / Detective books within me. It did make me laugh. It did make me care. It kept me occupied in a ward where I was the healthiest person there (despite needing two blood transfusions) and it left me wanting more.

Bravo JK. show less

The Cuckoo’s Calling – J.K. Rowling
5 stars

I do hope she writes 6 more mystery novels with her detective, Cormorant Strike. The setting is today’s London, with a wide range of fully realized contemporary characters, but the story is classic mystery fiction. Strike is a disabled (partial loss of one leg) veteran and a down and out private detective. He acquires a new secretary and a prosperous client on the same day; the day after the disastrous end of a disastrous relationship. He is hired to investigate the much publicized suicide of a legendary supermodel. Of course it wasn’t suicide, but who done it?
Solving the mystery requires Cormorant to look for clues from among the rich and famous as well as the homeless wannabes. There show more are multiple suspects and several tricky plot twists. Agatha Christie would approve.

At well over 400 pages, Rowling had plenty of time to do what she does best. She created characters who behave like real people with complex, messy lives. Cormorant Strike has a wonderful, totally screwed-up, back story. Like many a previous detective, he has a shadowy past, but he’s fighting on the side of the angels. It is the character development that makes this a 5 star book for me. Rowling takes the classic mystery to the 21st century with characters that we might see on the street or the television screen on any given day.


This isn’t young adult fiction. The book isn’t overly violent, but the language is authentic and frequently profane. show less