The Cuckoo's Calling

Down on his luck private investigator Cormoran Strike is hired to find evidence that an apparent suicide is in fact a murder with the help of a temp assistant who wishes to be much more than that. I probably wouldn't have picked this up had I not known it was by Rowling, mainly due to the mundane cover (the UK cover is much better), but I am very happy I did - this is a very solid murder mystery, even if the denouement is somewhat overlong. Strike is an excellent character and manages to be quite individual even if he is a classic noir type. Robin starts off a little beige, but once it's clear how her character functions with Strike, she becomes almost as engaging. We've been promised a series from Rowling, and I for one will happily show more follow along. show less

I don't like mysteries. I don't have time for Dupin or Holmes. I could care less about James Patterson or Janet Evanovich. I don't care who the killer is. I don't believe the detective on the case is all that brilliant. You like mysteries? Here's one for you: Why am I reading this book? The answer may surprise you.

The answer is The Casual Vacancy.

You expected me to say Harry Potter, didn't you? I've never read Harry Potter; I know almost nothing of the wizard. I developed my Rowling-crush because of that wonderful book that seemed to disappoint nearly everyone else. So here I am—still ignorant of Potter—diving into a second Rowling book. And a mystery on top of all that.

The reasons I don't like mysteries are simple. First of all, I show more find them boring. They rely too much on a premise that the reader cares who the killer was. I don't. The part of the story I want to hear is the killing itself, the lives of the victims, the tale of the killer before or after the fact—the whodunit is dreadfully boring. Second, there is only one detective who can see a bottlecap a mile away, connect it to a hair found in a haystack, and deduce that the killer is a three-hundred year old sea creature masquerading as a nighttime janitor; that is Fox Mulder. I don't buy that the average human can make the leaps that these literary sleuths can. And my final reason for not liking mysteries is that I have a stick up my ass. Literally. And mysteries rub me the wrong way. Ouch.

Enough about my dislike for the genre. Truth is, I liked The Cuckoo's Calling. Does this mean it avoids the whodunit premise? Nope. Does this mean Cormoran Strike doesn't make the most absurd leaps to solve the crime? No. Does this mean Rowling's magic has somehow removed the stick from my ass? Unfortunately not.

The Cuckoo's Calling is your typical mystery, but the characterization, pacing, and language make all the difference. It's written very well. The story may chase with the whodunit, but it doesn't rely on it. My interest in who killed Lula Landry was insignificant as I found myself wrapped in the story of who these characters were. They're not just devices used to move a mystery novel along; they're people, caught up in a mystery while the rest of the world keeps spinning. Too many mystery writers fail in this regard.

Despite the stick up my ass, I'd read another Galbraith mystery. Naturally, I worry that the series will eventually descend into the typical mystery, but for now I'm too invested in Strike and Robin to not read the next chapter in their lives. And maybe eventually I'll get around to that Potter-thing too. show less

This book was the subject of a lot of hype shortly after its initial publication arising from the apparently accidental leak of the fact that "Robert Galbraith" is a pseudonym of J K Rowling. I am very cynical about that ‘accident’. I can entirely understand why J K Rowling might want to resort to a pseudonym for a series of novels so different from the Harry Potter books that made her name and her fortune. However, with the deeply ingrained cynicism and suspicion of a former tax inspector, I imagine that her publishers were probably more reluctant to maintain the deception, and perfectly aware of the beneficial impact on sales that such a revelation would have.

I had deliberately deferred reading The Casual Vacancy, her first book show more for adults, although when I eventually got around to reading it I found it utterly engrossing, and very enjoyable. I had the same experience with The Cuckoo Calling.

The novel opens with the death, apparently by suicide, of Lula Landry, a supermodel who seemed to have the world at her feet: undeniable beauty, multi-million-pound fashion endorsements, luxurious and exclusive apartment and rock star boyfriend. No-one can quite understand why she might have done it, but everyone seems to accept that it was suicide: just another celebrity pushed over the edge by the pressures attendant on her high profile lifestyle. Everyone, that is, apart from her brother, John Bristow, who hires a private detective to look investigate her death.

We then learn that Lula's life had not been a bed of roses. She and John had both been adopted by the Bristows, a wealthy couple who had been unable to have children of their own. There had been a third adopted child, Charlie, but he had died while still a child (indeed, it emerges that Lula had been adopted following Charlie's death, as a form of consolation for their Mrs Bristow). In her late teens already a modelling sensation, Lula had conducted investigations and tracked down her natural mother who turned out to be an alcoholic and occasional prostitute, who went on to have three children who were all taken into care and passed on for adoption. Upon discovering that her daughter had become a successful model, the natural mother immediately sold her story to the tabloid press, thereby contributing further to the perpetual hounding that Lula suffered at the hands of the paparazzi. To add to her woes, Lula had had a series of drug-related incidents and her boyfriend, Evan Duffield, was widely known as a heroin addict.

If Lula might be viewed as ‘damaged goods’, so too is the private detective whom John Bristow retains to look into the case. Cormoran Strike is the illegitimate, and largely disowned, son of John Rokeby, a successful rock star whose career stretches back twenty or thirty years. Strike had secured a place at Oxford but following the death through heroin overdose of his mother, he chose instead to join the army where he ended up on the Special Investigation Bureau of the Military Police. On service in Afghanistan, he was caught in a roadside explosion and lost part of his leg. Now back in civilian life he has established a practice on the fringes of Soho, but is struggling to keep afloat, and has just been dumped by his fiancée.

That is the context, and it does all sound rather grim. However, Galbraith/ Rowling handles all of this with a lightness of touch that never derides the awful tragedies that the characters have suffered but ensures that the story fizzes along quite merrily. She has, after all, had her own searing experiences at the hands of the press, and suffered the unwelcome travails that accompany sudden and extensive celebrity.

The plot is very well constructed (and it certainly fooled me) and the characters are all very clearly and plausibly drawn. show less

Down on his luck private investigator Cormoran Strike is hired to find evidence that an apparent suicide is in fact a murder with the help of a temp assistant who wishes to be much more than that. I probably wouldn't have picked this up had I not known it was by Rowling, mainly due to the mundane cover (the UK cover is much better), but I am very happy I did - this is a very solid murder mystery, even if the denouement is somewhat overlong. Strike is an excellent character and manages to be quite individual even if he is a classic noir type. Robin starts off a little beige, but once it's clear how her character functions with Strike, she becomes almost as engaging. We've been promised a series from Rowling, and I for one will happily show more follow along. show less

I approached this book with in trepidation especially after how much I had wanted to like The Casual Vacancy and simply didn't. I have to start by saying that this was a wonderfully brave move from this author to write under another name to see if the book made it and to walk away from the hype that surrounds this author.

So I have to say I was not disappointed at all, this book was simply amazing. This is classic JK Rowling with excellent characters that are well developed and equally as flawed in places. The two main investigating couple I loved and this made the book easy to get into. The plot was brilliant and the story was engaging. I have to say half way through the book I wondered whether the story had enough to sustain the 500 show more pages but as I finished the book I realised that this had not been a problem. The story just flowed effortlessly and I never identified a quiet mid section of the book which is common in this genre.

This story has certainly left me wanting more from the two lead characters and from Robert Galbraith / JK Rowling. I will definitely be searching out the second Cormoran Strike novel. show less

Wins at character, but the plot is ridiculously convoluted and incredibly simple all at once and, at the same time, totally fails to account for why Bristow hires Strike in the first place. "Crazy" is not enough. Maybe if there had been more emphasis on Bristow's admiration of Strike's personal history? I mean, narcissistic psychopathy could totally work here if we'd seen more insistence and pleasure on Bristow's part. Especially since there's enough abnormal psych happening in the various subplots. I mean, if Strike is Batman, then Bristow is the Joker, and the Joker both relishes and is deeply dependent on Batman's gaze. Batman's glare is porn for him, but unfortunately we don't see enough of Bristow avidly following Strike's show more progress.

Beyond that, I'm not a huge fan of the Poirot-reveal style of mystery structure, especially a reveal that drags on as long as this one. Granted, it's in line with the Maltese Falcon, but that came out 83 years ago; we are a less patient audience these days. Also, the twisty trek of whom Strike talks to in what order seems, in hindsight, rather too contrived for narrative effect. I mean, a cop would speak to ALL intimate partners and members of the family immediately, not save critically important boyfriends and mothers for weeks down the line. Strike should be smarter than that.

Still, Rowling excels at drawing compelling characters -- even the most minor characters have a spark of life and interest, and that is wonderful. And, yes, I totally want more Cormoran Strike Robin Whateverherlastnameis awesome gen crime-fighting adventures. Robin is awesome and they make an excellent team. :)

Bonus points for: awesomely drawn characters with mental and physical disabilities, characters of color, distinguishing between class issues and race issues, indictment of the fame machine, indictment of abuse culture, a great gay or bi character (yay narrative ambiguity), and really effective use of setting.

Negative points for fridging the major female characters of color to move the plot, although I do appreciate that the story is largely about how the deaths of black women may be misread by white men and the white press. I just...I wanted better for Rochelle than the ending she got. show less

Digital audiobook narrated by Robert Glenister.

Adapted from the book jacket: 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, creditors are calling, and he’s living in his office. Then John Bristow walks through his door and asks that he investigate as possible murder. Bristow’s sister, supermodel Lana Landry (known to her friends as the Cuckoo), fell to her death a few months earlier. 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.

My reactions
Well if you didn’t already know by now, Galbraith is the show more pseudonym of J K Rowling, and this book proves that she knows how to craft a compelling story. I was hesitant to read it, but I’m glad I finally came around. I’ll definitely keep reading this series.

I really liked Strike as a lead character. He has obvious flaws, and some not-so-obvious ones as well. But he’s a strong-willed, principled man with a keen intelligence despite his reliance on alcohol to numb the pain. I also really liked how he went about gathering the facts / clues, his way of evaluating what he learns and WHO is providing the information.

But the character I most liked was his assistant, Robin. What a wonderful foil for this detective. She’s young, bright, unflappable, intelligent, resourceful, and compassionate. Recognizing the difficulty her “temporary” boss is in, she takes the bull by the horns and quietly and efficiently makes things as right as they can be. She’s a treasure – as an assistant, and as a character.

The plot is suitably complex, with plenty of red herrings to confuse and misdirect both Strike and the reader. I did not guess the culprit in advance of the reveal.

Robert Glenister does a marvelous job of voicing the audiobook. He keeps the pace up (a must for this genre), and his skill as a voice artist is up to the challenge of reading a book with so many different characters. I really like the way he interprets both Strike and Robin. show less