The Running Grave

I finished reading this novel about five minutes ago. I’m sitting at my desk to write this review but I don't know how. I want to sing its praises because the latest instalment of the Cormoran Strike novels is by far the best one in the series.

This time, Strike and Robin deal with a religious cult, its charismatic leader and everything surrounding these. I will not mention any more plot details because it’s probably best to go into this novel without too much knowledge or ideas…

I will say, though, “The Running Grave” is without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most suspenseful novels I’ve ever read. Not in a cheap, flashy, and/or sensationalist way, but subtly and almost elegantly. The feeling of a permanent latent danger is show more omnipresent and mercilessly tugs at the nerves of the reader.

I felt like biting my nails (which I don’t do) and it triggered the worst of my nervous habits and yet I felt like devouring this novel. I was reluctant to put it down and there were times I actually considered calling in sick (which I didn’t) to be able to keep reading. I read it feverishly and while I usually highlight passages and take notes, I quickly found myself unable and unwilling to do so because it would have broken my immersion.

This novel is so readable and the subject matter so horrifyingly believable (cf. Scientology and similarly despicable cults) that reading “Grave” felt like entering the world of Strike and Robin. This was enhanced by the level of empathy especially Robin shows during crucial situations in the investigation.

I just wish we had gotten to know more about a certain confrontation between Robin and two principal members of the cult…

Strike, too, grows as a person during the course of the investigation. Especially when dealing with a major change and its aftermath.

Despite its length (more than 1200 pages on my Kindle), “Grave” never felt long but found a near-perfect balance between the usual personal issues between Robin and Strike, secondary cases and the main mystery.

And that ending...

Rowling created a masterpiece of a detective novel and a marvellous piece of literary art.

Rowling is also still very much openly transphobic and, thus, I encourage you not to buy her books but rather get them in a library so that at the very least she won’t profit anymore than she already has.

If you’re one of those people who don’t believe who and what she is, here’s an excellent article (permanently updated) that collects Rowling’s disgusting statements and actions:

https://www.glamour.com/story/a-complete-breakdown-of-the-jk-rowling-transgender...

Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Joanne K. Rowling - they are different kinds of monsters and yet monsters they all are. I recoil whenever I’m confronted with their depravity. And, yet, I cannot break from their art. I can keep calling them out, though.

And yet, despite this, “The Running Grave” easily garners five stars out of five and a place among my favourite books.

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Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam show less

I love this series. It's fun to read, and the characters consistently make me smile. Well, in Cormoran's case, wince and roll my eyes. All of them are flawed, including Robin, who feels she must prove herself competent to a ridiculous degree, and she frequently allows people into her life who are manipulative and destructive.

I even like the side characters a great deal and care about their lives. Few of them are simple throwaways. JK has a talent for making me care about the fate of someone in less than a page, even the villains.

Is this a five-star book all on its own? Of course not. It's a huge story about characters that people have grown to love over the last six books. That's why so many series books are so good. You have time to show more grow into the characters and watch them change, for better or worse. (And sometimes outgrow the story.)

But, it is also well researched about the methods used by cults to maintain their practitioners and wealth. Various cults came to mind as I read: Scientology, the Unification Church, Heaven's Gate, Jim Jones' People's Temple, and other various New Age cults. The multi-generational and international aspects of the cult were the most frightening part of the cult.

Jo nailed the suspense. I couldn't put the book down. It's a monster at 900+ pages. The resolution was satisfying. Oddly, I want to read the book again. I know that I missed things as I flew through the words.

The end was a cliffhanger that made me want to scream.

… And now our Book 8 watch begins.

Edit: I doubt that I am the only one who thought of ASOIAF every single time The Drowned Prophet appeared. I don't know if Jo meant it in the Lovecraftian way, or if she consulted her inner GRRM, but it was absolutely creepy. show less

b>The Running Grave - Galbraith/Rowling
Audio performance by Robert Glenister
5 stars

This is the second book about a toxic cult community that I’ve read in recent months. I didn’t plan it that way. I’ve always been a person who reacts negatively to peer pressure, and the thought of mind control or blind obedience frightens me. This book disturbed me. As a young person I was very unlikely to be seduced into a cult, but I watched it happening to others. Rowling’s done her research. Her description of the Universal Humanitarian Church (UHC) was entirely believable and thoroughly terrifying. As with her last book, I feel I should mention potential triggers. While realistic, her descriptions are not overly graphic. However, the Strike show more and Ellacott Detective Agency (mostly Ellacott) uncovers evidence of child abuse, sexual abuse, and torture.

The book disturbed me. It kept me up at night. I couldn’t stop turning the pages. For much of the book there were parallel story lines while Robin goes undercover with the UHC while
Strike continues with day to day work of the agency. (It puts the sexual tension between the two protagonists on a back burner, but I think it’s clear that Rowling is in no hurry to move that relationship along.) There’s a lot going on and nothing happens quickly. The kindle version of this book has 960 pages and the audio is 34 hours long. I make no complaints. I don’t want the author to cut out a single word. The nail biting rescue/escape scene is one of the best I’ve ever read.

I am completely invested in the lives of these characters. I loved Pat’s personal revelations and the addition of her husband and his racing pigeons to the story. I liked the details of Strike's less combative relationship with his sister Lucy and the growing relationship with his half sister Prudence. Robin’s mother reminded me so much of my own mother that I couldn’t wait to ship her back to Yorkshire. It’s very hard to leave these people behind when I’ve read the last page. If the next book came out today, I’d be ready for 1,000 more pages. show less

I know it's not cool, or politically correct to admit to liking J.K. Rowling anymore, and I know there's many out there now who—despite having devoured her first little series about a boy named Harry—disavow her writing prowess.

But, the intricate plotting she used to build the seven books of that series were just a test run for what she's doing now.

This book.

It's huge. But for me, the mark of a damn good book is when I'm pulled in so tightly, when I'm caught up so hard in the characters and events of the story that I just need to find out what comes next. And for me, this book did that. Rowling has littered the vast number of pages with seeming innocuous points that all come crashing together in a spectacular climax.

I am literally show more in awe of the story she's built here.

But it's not just the story, it's also the characters, and especially the nefarious church she's created. The scenes of Robin in the church are so well written, the indoctrination so well detailed, and the inevitable horrors so diabolical, that I was completely sold. This wasn't a story for me, this was real.

I could go on how the low raters of this novel have completely missed points, but I won't convert anyone, so I'll leave that to someone smarter than me.

All I will say is, this is easily the best book of the series so far, and I am eagerly awaiting the next installment. show less

I was ENGROSSED from the beginning. Galbraith's writing and intricate plots keep getting better and better and I could not put this down. I literally stayed up until 2am last night to finish it like a crazy person. Strike and Robin's latest case is from a concerned father who just want to get their adult son back. Will Edensor has been taken in by the Universal Humanitarian Church (picture Scientology, but worse) and is unwilling to leave. Will has a delicate mental state and is easily coerced so they are sure that he is being taken advantage of. Robin agrees to go under cover and join the ranks of the UHC and what she discovers is far worse then they had imagined. They knew it was a cult, but what is going on at the farm is beyond the show more pale. It's dark, fucked up, and omg this book was intense. Such a great twisty read. I am already sad that I have to wait upwards of a year for the next book! show less

The seventh installment of the Strike/Ellacott series sees a welcome return to form from Galbraith/Rowling after the disappointing Ink Black Heart. The Running Grave sees Strike and Ellacott investigating a religious cult, at the instigation of a wealthy client who's son has vanished into the cult's headquarters in Norfolk. Robin goes under deep cover as a cult convert and, at risk to her health and sanity, begins to unravel the multiple strands of abuse and corruption that are hidden behind the fascade of universal love and good works. I very much enjoyed the development of some of the previous minor characters such as Pat the chain smoking office manager and the continuing UST between Robin and Cormoran. A horrifying but enjoyable read.

I admit the possibility that The Running Grave is most probably my favourite Strike novel so far and definitely on a different level to The Ink Black Heart. Even though it’s a hefty tome weighing in at 1,180 pages and I was desperate for the grand reveal, I also didn’t want the book to end. I was able to keep track of all the characters this time round without flicking backwards or taking notes.

Strike and Robin are hired by Sir Colin Edensor to release his son William from the clutches of The Universal Humanitarian Church, a religious sect that rose from the ashes of the child-abusing, Crowther brothers’ Alymerton Community in 1986. When Robin goes undercover, long buried secrets are unearthed piece by piece and the true nature show more and vile intentions of cult leaders Jonathan and Mazu Wace and their indoctrinated disciples are revealed.

I was far more emotionally engaged with Strike #7. Descriptions of Andrew Honbold QC had me laughing out loud, Cormoran seeking solace in a solitary church had me close to tears, delectable little details had me smiling throughout and the sadism, sexual abuse, sleep and sustenance depravation and nightmare scenarios sequestered in Chapman Farm gave me the complete heebie jeebies.

Since the “will they/won’t they” dilemma is left unresolved, there has to be a Strike #8. With its brilliant storytelling, awesome plot construction and fantastic character portrayal this deeply disturbing, thought-provoking and totally compulsive masterpiece is going to be a very hard one to beat. show less