A good friend and fellow bibliophile recently introduced me to the character Cormoran Strike. I was a bit leery because I had heard, as most everyone, that Robert Galbraith author of the The Cuckoo’s Calling, was really J. K. Rowling! I loved Harry Potter along with most of the world and love sharing them with my children now that they are of an age to understand and not be too frightened by the deepening seriousness of the events portrayed. Yet, I had picked up Ms. Rowlings first adult fiction book, The Casual Vacancy and found it ponderous and frankly I haven’t finished it yet! I still keep a note about where I stopped in some weird notion that I will go back to it one day and find it compelling in a way I didn’t the first time. Writing this, I certainly feel like it sounds as if I am never actually going back. But let me tell you readers a secret, I am often compelled to finish what has been left undone and especially after meeting Cormoran Strike, I see myself re-tackling The Casual Vacancy as I impatiently wait on the fourth book of the series.
Anyway, back to what you came for, Cormoran Strike! The Cuckoo’s Calling was the first book to introduce a large, slightly unkempt former Special Investigator for the British military. He storms onto the page at the beginning of the end to a nasty long term relationship and runs right into his new temporary secretary, Robin Ellacott. We are then taking on a ride that gives out slivers of background that has depth for both Cormoran and Robin. Cormoran has been in injured while serving in Afghanistan and as a result his right leg is amputated below the knee. Robin has just become engaged to her long time boyfriend, yet has some mysterious past situation that caused her to drop out of university and second guess her relationship. Robin is secretly thrilled to be working for a private detective while interviewing for permanent jobs, and Cormoran is taken aback that the temp agency had sent another secretary for he had no funds to pay another one. You see, Cormoran has left his beloved, anonymous military career behind and opened his own private detective agency, and frankly things aren’t going so well. Then he is strangely asked to investigate a high profile suicide by the victim’s brother and the rest as they say is golden literary history. The ending will leave you gasping and rushing out to pick up the next installment, The Silkworm.
As Cormoran and Robin are drawn into the often eccentric world of authors and publishers in The Silkworm, I was blown away by the novels within the novel and the climatic unveiling of how this novel in a novel is the key to the killer! I know that sounds weird and confusing but trust me, it was masterful and astonishing to me, as the ‘fake’ novel in the Cormoran Strike investigation is highly detailed, meticulously thought out and researched because it directly correlated to the murderer. My friend, mentioned above, just listened to me gush, or rather read my gushing through my Goodreads review, and assured me that the third installment was even better.
Which lands us at the latest published Cormoran Strike novel, Career of Evil. In it Robin and Cormoran have become friends and partners, while she continues to argue about her job with her fiancé and planning a wedding, they both stalk around the apparent attraction between the two of them. The more they work together in fraught situations, the closer their friendship, respect, and dependency becomes. We can all see the undercurrents of attraction in their thoughts on the page. Cormoran has recognized from the beginning that coming off a tumultuous long term relationship and being around an attractive, smart, and ambitious Robin is not necessarily a good or smart thing to do. The engagement ring on Robin’s hand is like his own private safety net. For Robin, her first meeting with Cormoran certainly didn’t paint him in an attractive light. He is tall, broad, unkempt and apparently sleeping in his office! Yet, as they work to solve cases and build the business, she can see how intelligent and determined he is. He also helps validate her dream of being an investigator. The interplay between them is realistic and entertaining. As they learn more about each other, the more attractive they are too. Who knew the temp secretary hoarded a long denied dream of being an investigator and had the instincts to do well at helping Cormoran with more than the filing and bills? Who knew Cormoran could be pleasant, funny, and understanding since he looked like a roughened tank crashing through life when they first met? The Career Evil brings crime to the door of Cormoran and Robin’s office and directly involves Robin in what appears to be a grudge against Cormoran. His past has netted him enemies and three stand out to him as potential perpetrators he believes the Police should investigate. These suggestions from Strike aren’t taken as well as he would like, he isn’t exactly the police detectives’ favorite person after solving two high profile cases they had originally mishandled. This of course leads him to investigate things himself, along with Robin. Both are going through upheavals in their personal lives, this new case has brought upheaval to their professional lives as well and forces them both to assess the important things a little more closely. The story takes many frightening twists with the main characters front and center in the crime, instead of being sidelined viewers trying to prove a point. Pasts are uncovered, lives are complicated, and Ms. Rowling formulated a criminal answer that had me screaming out loud and hitting my forehead in surprise. But it was the good kind of surprise, because I had been grappling with figuring out who had committed the crime I couldn’t see the tree for the forest (yes, I know that bit is backwards, but read the book and you will get it), much as the characters in the book too. The reveal was a cleverly delivered delight to this reader. Now that I have met Cormoran Strike, I don’t ever want to let him go!
Good news for me and others who love the series, BBC One will be producing a television series entitled Strike about the fascinating world of Cormoran Strike. I read it has also been picked up by HBO for American and Canadian distribution. So, the wait begins, both for the next Cormoran Strike novel and the televised realization of the characters I have come to love.
If this intrigued you into checking them out for yourselves, click on the titles which will take you to Amazon for purchase. If you use them, I will be compensated via the click.
Happy Reading and hopefully short waiting for book four everyone. Cormoran Strike is a winner on my shelf!
