The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling
Reviewed by: Carey Gibbons, Reference Specialist
Genre: Mystery
Suggested Age: Adults
What is the book about?: Robin Ellacott is new to London, having just moved there to be with her fiance Matthew. She’s working for a temp agency that sends her to the office of Cormoran Strike, Private Investigator. Strike never asked for a temp, but keeps her on anyway, which turns out to be good for him as he’s about to take on the case of his career. Mega supermodel Lula Landry has fallen to her death from her third floor balcony. The police have ruled it a suicide, but her brother thinks she’s been murdered and hires Strike to find out who did it. Cormoran and Robin make for an interesting team. What starts as an unwanted pairing on Strike’s part turns into an intellectual partnership as they frantically search for Landry’s killer among a wide ranging and eclectic series of suspects.
My Review: I loved this book so much and I think loved more for the fact that I don’t read mysteries. They just aren’t my thing. But I read this for a book club and enjoyed it so much that I read the next two in the series and can’t wait for the fourth. The mystery itself was engaging. Any of the suspect characters could have murdered Lula Landry and I found myself liking some of them to hope that they weren’t the one who did it. Cormoran and Robin are both well rounded, well written characters and I ended up caring more about them as people than the mystery itself. However, Rowling uses the mystery of the killer to reveal information about her detective and his assistant throughout the book. She really has a very strong gift for character development and making small gestures or actions covey more than you might originally think. I was also completely surprised by the killer in the end. I won’t spoil anything, but knowing who it is makes so much other information in the book take on extra meaning when you think back to information imparted to readers even from the very beginning. In short, this is a well crafted mystery that goes beyond a typical “who done it?” to make readers care about the characters outside of the murder being investigated.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Surprising, Comfortable, Addictive
Give This a Try if You Like… Masterpiece Mystery, Sherlock Holmes, Batgirl
Rating: 5/5
About FDL Reads
Welcome to FDL Reads, weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library. Librarians (and possibly some other guest reviewers) review all types of books, from children’s picture books, young adult favorites, to the latest adult thriller, and share their thoughts each week at fondulaclibrary.org. If the book is owned by Fondulac District Library (or another local library), you’ll see a direct link to the catalog entry and whether or not it is available. If it is checked out or at another local library, you will be able to place a hold as long as you have your library card and PIN numbers. As with any book review, these are our opinions…we disagree amongst ourselves about books frequently. We all have different likes and dislikes, which is what makes the world an interesting place. Please enjoy, and keep on reading!