The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

 

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith had me hooked after a few chapters. The characters are engaging and I was pleased to have the story line remain a mystery until the end.

Don’t you hate it when you’ve got it all figured out by the middle of the book? I know I do. The detective and star of this book is Cormoron Strike. He is an Afghan war vet, missing a leg from an explosion while serving in the military. He’s also the son of a famous singer but never uses that for gain. As a matter of fact, his father never acknowledges him as Cormoron is the bastard offspring from a groupie. No matter, Strike has zero interest in his famous father.

Strike is hired by John Bristow, the adopted brother of famous supermodel Lula Landry. The investigation is started on Bristow’s claims his sister was murdered and she did not commit suicide. It’s sad that Lula’s character wasn’t given a part other than the corpse because she sounded like an interesting character as described by others. The title of the book, The Cuckoo’s Calling, was explained in part as Lula was nicknamed The Cuckoo. But the author didn’t explain why she was called Cuckoo.

Another interesting character was Robin, a temporary secretary who appeared at Strike’s office, ready for work before Strike could call the temp agency to cancel. He’s flat broke and can’t afford to pay her – that is until Bristow’s job fell in his lap and he was offered double the fee to take on this cold case. Robin turns out to be a competent researcher and helps immensely in the investigation. Her back story is explained; she is newly engaged to Matthew and her fiance doesn’t seem to like her working for Strike at all.

In case you didn’t know – Robert Galbraith is actually a pen name for J.K. Rowling. I am pleased to hear there is another Cormoron Strike mystery to be published. In an interview, Rowling said she hoped to write six books in this series. I am on board for all of them.