Well, the secret is out, Robert Galbraith supposedly a pseudonym for an anonymous British veteran of the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Military Police, is in reality J K Rowling, the author of the best selling Harry Potter series. In releasing the book under a pseudonym Rowling hoped to have it rise or fall on its own merits, and so it was, at first. The initial reviews were good, so lets hope Ms. Rowling will give the world more of her take on the world of criminal investigations.
The Cuckoo's Calling is a hard-boiled private eye novel. The protagonist is Cormoran Strike, who's biography reads somewhat like that of the book's purported author. He is a complicated, damaged, hard bitten private eye, down on his luck and down to his last few pounds when a case drops into his lap that offers financial gain if not professional satisfaction. His client is the brother of an apparent suicide who want to prove that his sister was murdered. All of the evidence seems to support the police conclusion, but Strike takes the case and soon he and his temporary secretary, Robin Ellacott are plunged into the dark and dazzling world of the super rich and the leeches that feed off of them.
This is a fascinating page-turner. The clues are laid out step by step, if only you are clever enough to see them, and soon you'll find yourself staying up late to find out just what did happen to Lula Landry. The book is a little overlong and if you are sensitive to strong language be warned, you'll find it here.
If you like your private eyes on the hard-boiled side you might like these authors:
Raymond Chandler
Dashiell Hammett
Walter Mosley
Dennis Lehane
Kate Atkinson
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