Between the Pages

There can’t be many people now who don’t know that Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym of J K Rowling. Having never read any Harry Potter – or seen any of the films – I have the luxury of not being able to compare her books for adults to her books for children.

The main character is Cormoran Strike, ex-Army, having lost a leg in the Afghan War. He now works as a private investigator but is only just scraping by and is forced to live in his office, as he has just broken up with his fiancee. So he is not best pleased when a temping agency sends him a secretary named Robin, who he did not want and cannot really afford to employ. However on the same day that this happens, the brother of an old schoolfriend walks into his office wanting Strike to investigates the death of his sister, supermodel Lula Landry. The case had previously been ruled a suicide, but Lula’s brother John is convinced that someone murdered her. Strike reluctantly takes the case, and it becomes clear that there is a lot more to Lula’s death than it first appears.

I had actually already seen the TV adaptation of The Cuckoo’s Calling, so I already know who the guilty party was, so I guess it says something that this book still held my attention all the way through and I really enjoyed it. Galbraith (I’m still calling her that for the purpose of this review) pays attention to small details and has a descriptive style of writing which I liked a lot. I also really liked the characters of both Strike and Robin. Strike always seemed to be verging on shambolic in his appearance and style, but was obviously very astute and intuitive. And Robin – well…yay for a female character who is balanced, cheerful, intelligent and resourceful, and also one for whom romance is not her main storyline. Strike and Robin grow to like and respect one another but – minor spoiler – there is no romance there and no suggestion of it (although I haven’t read any of the subsequent books in the series, I hope their relationship remains this way).

The mystery itself is quite tangled and I felt that I did need to pay attention to the storyline, but my attention didn’t wander, and I thought the final reveal was done extremely well. Had I not already been aware of who the killer was, I don’t honestly think I would have guessed.

So all in all, this book gets a big thumbs up from me. I also highly recommend the TV adaptation, and intend on reading the other books before watching the adaptations of those.