Book Review: The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

The Silkworm is the second novel in the Cormoran Strike series picking up 8 months after the first book ends. Strike has more business now, but can't help being drawn to helping the odd wife of an author who has gone missing to find her husband. Owen Quine is an erotic fantasy writer who had one big hit in his career followed by an odd series of badly received novels. Quine finishes his next manuscript, gives it to his agent who encouraged him in the direction he was heading all along only to have her tell him that the book was nonpunishable. A very public argument leads to Quine returning home to grab his things and leaving with no word of where or why. Mrs. Quine hires Strike 10 days later under the pretense of having Strike locate her husband and tell him he needed to come back home. Shortly after the investigation starts, Strike finds Quine's body in an incredibly gruesome murder scene. Strike begins searching the dead author's final novel for clues as to who his killer could be as he was found killed in the same manor as his main character. The plot twists and turns revealing the truth bit by bit, finally leading Strike to the real killer and getting Quine's wife off the hook.

This book dealt with a very odd group of people that made it much more difficult to get into than the first novel in the series. The dead author's works are just so ... gross and weird. The whole time I kept thinking who on earth reads the types of books this man was supposed to have written to the point that it was a bit counterproductive and drew my attention away. This book was also much more brutally gory than the first in the series, so I would not recommend it for someone with a gentle constitution. Those issues aside, the story still kept me wanting to know what really happened, leading to a big whodunit at the end. Certainly not a good as the first one, but I'm still on board for what may come next. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Comoran Strike is an ex-army private detective trying to get his new business off the ground when an old acquaintance brings him a high profile case to investigate. Lula Landry is one of the top models of her time when she falls to her death from her 3rd story balcony. The police investigate and rule the death a suicide, but Lula's adoptive brother is never satisfied with that explanation and hires Strike to dig deeper. Strike takes the case due to his great need of funds in spite of its huge press following, and begins putting together the pieces of this troubled girl's life little by little. Lula had a history of mental illness which greatly contributed to the suicide claim, but anyone who knew her personally found that to be very out of character at that time in her life. Strike peels back the layers of secrets surrounding the fateful night bringing out the real killer in the end.

I will confess that the only real reason I wanted to read The Cuckoo's Calling is because I found out that Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym of J. K. Rowling. I just had to read it and find out how her writing has developed and translates to an adult audience, and I was not disappointed. In fact reading this validated my love of the Harry Potter books as being more than just a teenage obsession - the writing is just so well done. Rowling really can weave an interesting and multi-faceted mystery, keeping things interesting the entire time. I read this very quickly simply because I had to find out what happened next. Cormoran Strike comes off as a very Sherlock-y character, quirky and very smart while still being real and lovable. While I still can't decide how I feel about who the killer really is, I loved the rest of the book so much that I'm ok with it regardless. This is a great mystery that will draw you in and keep you guessing all the way til the end. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.