The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1)

by Robert Galbraith

When a troubled model falls to her death from a snow-covered Mayfair balcony, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts, and calls in private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case.

Strike is a war veteran - wounded both physically and psychologically - and his life is in disarray. The case gives him a financial lifeline, but it comes at a personal cost: the more he delves into the young model's complex world, the darker things get - and the closer he gets to terrible danger . . .

A gripping, elegant mystery steeped in the atmosphere of London - from the hushed streets of Mayfair to the backstreet pubs of the East End to the bustle of Soho - The Cuckoo's Calling is a remarkable book. Introducing Cormoran Strike, this is the acclaimed first crime novel by J.K. Rowling, writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

• ISBN10: 0316330167
• ISBN13: 9780316330169
• Publish Date: 8 October 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown & Company
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 768
• Language: English

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

Surprisingly I had initially requested to review this about a day before the news broke that it was Rowling’s novel…so needless to say I was never approved for it because I’m pretty sure everyone else did the same the nest day. So I had to wait on a library hold and I FINALLY got to read it. So that aside I feel almost obligated to say, if you want to read it just because she wrote Harry Potter…don’t. It’s not the same, though her writing certainly rings familiar. It’s a serious and lengthy mystery novel, so if that’s not your thing then think twice about it.

The Cuckoo’s Calling is a story centering around Cormoran Strike, a private detective who is down on his luck and hired to work a really well known closed case deemed a suicide. The mystery itself is well worked and full of detail, and I really loved that Rowling worked to add tid bits here and there given you full opportunity to figure it out for yourself. Of course somethings are withheld to draw out the story and add that suspenseful air, but for the most part it’s out in the open. I however didn’t solve it before Cormoran, though I did suspect the outcome but only briefly. I think that Rowling maybe one of my comfort authors, like Anne Rice. We all know I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and as a result a fan of her writing, but now I’m positive that I enjoy her style as a whole. Her writing is fluid and detailed in every aspect, making the characters real and the scenes around them teem with life.

Strike is a gruff character, who is a veteran of the British Army and use to roughing it when he has to. He has his own personal demons and he has to contend with them along with outside forces through out the book. He takes some getting use to because he’s very rough around the edges but he’s quick to pick things up and pretty bright, which put me solidly in his corner. Not to mention his dedication to a case most people would have quickly dismissed. Robin is a temp and his unlikely help during most of the case and I really liked her willingness to go above and beyond what was asked of her; opening mail and searching the web. Her enthusiasm for the work kind of rubbed off on me and I was just as eager as her to see the case to a close. She’s really sharp and thinks for herself, which comes in handy quite a few times. While Strike did most of the work himself they really turned out to be a great team.

I’m looking forward to seeing how their slight friendship goes in the next book as it’s kind of teetering on a line of purely professional and actual friendship, given the ups and downs of this case. There are also a few things I’m curious to see if they come to a head or not, but most of all I’m really ready to see Strike at work on another case. If you enjoy a good murder mystery then I really think you might enjoy this one.

[violetpeanut]

DNF - I'm calling it at 35% read. This one just did not hold my interest. I would read a few pages and then put it down and then have to force myself to pick it back up and give it another chance. *sigh* This is another book that had certain elements that I liked but just could not hold it together enough as a whole for me to keep on with it.

[celinenyx]

I liked this book.

The Cuckoo's Calling is a for me thoroughly British mystery. In my rather limited experience with the mystery and crime genres, I associate these kind of quiet, meandering kind of mysteries to British television (like Midsomer Murders) while the flashy action based ones seem American to me (like CSI). I might be completely prejudiced, but I do think the Midsomer Murders analogy works good for The Cuckoo's Calling. All the actual detective work is done by having conversations, instead of "doing" things.

Cormoran Strike is an ex-military with only one leg, trying to make ends meet by being a private detective. When the brother of one of his high school mates asks him to look into the death of his adopted sister, a well-known model, he agrees. Together with his temp assistant Robin he tries to unravel why Lula ended up falling from her balcony on a cold winter night.

In an interview with Ms Rowling about The Casual Vacancy she showed a profound interesting into delving into the workings of human nature. In my opinion characterisation is the main thread that follows through all of her works - but Harry Potter and adult books. Through internal monologue and actions she tries to make these characters real. All of the characters do what they do for a reason - all the motivations are true to their specific nature. This also means that plenty of Rowling's characters are very unpolished and sometimes weird. Humanity is sometimes very unpolished and weird.

I agree with other reviewers that The Cuckoo's Calling doesn't make a huge impact. It hasn't got the mind-blowing climax that other novels have, but I didn't mind that it didn't. After reading The Casual Vacancy I thought to myself, "I wish she would write a mystery novel - she'd be great for that". I got my wish, and I loved immersing myself into Rowling's writing trying to unravel this mystery along with Strike. I'm thrilled that the next book in the Cormoran Strike series is already scheduled, and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

[KitsuneBae]

This review first appeared on my blog at: Thoughts and Pens.

Being JK Rowling’s first crime adult novel, I must say that she’d done an impressive job on this one. The Cuckoo’s Calling has managed to render me awestruck for a moment or two before I accepted two things: 1. Sherlock’s still the best sleuth in town and 2. Cormoran Strike didn’t manage to dislodge Professor Robert Langdon from occupying the number 2 spot in my heart. The Cuckoo’s Calling was an entertaining read but it didn’t have the brilliance of Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons series (esp. Da Vinci’s code) nor Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Well, I also have to consider the fact that crime fiction/ mystery is certainly an overdone genre and the market competition is stiff. Let’s just say that, The Cuckoo’s Calling barely managed to disentangle itself from the same old detective story.

The Cuckoo’s Calling follows the story of Cormoran Strike, a former military police under the Special Investigation Branch who started a detective agency after he lost half a leg in the Afghan war and to settle down with his fiancée, Charlotte. However, luck was scarce for him and before he realized it, his agency is already on the verge of bankruptcy, his lovelife ruined and he was practically homeless. But when Lula Landry, a famous black supermodel, died, Cormoran was given another chance at bettering his life by solving the mystery surrounding the model’s death.

I admit that The Cuckoo’s Calling story didn’t pique my attention. If it wasn’t for the fact that JK Rowling wrote it, I would have never shelled out the money to buy it. The story’s just too common that I would have preferred re-reading HP but hell, curiosity has won and here I am having difficulty on writing this review. As I’ve said in the previous paragraph, The Cuckoo’s Calling was entertaining and surprisingly, thought provoking. Let me enumerate the strongest points of this novel.

1. Characters- Who would ever accuse JK Rowling of creating shoddy characters? IMO, character creation is her forte. As with Harry Potter and The Casual Vacancy, The Cuckoo’s Calling involved a lot of characters from the leads to the witnesses to the suspects. Unlike with other books, The Cuckoo’s Calling never made me feel confused or dizzy by distinguishing one character from the other. JK Rowling really made an effort to set each character apart. She was able to relay the story of each of these characters without resorting to intolerable infodumps. Just by reading the characters’ conversations, I could pretty much discern their personalities.

Speaking of the two leads, Cormoran Strike is definitely a layered character. All throughout the whole story, he kept me curious as to what his true nature is. I would save my assessment of him for book two’s review. Meanwhile, Robin (I really wished that I’ve seen a lot of her in this book) is definitely a strong female who is compassionate and focused on pursuing what she wants.

2. Plot- Though somewhat predictable, the story was absolutely tightly woven and riddled with complexity. While I was still at page 40ish or 50ish, I already have a burning suspicion that –insert name here—would be the culprit but I didn’t have any idea on how will Rowling construct the pieces of information to keep the story engrossing until the end. And she didn’t disappoint. There were plenty of red herring thrown into the story that had me thinking vigorously. Despite identifying the culprit during the early stage of the story, I was still shocked to have my suspicion confirmed. The manner of revelation was simply mind blowing.

3. Manner of Writing- No nonsense. Straightforward as crime fiction should be. And yes, I saw JK Rowling’s brand of humor here and there.

4. Providing the story a very realistic touch- I may not have enjoyed The Casual Vacancy as much as I thought I would but it didn’t stop me from appreciating the kind of message it conveyed. TCV had been perfect when it portrayed the two faces of human nature, the good and the bad. It was very honest. And I saw that in this novel.

5. Multi-racial casting- Like HP and TCV, JK Rowling has once again presented a cast of characters coming from different races with The Cuckoo’s Calling.

The Bad

1. Description- This is just a minor issue for me. For some reason, JK Rowling has a tendency to describe her characters using words intended for middle grade. For example,


Detective Inspector Roy Carver’s temper was mounting. A paunchy man with a face the colour of corned beef, whose shirts were usually ringed with sweat around the armpits, his short supply of patience had been exhausted hours ago.

I couldn’t stop smirking after reading the “corned beef” adjective. Reminds me of Ron who hated the stuff. And it makes wonder whether corned beef has played an important role to JK’s personal life. Hmmn.

2. Third Person POV- Unlike others, I am very much comfortable reading books using the 3rd person POV. But I would prefer for The Cuckoo’s Calling to be told using the first person POV. There were a few moments when I got confused in following the characters’ train of thoughts especially when they’re talking together.

3. Predictable- I would have been totally invested if not for the few predictable bits and pieces I found in the story.

To conclude…

The Cuckoo’s Calling, despite its few downfalls, is a complex tale of murder interwoven with sensitive realistic themes that would be immensely enjoyed by crime fiction junkies. I am looking forward to reading the next book of the series.

[Nessa Luna]

Read this review, and many more on my blog October Tune!

I don’t often read crime novels, just because they don’t interest me a lot, but I wanted to give this one a try because it was written by J.K. Rowling, and she’s just one of my favourite writers.

I kinda liked this book, and I actually thought it was thrilling, I really wanted to get to the last couple of pages, so I could see if Lula indeed had been murdered, and who would have done it. I can say I was surprised when I read the end, and I think I actually went:



And though I like Rowling’s writing, I was again annoyed by the fact that she likes to write out accents. Especially the accent of one of a woman that Strike interviewed was really annoying to read, and I actually found myself skipping the sentences she said a couple of times. I also found it a bit weird that with every part in the book (it had four or five parts in total I think) the chapter numbers started all over again. I mean, why not just continue the chapter numbers, but that’s just one of my little pet peeves.

Like I said, I liked the book, and out of all the characters I liked Robin, and her excitement about solving this case, the most. I really hope we’ll be seeing more of her in the following book(s), and I am sure I will continue to read this series, though my opinion on crime novels still hasn’t changed!