The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

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.

Reviewed by Amber on

3 of 5 stars

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It took me a long, long time to get around to reading The Cuckoo’s Calling because I wasn’t sure I wanted to read anything by JKR that wasn’t set in the HP universe. I’m a bit weird like that. But I finally got to it and I enjoyed it, thank god, otherwise I would have been pretty distraught. (Also why I’m not reading The Casual Vacancy.)

I don’t have too much to say about The Cuckoo’s Calling, other than that it was enjoyable. I really liked the mystery and I mostly liked the way that JKR unveiled it. I had very, very few theories in regards to who the killer was, which is always a sign of a good mystery story for me.

I also liked learning about the backgrounds of various characters, particularly Strike and Robin. However, Robin wasn’t featured nearly enough for my liking. I would have preferred the book if there had been more of a balance between Strike’s POV and Robin’s. Firstly, because she was awesome, and also because having Strike know what was going on but not saying anything was odd since we were in his head. If the points of view had been more balanced, we could have spent more time with Robin without feeling as though Strike was hiding things from the reader just for that big reveal at the end.

That was my main problem with the story, and then there’s the fact that every single one of the female characters seems to be a bit dim. Strike interviews many women and they’re all either unintelligent or they have various issues. I mean, the male characters weren’t exactly flawless, but since we had very limited time was Flawless!Robin, it would have been nice to have some female characters who were just average or “normal” like some of the male characters.

I will definitely be picking up the sequel in the future, although I won’t be rushing out to buy it. Maybe I can buddy read it with someone like I did with this one.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 3 June, 2015: Finished reading
  • 3 June, 2015: Reviewed