[EN] Career of Evil - Robert Galbraith

Title: Career of Evil, Cormoran Strike #3
Author: Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
Publisher: Sphere
Release date: 2015 
Pages: 494

 

* This, he thought as he smoked his first cigarette of the day, was London: you started in a quiet, symmetrical Nash terrace that resembled a sculpture vanilla ice-cream. Elin's pin-striped Russia neighbour had been getting into his Audi, and Strike had received a curt nod in response to his 'Morning'. A short walk past the silhouettes of Sherlock Holmes at Baker Street station and he was sitting on a grimy Tube train surrounded by chattering Polish workmen, fresh and businesslike at 7 a.m. Then bustling Paddington, forcing a path trhough commuters and coffee shops, holdall over shoulder. Finally a few stops on the Heathrow Connect, accompanied by a large West Country family who were already dressed for Florida in spite of the early morning chill.*
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When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman's severed leg.Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less suprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible - and Strike knows that any of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality. With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them...

After Robin is sent a severed leg, Strike is losing his clients and business becomes difficult; it is quite understandable after all: who would want to hire a detective who is sent body parts by post? Robin and Strike start their investigation, but the truth will not be easy to uncover.

As we are once more taken to London looking for anything leading to the potential killer, we get to know our protagonists a little more. As it becomes clear that this act is intended as personal revenge against Strike, we learn about his childhood and his years in the SIB. Robin plays a more important role in the investigation this time and we discover elements of her past which explain her personality better as well as her relationship with Matthew. True to themselves, Robin and Strike are both still as attaching as they were in the previous books.

As the plot develops, we are given more and more insight in the killer’s head. We discover fragments of his life and his motivation. His psychology is elaborated and these short chapters help build up the tension as we understand his ultimate objective.

The case itself is enthralling. As usual, the author has thought every detail through and uses suspense with talent. The colourful language, be it for the descriptions or the familiar conversation between the various characters, will allow for a pleasant reading. Robin and Strike quickly have a list of three suspects, but it could be any of them… or anyone else. The readers will make their own assumptions, but they cannot be sure until the very end.

Talking about the end, it is a real cliffhanger. I could not believe the author was playing with us that much. It will be a long wait until the next book is released!

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* In short * 

Crime at its best

Back to London for a new case in the company of Robin and Strike: offering the reader glimpses of their past and of the killer’s psychology as well as an enthralling plot, Robert Galbraith writes once again a masterpiece.

[EN] The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith

Title: The Silkworm, Cormoran Strike #2
Author: Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
Publisher: Sphere
Release date: 2014
Pages: 455

 

* Writers are a savage breed, Mr. Strike. If you want life-long friendship and selfless camaraderie, join the army and learn to kill. If you want a lifetime of temporary alliances with peers who will glory in your every failure, write novels*
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  When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, she just thinks he has gone off by himself for a few days - as he has done before - and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.
But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realises. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel is published it will ruin lives - so there are a lot of people who might want to silence him.
And when Quine is found brutally murdered in bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before...
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 * Strike was used to standing for hours in the cold, watching darkened windows, following faceless strangers; to unanswered phones and doors, blank faces, clueless bystanders; to enforced, frustrated inaction. What was different and distracting on this occasion was the small whine of anxiety that formed a backdrop to everything he did.*

After the Cuckoo’s calling, we are back in London, this time in the world of publishers. When Leonora Quine asks Strike to look for her husband, author Owen Quine, everything tells him to refuse. Despite other people’s advice and his own doubts, he starts looking for him and soon finds out that there is more to the story than the childish tantrum of a temperamental novelist. Everything seems to revolve around Owen’s unpublished manuscript, in which he attacks about anybody he knew. As the police get interested in the case, Strike understands he needs to solve the case in order to prove Leonora innocent. Fortunately, he can count on Robin more than ever.

As you can expect with the second book of a series, the writing style remains the same and the main characters too. Some time has elapsed since Robin and Strike solved Lula Landry’s murder and it is a pleasure to find them unchanged. However, their relationship will evolve a lot with the Quine case and take a welcome unexpected turn. These two unconventional and original detective characters are no doubt the greatest strength of the book!

The plot itself is well thought and the author paid attention to every detail, which make the complicated story realistic in the point of view of the reader. However, I found the first part of the book rather complicated to follow. It might have been due to the many new characters introduced to us without much background information (which made it difficult for me to distinguish between them at first), to the numerous leads that Strike or the police have to follow or to the often changing point of view. This resulted in a great confusion, which fortunately disappeared as the story went on.

In The Silkworm, the author gives a harsh description of the publishing milieu which, given her background, can probably be rather accurate and maybe even personal. Nobody seems sincere and most characters are self-centred and opportunistic. There is no doubt that this contributes to building suspense because it is impossible to know which characters are telling the truth and which ones are trying to keep their secrets. For Strike, who does not know a lot about this world, it is also difficult to understand the relation between Owen’s unpublished work and his death.

The Silkworm is a good crime novel which will live up to the expectations of the fans of the Cormoran Strike’s series. I personally did not like is as much as the first book, because the beginning was too confusing, but we find our beloved characters again and the familiar writing style of the author!

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[EN] The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith

Title: The Cuckoo's Calling
Author: Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
Publisher: Sphere
Release date: 2013
Pages: 449

 

* Strike remembered the television pictures: the black body bag in a stretcher, flickering in a storm of camera flashes as it was loaded into an ambulance, the photographers clustering around as it started to move, holding up their cameras to the dark windows, white lights bouncing off the black glass. He knew more about the death of Lula Landry than he had ever meant or wanted to know; the same would be true of virtually any sentient being in Britain. Bonbarded with the story, you grew interested against your will, and before you knew it, you were so well informed, wo opinionated about the facts of the case, you would have been unfit to sit on a jury.*
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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. 
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 * How easy it was to capitalise on a person's own bent for self-destruction; how simple to nudge them into non-being, then to stand back and shrug and agree that it had been the inevitable result of a chaotic, catastrophic life.*

I must admit that my reasons for reading The Cuckoo’s Calling were perhaps not the best ones. I bought it when I learnt that Robert Galbraith was actually the pseudonym used by J.K. Rowling for her first crime book. As a fan of Harry Potter, I had to read it! It was not a spontaneous buy as usual, but I liked the cover picture of the book and its colours straightaway.

Having finished reading it, I wonder if it is a book I would have bought if I had just come across it at the bookshop. It probably is, not only because of the cover, but because it looked like a thrilling story in the first place… and it was indeed.

Famous model Lula Landry is found dead after she fell off her balcony on a snowy night. Given the girl’s difficult past and troubled present, the police assume that it is suicide, but her brother is not convinced. He asks private detective Cormoran Strike to look into the case, which is much more complex than it first appears to be. With the help of Robin, his temporary secretary, Cormoran investigates and starts to wonder whether Lula’s brother is actually right and the police made an enormous mistake when they decided it was suicide.

From the first pages, we are thrown into the typical atmosphere of London. Lula Landry being a successful and famous model, most of the characters related to the investigation come from upper-class society… a rather strange world where money and appearance are everything. The description seems extremely real –although I have not been able to see for myself– and is perfect for the plot. Many people have got secrets they do not want to see revealed. How do we know if the characters are sincere or if they act in their own interest?

We then also get to know a range of characters who come from a much lower rank in society. Lula was rich, but she had not always been. She knew fashion designers, models and other celebrities, but also poorer people and homeless. From Mayfair to the Eastern parts of the city, we discover the different social groups which are a feature of the population in London. By the writing style, we feel how the atmosphere changes, depending on where Cormoran is and who he is interacting with.

The protagonists are precisely described, with many details, and I quickly grew attached to Cormoran and Robin, while I immediately hated some other characters. The investigation is the main focus, but we also catch a glimpse of the characters’ personal life –which is sometimes rather complicated. This makes them more human and the story becomes even more realistic.

The mystery is thrilling, extremely well written and the atmosphere of the whole book perfectly fits the development of the plot. There are moving moments, but also times of fear and doubt; in perfect balance, the tension and the suspense build up until the breaking point, allowing the reader to make his or her own assumptions. Many of the characters are suspect, but what did actually happen in Mayfair the night Lula died?

The Cuckoo's Calling is the proof that J.K. Rowling’s success is not only due to her name. This thrilling mystery will keep every reader captivated until the very end… and surprise many by its resolution. An amazing read which I recommend to all: fans of J.K. Rowling, lovers of crime fiction and those who appreciate well-written and perfectly constructed stories.