Customer Reviews

The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike)

5 star:		(261)
4 star:		(96)
3 star:		(40)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

I came across this novel when browsing the new releases and thought it looked interesting and worth a read. I'm glad I took the punt because the Cuckoo's Calling is a terrific mystery story. The brother of a troubled model calls in a private investigator following her death in what the police are treating as suicide. Everything points to this but as we get deeper in to the novel it becomes clear that all is not as it seems.

The private investigator Cormoran Strike is a terrific character: ex-army turned P.I going through a messy separation from his fiancé and whose business is in real financial trouble he is immediately sympathetic. The other characters, from eccentric fashion designers to drug-addicted musicians feel real and the dialogue is believable. The mystery is satisfyingly complex with a nice conclusion that I didn't see coming.

One of the things that really set this book apart for me in the crowded genre of private investigator fiction was the quality of writing, depth of character and the wonderful sense of place Galbraith brings to the novel. Galbraith's vivid descriptions bring the story to life and we feel like we are there with Strike and his temporary secretary Robin as they solve the mystery. I suppose I would describe this as quite an old-fashioned style thriller with an emphasis placed on interviewing witnesses and gathering clues rather than action and this really helped with the character development.
I hope there will be more books in the series and I'll certainly read them if they are released. Very highly recommended.

p.s: excellent narration of the audio book from Robert Glenister.

So many reviews and that tells the story alone. J K Rowling is a literary sensation, after Harry Potter I confess I was slightly let down by Casual Vacancy, but I think I didn't bring enough to the book, and some of the overt politics grated.
However this book I loved. It shows a strong narrative ability that gives the lie to those that think that Rowling is just "lucky". She clearly works hard at her plotting and though over long in places the chapters keep pace and are always illuminating the plot.

I like the Robert Galbraith name, it gives her a chance in the tradition of other authors (King, Christie) to step away from the Potter brand - as a crime debut novel it is very good and I for one hope that she keeps the conceit going when she writes book two. The novel feels contemporary and realistic to the London I know and grounded in realistic and rich characters. Her opening chapters about the arrival of a temp to a new job ring true to someone who has temped and show that she has done her research and kept her grounded feel that the early Potter books had. The thing to remember about Rowling is that she writes books that are worth reading, she may not be writing the kind of literary fiction that one would study on an English Lit course, but she IS writing the kind of work that connects, enthrals and entertains readers. Sometimes a little misanthropic in its view of life but all in all a very absorbing read and I look forward to more in the series.

It's hard to put your finger on exactly what it is that makes The Cuckoo's Calling such a terrific new Private Investigator crime fiction debut. On the surface it seems straightforward, unexceptional and unambitious, everything fits the established conventions, there's nothing immediately new that stands out, and yet it's an utterly compelling read with strong characters that wraps you up completely and thrillingly into the investigation.

There's certainly nothing significantly new in the nature of the Private Detective at the centre of the book and series. Yes, the circumstances are a little different and the family background a little more colourful than most, but at heart, Cormoran Strike doesn't stray too far from the template - ex-army rather than ex-police, with a complicated personal life, a detective business that is on its last legs (no pun intended on Strike's service injury), clients are drying up, the loan that has set him up in London's Denmark Street is being called in and he's in the middle of a messy break-up with his fiancée. Nothing particularly noteworthy so far, not even the fact that the temp agency has just landed him with a new partner - sorry, a new secretary, Robin, who is only supposed to be around for a few weeks, but of course ends up making herself quite useful, not to say even indispensable, creating the obligatory mismatched team in the process.

There's nothing particularly exceptional either about the high profile case - the death of a supermodel - that lands in his lap and keeps the wolves away from the door just that little bit longer. Falling to her death from her third-floor Mayfair apartment, the verdict of suicide is obviously not accepted by the distraught brother of the family that had adopted her, even though she clearly had problems in the run up to her death, much of it stemming from a troubled relationship with her boyfriend, a Pete Doherty-style musician. For some reason there is particular emphasis made of the setting and the timing of the case, setting it specifically in London in 2010, in the last days of the Brown Labour government, without there seeming to be any particular social or political point to be drawn from this. Or perhaps there is some significance in the Amy Winehouse/Kate Moss celebrity lifestyle issues and pre-press hacking revelations that is worth exploring or considering. Even so, it hardly seems to be a subject that is going to make any major revelations.

And yet, The Cuckoo's Calling does indeed prove to be utterly compelling in its depiction of every aspect of this world that the investigation delves into. Like the main investigator team, the various colourful characters that they come into contact with during the investigation do often appear to fit standard types - film producers, fashion designers and big business corporate types on one side, contrasted that with ordinary working class security guards, chauffeurs, hangers-on and wannabes from the other side of London. Every bit of behaviour and every line of dialogue however is well-chosen, precise, accurate and revealing of the nature of the characters, and all the social content that is dredged up seemingly in passing proves to be in some way relevant to the questions of identity and background that the case raises.

If it's hard to pick out anything particularly striking or original about The Cuckoo's Calling, there is however this feeling of it being of a whole. The Private Investigator and his secretary Robin are not outsiders looking in on the lives of the people in their case, but they are as much a part of the whole fabric of the work, their involvement giving an authentic dynamic that interacts with the specific case and the people involved here and gets to the heart of the matter in a surprisingly effective and realistic manner. Undoubtedly, the strength of any great new series of detective fiction lies in establishing a firm connection between the PI and the world they operate in, and Robert Galbraith's creation of Strike and Robin in the contrasts of London life is subtly masterful, but just as importantly, the case is also brought to a good resolution. This is a very fine start to what looks like being a richly rewarding new crime series.

He's big, an ex-military policeman... but there any similarities with Jack Reacher end. Cormoran Strike, recently thrown onto his uppers, is refreshingly self-aware, conscious of his shortcomings and often diffident about displaying his strengths. His motivations in mounting his investigation - financial, curiosity, a growing connection with the victim - are deftly, often subtly, handled; at the same time, his consciousness of what he's doing and his feelings produce a level of irony that provides depth and wry humour.

We also see the story through the eyes of his temp, Robin, new to London, engaged to an accountant, and bubbling with enthusiasm. Cormoran and Robin start their relationship operating from an office around Tottenham Court Road, in an area fittingly being rebuilt. The office, its surroundings and the areas in which they investigate are realised with an impressive sense of place. The plot is also rich in possibilities that stem from timing, place, faulty recollection and of course downright lies.

The story stutters in places. There are times when the pace struggles slightly under the weight of the different lines; at times, as Strike moves from witness to witness to witness, the story can drag a little: a few more reveals in the first half would have been welcome. While the central characters are given light and shade, some of the minor characters are unrelentingly one-dimensional: the money-grabbing sisters might have had one or two mitigating features; the super-model who seems to be airhead does surprise but it's with her news that she has a deferred place at Cambridge.

But these are quibbles. The book is swept along by the central characters and the core mystery, both strong enough to suggest an exciting series - and strong enough to suggest the author may prove to have had her Potter phase. (How many authors have been truly successful in different genres?)

It is difficult to read the book without being conscious of the author's views on privacy and the effects of fame. This theme is explored with a sure touch and involves many of the characters in the book - not least Strike himself and that helps forge another link of empathy between him and the victim: and in turn that helps provide a heartbeat to the story.

It was easy to get into the story and the people described but what a shame that it contains so much swearing. I'm no prude and recognise that swearing is part of every day life but I don't need it to this degree when I'm reading and found it very boring in this case. It almost put me off finishing the book and I doubt that I would read another of this type by the same author.

Loved this book! Great characters, great plot, could clearly picture scenes from descriptions. I can't wait for the next one!

I have no idea whether I would have found this book without all the J K Rowling wrote it furore. I downloaded a sample for my Kindle out of curiosity and was hooked!

I loved the characters of Cormoran Strike and his secretary, Robin. In fact all the characterisation was great including that of the murder victims who are often barely more than names on a page.

I really hope that "Robert Galbraith" continues this series and am eagerly looking forward to the next book.

Loved this book. Excellent story with a twist at the end, quite unexpected. Without giving anything away it's a very good murder mystery, each character has his / her own story to tell fuelling the mystery further.

This is a well written crime novel. It is well paced and the characters are believable. It reminds me a little of early P.D. James books. I would never has guessed it was J.K. Rowling. I look forward to the next in the series (hopefully there will be one)!

I enjoyed the book up to the point of the final denouement, but found the identity of the murderer completely unbelievable and therefore profoundly unsatisfying, which therefore ruined the whole book for me. If the series carries on, I won't be buying any more of them!