The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike) eBook: Robert Galbraith: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Formats

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Kindle Edition

�7.49

Hardcover

�8.00

Paperback

�7.99

Audio, CD, Audiobook, CD, Unabridged

�25.00

Audio Download, Unabridged

�14.85

or Free with Audible.co.uk 30-day free trial

Product Description

Review

The Cuckoo's Calling reminds me why I fell in love with crime fiction in the first place (Val McDermid)

One of the most unique and compelling detectives I've come across in years (Mark Billingham)

One of the best crime novels I have ever read (Alex Gray)

Everytime I put this book down, I looked forward to reading more. Galbraith writes at a gentle pace, the pages rich with description and with characters that leap out of them. I loved it. He is a major new talent (Peter James)

Just once in a while a private detective emerges who captures the public imagination in a flash. And here is one who might well do that . . . There is no sign that this is Galbraith's first novel, only that he has a delightful touch for evoking London and capturing a new hero. An auspicious debut (Daily Mail)

In a rare feat, Galbraith combines a complex and compelling sleuth and an equally well-formed and unlikely assistant with a baffling crime in his stellar debut . . . Readers will hope to see a lot more of this memorable sleuthing team (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Laden with plenty of twists and distractions, this debut ensures that readers will be puzzled and totally engrossed for quite a spell (Library Journal)

A scintillating debut novel . . . Galbraith delivers sparkling dialogue and a convincing portrayal of the emptiness of wealth and glamour (The Times, Saturday Review)

Utterly compelling . . . a team made in heaven and I can't wait for the next in the series (Saga Magazine)

The detective and his temp-agency assistant are both full and original characters and their debut case is a good, solid mystery (Morning Star)

The plot could have come from an Agatha Christie novel and yet The Cuckoo's Calling is absolutely of today, colourfully written and great fun (Bookoxygen.com)

Galbraith demonstrates superb flair as a mystery writer (Birmingham Post)

This debut is instantly absorbing, featuring a detective facing crumbling circumstances with resolve instead of clichéd self-destruction and a lovable sidekick with contagious enthusiasm for detection . . . Kate Atkinson's fans will appreciate his reliance on deduction and observation along with Galbraith's skilled storytelling (Booklist)

The most engaging British detective to emerge so far this year . . . An astonishingly mature debut from Galbraith, it marks the start of a fine crime career (Daily Mail online)

Rowling is a formidable storyteller . . . the plot is tightly moulded and told (Mark Lawson, The Guardian)

A sharply contemporary novel full of old-fashioned virtues . . . wonderfully fresh and funny. I hope this is the inauguration of a series that lasts long enough to make Harry Potter look like a flash in the pan (Jake Kerridge, The Daily Telegraph)

The appeal of The Cuckoo's Calling doesn't depend at all on Rowling's prior status. All credit to her: she has created a really good series here. Strike will be back (Evening Standard)

Rowling's descriptions of contemporary London are excellent (Mail on Sunday)

It should come as no surprise that her first foray into crime fiction is so accomplished . . . a brilliant depiction of London life . . . at heart it's an engrossing and well-crafted who-dunnit. Unsurprisingly excellent (Sunday Mirror)

It's probably best, for the moment, to forget Robert Galbraith's real identity; this is a very good book in its own right (Independent)

Her crime debut beguilingly shows that she can renounce magic and yet be magical (Sunday Times)

An accomplished piece that thoroughly deserves its retrospective success (Financial Times)

A gripping, finely crafted and atmospheric mystery, and its charismatic hero, ex-solder-turned-private-eye Cormoran Strike, is a brilliant creation (Sunday Business Post)

Beautifully written with a terrific plot ... It's a terrific read, gripping, original and funny ... Please, please give us more of Robert Galbraith and Cormoran Strike (Daily Express)

The work of a master storyteller . . . This is a sharply contemporary novel full of old-fashioned virtues (Telegraph)

Book Description

The acclaimed first crime novel by J.K. Rowling, writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

See all Product Description

Product details

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 675 KB
Print Length: 464 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group (18 April 2013)
Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.� r.l.
Language: English
ASIN: B0091LLCTM
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray: Enabled

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,241 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #49 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #15 in Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Mystery
- #16 in Books > Fiction > Contemporary Fiction
- #16 in Kindle Store > Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Mystery

Would you like to give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

396 of 425 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith 23 April 2013

By S. Morris TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Audio Download

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.

16 Comments |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

52 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a crime debut - even if the writer is J K Rowling 28 July 2013

By Mr

Format:Hardcover

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.

3 Comments |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

205 of 232 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars East End Girls and West End Boys 15 April 2013

By Keris Nine TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

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. Read more ›

6 Comments |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Patient and meticulous 22 Aug 2013

By D. Harris TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine Review (What's this?)

I wish I'd been sharp enough to spot and read this before the real author's identity was revealed, because of course, knowing means it is more difficult to give a straight opinion.

However, ignoring the controversy as best I can, I think this is a winner. Galbraith/ Rowling's detective, Cormoran Strike, comes across part as a classic noirish figure - broke, chaotic private life, bunking down in his office - part, almost, as a Peter Wimseyish type: ex Army, contacts at all levels (though keeping family at arm's length) with a wartime past he'd rather ignore (one wonders whether in future books - and I hope there'll be more - temporary secretary Robin will help Strike to heal that as Harriet Vane did with Wimsey?)

Strike is a real and convincing character, methodically investigating the apparent suicide of a model. Rowling is meticulous in setting out the facts, letting the events unfold, without overt melodrama. I enjoyed the play of his questions: he makes progress slowly, solidly, recording everything, following procedure and spotting small details. Not at all chaotic or your typical hard boiled detective. In places the book is actually quite funny - for example, in the scene where a pompous family lawyer tries to head Cormoran off, but ends up being interviewed despite himself. The author has a real eye both for character and for settings - portraying the rather louche world where old money and ten-generation deep family networks overlap with supermodels, fashion designers and film producers (all under the glare of the paparazzi) with both sympathy and bite (including description of both the effect of phone hacking on its victims, and the dilemma of the newly, and unexpectedly, wealthy). Read more ›

Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes