The Cuckoo's Calling (A Cormoran Strike Novel, 1)
Published under a pseudonym, J. K. Rowling's brilliant debut mystery introduces Detective Cormoran Strike as he investigates a supermodel's suicide in "one of the best books of the year" (USA Today), the first novel in the brilliant series that inspired the acclaimed HBO Max series C.B. Strike.
After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, creditors are calling, and after a breakup with his longtime girlfriend, he's living in his office.
Then John Bristow walks through his door with a shocking story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry -- known to her friends as the Cuckoo -- famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.
You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.
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Community Reviews
It was an enjoyable read. The more I read , the more I got into it.
Cormoran Strike, private detective, take on a case of super model suicide, which turns out to be murder. Strike has his own problems, broke up with girlfriend, owes money, lack of business and needs a secretary. Along come Robin, from a temp agency. She turns out to more than just a gal who answers phones and does filing. She is the assistant that Strike needs.
Cormoran Strike, private detective, take on a case of super model suicide, which turns out to be murder. Strike has his own problems, broke up with girlfriend, owes money, lack of business and needs a secretary. Along come Robin, from a temp agency. She turns out to more than just a gal who answers phones and does filing. She is the assistant that Strike needs.
How relevant is the humane-ness of the detective in a mystery thriller. Be it Sir Doyle's Mr Sherlock Holmes or Miss Christie's Miss Marple or Mister Poirot, They all seem rather the fictional and idolized images of the divinity of justice than the human detective. They are never explored for their emotions but they are celebrated for their cognitive reasoning.
I wonder, had miss Rowling not put the truth about her being Robert Galbraith and not trust a hefty and unfair comparison upon mister Strike from Master Potter, Mister Galbraith would have gone to be celebrated as one of the finest detectives of this era and worthy to be placed in comparison with any of his fellow detectives. Unlike them he has a character, he has a humanity about him that the others lack. He sounds one among us rather than one among the angels of justice.
What seems now be seen is whether there will come another installment in the life of Mr Strike and whether he will rise to become a series or shall the competition from the fantastical Potter and his band of wizard become too much and Would Mr Strike suffer a terrible death or even worse a demise of character. This very thought sends a shudder down my spine.
The one thing that I again and again say that I find unique to Rowling's writing is the sense of character she has bothered to give Mr Strike without compromising on the mystery though tried and tested as it has always been in the genre.
I would happily recommend the book as one of the finest mysteries I have ever read and when not viewed in the glitz and glamour of Potter, Mr Strike is a superior detective and a fine example of Miss Rowling Literary and Creative skills.
I wonder, had miss Rowling not put the truth about her being Robert Galbraith and not trust a hefty and unfair comparison upon mister Strike from Master Potter, Mister Galbraith would have gone to be celebrated as one of the finest detectives of this era and worthy to be placed in comparison with any of his fellow detectives. Unlike them he has a character, he has a humanity about him that the others lack. He sounds one among us rather than one among the angels of justice.
What seems now be seen is whether there will come another installment in the life of Mr Strike and whether he will rise to become a series or shall the competition from the fantastical Potter and his band of wizard become too much and Would Mr Strike suffer a terrible death or even worse a demise of character. This very thought sends a shudder down my spine.
The one thing that I again and again say that I find unique to Rowling's writing is the sense of character she has bothered to give Mr Strike without compromising on the mystery though tried and tested as it has always been in the genre.
I would happily recommend the book as one of the finest mysteries I have ever read and when not viewed in the glitz and glamour of Potter, Mr Strike is a superior detective and a fine example of Miss Rowling Literary and Creative skills.
The last 25% of this book was good it seemed to take forever to get there. I have not read too many mystery books so maybe it's just not my kind of book.
I love J K Rowlings' ability to give the reader room to form their own opinions and conclusions, not just on the detective work, but on the surrounding characters, suspects and affiliates. I found the book to get very gripping mid-way through and was constantly second guessing everything and everyone, which makes for a great page turning experience. If you want a book with strong characters, edge of your seat twists and clues, thought provoking details and all round thrilling entertainment I would highly recommend this book. I loved it!
J.K. Rowling delivers again -- but not what you might expect. On the surface, this book is a very plain mystery thriller: a beautiful model's fall to her death from a balcony is deemed a suicide, but a distraught brother can't shake the feeling she was murdered and hires a P.I. to look into the matter. The book was a tad meandering and predictable (although there were some nice twists), but what really stood out (and what always stands out in Rowling's novels) was the completeness of character. All her characters are rich and layered, lending an intimateness and a sympathy which I more and more find to be lacking in stories solely driven by plot.
The plot, however, is engaging. With Rowling's last "adult novel," I slogged through it. The last two hundred pages were terribly exciting and went by at a pretty solid clip, but the first three hundred were painful: slow, tortured, and depressing. The same is not true for this book. It starts off with the tragic portrayal of sensational model Lula Landry's untimely fall from her home's balcony in the middle of a cold January morning. It's almost clinical and it conveys the bizarre dichotomy between the raw emotion of the difficult subjects encountered and the distanced, methodical approach of the detective. The story revolves around Lula's absence, but the main character is Cormoran Strike, a grizzled, overweight, middle-aged amputee veteran. He is the ultimate underdog, pathetic and unattractive and on difficult times. The other main character, however, leaves a little to be desired. Robin, his impromptu temp secretary is appealing, observant, and very normal, providing a nice counterbalance to the chaotic and newly tumultuous life of Strike. When Lula Landry's brother, John Bristow, comes to Strike looking for help looking into his sister's death, it's just the stroke of luck Strike needs. He begins to doggedly look into her end, trying to turn up something where everyone says there was nothing. It's a pretty classic plot structure, complete with a cast of vaguely stereotypical characters (a rapper, a film producer, hangers-on, famous, leggy models, bland lawyers), but it's the detail that gives this story its punch. Plus, I didn't see the whole end of the novel coming.
Once again, a message to the fans of Harry Potter. I said this in my review of The Casual Vacancy and I say it to every person that I talk to about her books. If you can't separate the author from the series, then don't read this. You will be disappointed. But Rowling is an author and she should be allowed to write whatever she wants. If you can distance yourself from the Harry Potter series and just concentrate on the writing itself, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by this book. It's a decent read, enjoyable and fun. One of my favorite things, too, is how you can tell it's Rowling. Her literary style always shines through, and moreso in this book than Vacancy. I also enjoyed this one bounds and leaps more than Vacancy, which was (as I already alluded to) depressing and arduous. I do wish the conclusion had been a bit more satisfying, but on the whole I am pleased.
I would definitely recommend this one.
The plot, however, is engaging. With Rowling's last "adult novel," I slogged through it. The last two hundred pages were terribly exciting and went by at a pretty solid clip, but the first three hundred were painful: slow, tortured, and depressing. The same is not true for this book. It starts off with the tragic portrayal of sensational model Lula Landry's untimely fall from her home's balcony in the middle of a cold January morning. It's almost clinical and it conveys the bizarre dichotomy between the raw emotion of the difficult subjects encountered and the distanced, methodical approach of the detective. The story revolves around Lula's absence, but the main character is Cormoran Strike, a grizzled, overweight, middle-aged amputee veteran. He is the ultimate underdog, pathetic and unattractive and on difficult times. The other main character, however, leaves a little to be desired. Robin, his impromptu temp secretary is appealing, observant, and very normal, providing a nice counterbalance to the chaotic and newly tumultuous life of Strike. When Lula Landry's brother, John Bristow, comes to Strike looking for help looking into his sister's death, it's just the stroke of luck Strike needs. He begins to doggedly look into her end, trying to turn up something where everyone says there was nothing. It's a pretty classic plot structure, complete with a cast of vaguely stereotypical characters (a rapper, a film producer, hangers-on, famous, leggy models, bland lawyers), but it's the detail that gives this story its punch. Plus, I didn't see the whole end of the novel coming.
Once again, a message to the fans of Harry Potter. I said this in my review of The Casual Vacancy and I say it to every person that I talk to about her books. If you can't separate the author from the series, then don't read this. You will be disappointed. But Rowling is an author and she should be allowed to write whatever she wants. If you can distance yourself from the Harry Potter series and just concentrate on the writing itself, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by this book. It's a decent read, enjoyable and fun. One of my favorite things, too, is how you can tell it's Rowling. Her literary style always shines through, and moreso in this book than Vacancy. I also enjoyed this one bounds and leaps more than Vacancy, which was (as I already alluded to) depressing and arduous. I do wish the conclusion had been a bit more satisfying, but on the whole I am pleased.
I would definitely recommend this one.
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