It's hard to believe now, but I used to hate reading. It was JK Rowling who got me, and many other children, into reading when she began writing Harry Potter all those years ago. So imagine my delight when I discovered that Robert Galbraith was indeed the pen name of JK Rowling.
I have very vivid memories of reading the final Harry Potter books underneath my duvet into the early hours of the morning, willing myself to read quicker than humanly possible so desperate was I to discover what would happen. More than a decade later I find myself in a déjà vu situation whilst reading The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith in bed with the torch of my iPhone, willing my eyes to stay open to I can uncover the murder mystery.
Whilst Harry Potter was filled with magic and the fantastical, the Cuckoo's Calling is set in real life London and contains suicide, celebrity life, and a grumpy detective. Whatever the plot, the most magical element of Rowling / Galbraith is her mastery of the English language, and her ability to create sentences that flow like silk.
The novel's protagonist is unlikely hero Cormoran Strike: private detective and classic underdog - no work, no home, and forced by financial needs to take on a case he wished to decline. The case - a seemingly cut and dry suicide of a famous model already shut by the police - slowly unravels as questions are asked, family ties are put to strain, and the darker politics of London’s super rich and famous are brought to light.
Cormoran's temporary new assistant, Robin Ellacott, is fresh, enthusiastic, and the perfect ying to Strike's yang. The way the pair's relationship slowly develops throughout the book is a satisfying subplot and is the start of a classic chalk and cheese duo; a strong partnership for future stories (Galbraith's second was released very recently).
It's hard to write a review without giving too much away, but the plot is complex, layered, and draws you in slowly before building into a satisfying ending that I genuinely didn't see coming (despite my greatest efforts at playing detective myself). You grow a real affinity with the characters in the book, and the world they inhibit is both fascinating and alien, whilst still being relatable.
If you love crime fiction, and find yourself wishing there was a modern day Sherlock Holmes, then I urge you to read this book. I could lose myself in Galbraith's writing, and I found myself having a literary comedown when I had to step out of Comoran Strike's world.
I think a great indicator of how good a book is, is how quickly you go out and buy the next one. As soon as The Silkworm was released, I found myself queuing at Waterstones, just like I did a decade ago on the Harry Potter release dates.
Until next time... X
