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Jun 23, 2018PimaLib_ChristineR rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I like to think that I would give this book the same review whether I knew who the author was or not. I can see why Rowling chose a male nom de plume. The Cuckoo's Calling is very much in the vein of the classic American hard-boiled detective mysteries by Hammett or Chandler (yeah, I said it). If Humphrey Bogart were still alive, I could see an American version of this book being a movie in which he would star. The almost-avian-named detective, Cormoran Strike, is a veteran of Afghanistan who wants no pity for his injuries and no easy-ins because of his famous father's name. Robin Ellacott, his new temp secretary, is more than an Effie to his Sam Spade. Besides keeping Strike's secrets, and making her boss look good, as any good Effie would, Robin discovers that she has a love of investigative work and happily takes lead in several aspects of the story. Like those classic detectives, Strike is a character well aware of the lives of the elite, the different set of rules they play by, without being part of that world. Rowling masterfully creates this tension through Strike's background. His mother was a famous groupie and his father a rock star. Living with his mother as she goes from band to band and then along with her on her downward spiral, Strike is always in the dark shadow of the rich and famous. It's not surprising then that his on-again-off-again relationship is with a wealthy woman who treats him as something of a pet. It's also what let's him slide between worlds as he investigates the supposed suicide of a model. Lulu Landry has fallen from a balcony three months prior. Strike is about to lose his business and has left the home he shared with his girlfriend when Landry's brother offers him a job investigating her death. Rowling writes a terrific mystery, full of twists, turns and thrills to the last moment, while also writing Strike and Robin as interesting characters with good backstories. I can't wait to read the next in this series and I'm glad to hear Rowling has many more mysteries in store for this team.