Staff Pick
J. K. Rowling scores a big hit with her incognito foray into the mystery genre. No, she was not happy to be outed as Robert Galbraith, but her cantankerous, grumpy P.I. and excellent story will make you happy that she was. Here's hoping she continues making inroads into adult literature. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
A brilliant debut mystery in a classic vein: Detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel's suicide.
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, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.
Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing 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.
Introducing Cormoran Strike, this is the acclaimed first crime novel by J.K. Rowling, writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
Review
"Combines a complex and compelling sleuth and an equally well-formed and unlikely assistant with a baffling crime....A stellar debut." Publishers Weekly, starred review
Review
"Instantly absorbing, featuring a detective facing crumbling circumstances with resolve instead of clichéd self-destruction and a lovable sidekick with contagious enthusiasm for detection. Strike bears little resemblance to Jackson Brodie, but Kate Atkinson's fans will appreciate his reliance on deduction and observation along with Galbraith's skilled storytelling." Booklist
Review
"Plenty of twists....Totally engrossing....Galbraith's take on contemporary celebrity obsession makes for a grand beach read." Library Journal, starred review (Mystery Debut of the Month)
Review
"A page-turner featuring an uncommon hero....This engrossing story boasts a fascinating cast of fast-track suspects....Robert Galbraith has added a singular new voice to the genre of crime fiction with his engaging debut novel." BookPage
Review
"The Cuckoo's Calling reminds me why I fell in love with crime fiction in the first place." Val McDermid, bestselling author of The Vanishing Point
Review
"Cormoran Strike is an amazing creation and I can't wait for his next outing. Strike is so instantly compelling that it's hard to believe this is a debut novel. I hope there are plenty more Cormoran Strike adventures to come. A beautifully written debut novel introducing one of the most unique and compelling detectives I've come across in years." Mark Billingham, author of The Demands
Review
"Robert Galbraith's debut is as hardbitten and hard-driving as its battered hero. Cuckoo's Calling scales the glittering heights of society even as it plumbs the dark depths of the human heart. A riveting read from an author to watch." Mike Cooper, Shamus Award-winning author of Clawback
Review
"The private eye novel is not dead. It was merely waiting for Robert Galbraith to give it a firm squeeze, goosing it back to bold, new life. Hardboiled crime fans are going to go cuckoo for this one. I haven't had this much fun with a detective novel in years." Duane Swierczynski, Shamus and Anthony Award-winning author of Fun and Games
Review
"A remarkably assured debut. Robert Galbraith's portrayal of celebrity-obsessed modern London is at once beautifully written and utterly engrossing, his characters so real you could eat dinner with them, his ever-coiling plot guaranteed to keep you up past your bedtime. I couldn't put it down." Owen Laukkanen, author of The Professionals
About the Author
Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series and The Casual Vacancy.