The Cuckoo's Calling

J.K. Rowling writes her first novel under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, penning the initial novel in her series starring private detective Comoran Strike. After losing a leg in Afghanistan, Strike is back home and struggling to make it as a private detective. His credibility is practically shot and he is down to just one single client. To top it all off, he has recently broken up with his girlfriend, leaving him to live out of his office. He is rapidly falling in a downward spiral when a girl named Robin from an agency shows up at his office to work as his secretary. Robin is only supposed to stay on in a temporary position, but she ends up proving to be more than useful, standing alongside Strike for the duration of the novel.

One day a man named John Bristow walks into Strike's office seeking help on a case. His sister, a famous supermodel by the name of Lula Landry, fell to her death a few months earlier and it was ruled as a suicide. John is convinced that Lula did not kill herself and employs Comoran to delve into her world and find the truth.

The Cuckoo's Calling is a detective novel that gives a new look in to the character of the detective, as well as into that of a celebrity victim. Galbraith does a fantastic job of writing characters that are not predictable and keep the reader entertained the whole story through. Galbraith clearly has a strong talent as a novelist and it shows in this book. You'll be eager to read the next Comoran Strike novel in the installment. The Silkworm does not disappoint.