Cormoran Strike Mystery Series Review

I finally decided to read the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith, also known as J. K. Rowling. As a fan of mystery novels and a fan of J. K. Rowling, you would think that I would have grabbed these books the second they were released, but somehow they never really piqued my interest that much. Recently though, while searching for some page-turning mysteries, I decided to finally give them a read. I ended up reading them all back to back within one week, so it’s fair to say that I’m completely hooked.

The series centres around Cormoran Strike, an Afghan war veteran struggling to get by as a private investigator. His girlfriend has left him and he is down to one client when a mistake by a temp agency sends him an assistant. Robin has recently moved to London and this temp assignment is not something she expected, but it is certainly interesting. From here we dive into the cases investigated by Strike and Robin, while getting to know the two characters and see the development of their partnership.

There are currently three available novels: The Cuckoo’s Calling, The Silkworm, and Career of Evil. My least favourite ended up being the first book, The Cuckoo’s Calling, which focused on the suspicious death of a Hollywood starlet. This mystery did not interest me very much and I found it pretty forgettable, however I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Strike and Robin so I was eager to continue with the series. I was happy I did because The Silkworm ended up being my favourite of the trio. Here, Strike is tasked with solving a gruesome murder of a controversial novelist, and the bizarre nature of the case held my attention throughout. The third novel, Career of Evil is suspenseful as well, but a little different because it delves more into the personal lives of Robin and Strike. I enjoyed this aspect, although towards the end it started to feel like something that belonged in a soap opera. I may not mind this as much depending on what happens in the next novel, so I will have to wait and see until then.

Overall the mysteries themselves are nothing spectacular, but what drew me in were the the main characters who are compelling and well developed. I would say that all three books have the issue of sometimes being a little long-winded, and take slightly too long to get to the point at times. However this did not detract too much from my overall enjoyment. This is an entertaining mystery series and one I will happily follow. Luckily the wait for the next book is not long at all!

Lethal White is set to be released September 18, 2018.