The Cuckoo's Calling
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4.2 • 6.6K Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Published under a pseudonym, J. K. Rowling's brilliant debut mystery introduces Detective Cormoran Strike as he investigates a supermodel's suicide in "one of the best books of the year" (USA Today), the first novel in the brilliant series that inspired the acclaimed HBO Max series C.B. Strike. 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, creditors are calling, and after a breakup with his longtime girlfriend, he's living in his office. Then John Bristow walks through his door with a shocking 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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This droll and absorbing mystery became a bestseller after it was revealed that Robert Galbraith (the book’s author) was actually a pseudonym for Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling. Wounded veteran and scrappy private investigator Cormoran Strike is hired to investigate the apparent suicide of supermodel Lula Landry. Aided by his sharp and charming new secretary, Robin, the down-on-his-luck detective delves into the garish world of London’s nouveau riche to discover the shocking truth about Lula’s last days. Rowling’s crisp prose, colorful characters, and dark humor make The Cuckoo’s Calling a thoroughly entertaining classic crime novel.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In a rare feat, the pseudonymous Galbraith combines a complex and compelling sleuth and an equally well-formed and unlikely assistant with a baffling crime in his stellar debut. When office temp Robin Ellacott reports for work, she's unprepared for the shabby office or the rude greeting she receives from London PI Cormoran Strike. Soon after, John Bristow arrives and asks Strike to look into the putative suicide of his adopted, mixed-race sister, supermodel Lula Landry. Strike reluctantly agrees, even though the police have concluded a high-profile investigation. A decorated Afghan vet with an artificial lower leg, Strike begins a meticulous reinvestigation that leads him into a world of celebrities and wannabes, as well as deep into Landry's sad rollercoaster life. The methodical Strike and the curious Ellacott work their way through a host of vividly drawn suspects and witnesses toward an elegant solution. Readers will hope to see a lot more of this memorable sleuthing team.
Customer Reviews
Full marks
Having just discovered Mr. Galbraith's true identity, I hastened to purchase this book and have very much enjoyed it. I was, and remain, an immense fan of the author's previous, and more well known works, published under another name, and I found that this was written in the same comfortable and easy style I so enjoyed, but with a grounding in the real world. It is satisfying to know that the author has just as firm a foothold in real life London as in some other diagonal versions of that city. The story is related with humor and levity but also harsh truth. Well crafted and well plotted, and wholly thrilling.
J.K. Rowling in disguise!!
I'm glad I read before finding out it was Ms. Rowling. Well written! Great edition to the mystery genre. I wish she was able to keep up charade longer. Without the hype, it was more special!
Great summer read!
Just around the middle of July I find myself hunting for a novel to whisk me away on a bit of well needed diversion. Kind of Pavlovian, really. Guess we all need a little magic to lift us out of our tiresome and largely art-deficient world. While I've missed one particular author during her semi-absence (for the past couple of years), Mr. Galbraith's entry into the mystery genre is a true gift. Here's hoping for more surprises from this promising new author.