This book felt like it took forever for me to finish. I read the first 1/3 pretty quickly, and that the second 1/3 felt like pushing through cement, the last 1/3 flew by.

I was incredibly frustrated by the characters, most particularly Robin, throughout most of this installment. Her behavior was straight up irritating a lot of the time - her relationship with Strike was fraught and her relationship with Matthew was dysfunctional. The ending was the culmination of a series of misjudgments that made me want to slap her upside the head.

The mystery was a particularly grisly and disturbing, and the bits and pieces of insight we get from the mind of the killer were interesting. Rowling did a good job hiding the murderer in plain sight - her plotting is, as always, ingenious. There were points were I suspected pretty much everyone who showed up in the book, except for Strike and Robin. 

I even had a few minutes where I thought "could it be Matthew?" before rejecting that possibility out of hand. But it's a testament to Rowling's ability to keep me off balance that I considered it.

I'm still thoroughly annoyed by Robin's behavior, but I can't wait until Lethal White shows up at the library with my name on it!

When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.

Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.

With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…

 

I usually buy my books from local shops but recently I have been buying them online because I am lazy haha. My goto online bookstore is now Bonpaper after having the worst ever experience from Liberty bookstore.

 

Career of Evil Review

I felt the last book was really building to some relationship drama between Strike and Robin and this book did not disappoint! The killer involved was a great mystery as well. I was guessing the whole time who the guy could be and I was even questioning men like Wardle because I knew it would be someone we’d already met and I wanted to be ahead of Strike for once. I’d written the real killer off a long time before for similar reasons to Robin, but I really enjoyed figuring out what was going on.

The one thing that confuses me in the whole book is Robin and Matthew’s relationship. I don’t get why she keeps going back to him. Honestly, I don’t know if I could if my husband was as terrible as Matthew. Other than that, I loved the characters even more than in the last book and I can’t wait to see what Galbraith does with them from here. It’s going to be a very different dynamic in their relationship now.

I adore Robin. I love her even more now that she’s talked about his history a little more. She’s a very strong character and I feel like she’s finally learning how to be strong on her own because of her job with Strike. Again, if she hadn’t stuck with Matthew, I think I’d like her more, but I can see how she’d want to continue with the relationship. In all honesty, it was the easier decision. I hope that’s not why she did it, though.

I related to Robin more than I’d like to admit, but in a way that I think most married people can. I got cold feet for a bit during my engagement. There, I said it! I was 23 and getting married to someone I’d known since I was 14. I don’t think it’s unusual to second guess a life-changing decision for a minute before you make it and I know my husband and I had a few conversations that helped me feel reassured we were making the right decision. Though we had nothing as big as Robin and Matthew’s trust issues to deal with, yikes!

 

The investigation of the three men was great, but I really enjoyed the chapters from the killer’s point of view. It helped me guess along which was fun. One of the complaints I’ve had with this series is that you can’t try to figure out the murderer along with Strike because some things are kept from the reader. Having the chapters from his view helped me feel closer to the answer and once it was revealed, I felt like I should have figured it out! Not from Strike’s evidence but from something in one of those chapters. I thought this was a good addition to the book structure.

I’m repeating this a lot, but Robin staying with Matthew kind of bothered me. She’s strong and gutsy in work, but it doesn’t carry over into her personal life and it frustrates me. I wonder if this will start to develop going forward in the series. She seems a bit committed at this point, though!

The audiobook I listened to was narrated by Robert Glenister, the same man who narrated the first two books in the series. I think he does a great job with the books. He easily slips into an American accent when needed and I think (though I’m no expert) he does different accents for the British characters depending on where they’re from. None of it seems oddly forced and I really enjoyed listening to him read this book!

Robin’s revelation about her past was a big part of her character development in this book. I liked what Galbraith was saying about Robin being seen as more than the victim of her circumstances. Knowing that Rowling is a feminist and rather outspoken, this was a consistent message with what I know of her. Robin didn’t talk about what happened to her because she was seen as a victim and some saw her as inviting what happened to her. I think that happens a lot with rape victims and I think Rowling addressed what Robin went through well.

Writer’s Takeaway: I can’t get over how much I liked the chapters from the killer’s point of view! It added just enough dramatic irony that I stayed more engaged than I otherwise would have. For these hard-to-solve mysteries, it was great. Especially because the clue that gave it all away was something I, as an American, would never have picked up on.

I enjoyed this story a lot and I’m now eagerly anticipating the fourth installment. Five out of Five stars.

I enjoyed The Cuckoo’s Calling so much, like being reacquainted with Strike and Robin, that I wanted to read the third book in the series, Career of Evil, right away. Bingo came calling, though and since I knew it’d fit perfectly I hung on….by the shards of my nails!

Career of Evil picks up pretty soon after Cuckoo’s Calling with Robin preparing for her impending wedding to Matthew, her fiance. Strike’s P.I business is doing well, he’s got a good number of clients and is finally beginning to make traction. All that comes crumbling down, though, when Robin receives a package in the mail which contains a severed leg! His business begins to feel the strain as people see him as being connected with the killer. Strike has 3 possible culprits in mind, so he and Robin begin investigating them.

This was my favourite book in the series. I really liked Cuckoo’s calling because it built on Strike and Robin’s relationship, but this one went a step further. What’s most important here is what’s not said between the pair as they spend an increasing amount of time with each other. Their relationship becomes deeper and with that comes another dimension, exacerbated by a crisis between Robin and Matthew. I did feel there was a certain completion to their relationship at the end, so maybe the next book will focus more heavily on the case they’re investigating.

As always with JK Rowling aka Robert Galbraith, every conversation, every character, every plot development is meticulously thought out and therefore has an authenticity it’s hard to find elsewhere. I know I say a lot that characters are very believable and authentic, but with JK Rowling it’s of a higher degree than most other books. She doesn’t overload on details, gives just enough and weaves it through a narrative which is hard to put down.

Like the second instalment this one is quite grizzly, so bear that in mind if you pick it up.

I’m on the library list already for the next instalment (which isn’t even out), but seeing as I’m waaayyyy down I think it’ll be a while before I get to it. I’d be more eager to read it if I thought the relationship between Robin and Strike was going in a new direction, but I don’t feel that. In a way this book felt like a line was drawn under their relationship. I’ll still read it, though…eventually.

I'm a little bit behind, but I just finished my first bingo read! Now I have to make a definitive choice in regards to markers. Get a move on Hol!

I'm taking this slow due to it being my bingo pre-read, or that's what I'm telling myself, slow reader that I am. It's really heating up, though, so I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep that up.