The Cuckoo’s Calling is another book that’s been on my tbr for a really long time, but I’m not big on the genre so kept on passing it up. It’s also written by J.K. Rowling (who goes under a pen name here) and I was a bit nervous about reading something written by her that isn’t Harry Potter. But when I hit on the booklikesopoly square that told me to read a thriller or adventure, I decided to change that and give this a try. I needn’t have been worried that I wouldn’t like it because I ended up loving it and plan to read the rest of the series just as soon as I’m ready for it.

The book follows Cormoron Strike, ex-military turned private eye who’s very much down on his luck. When we meet him he’s just broken up with his girlfriend, doesn’t have a place to call home and is up to his eyes in debt.

A temp from a recruitment agency he’s been using, Robin, turns up and before he can ask her to leave (because he can’t afford her), she helps him out with the case he’s taken on and they strike up a relationship that’s the cornerstone of the novel.

Even though I found the plot a little convoluted at times, I loved the characters. What I especially loved was their interactions. For example, the relationship between Cormoran and Robin was so authentic, underscored perfectly by the excellent dialogue they exchanged with one another. I felt I really got to know Cormoran, especially his prosthetic limb!

All of this is not to say I didn’t have problems with the novel. To me the ending verged on theridiculous and spoiled some of my enjoyment. I did (for a fleeting moment earlier in the novel) consider that the person who turned out to be the killer was the killer, but I quickly discarded it because it seemed so ludicrous. But then it actually was this person! The characters made up for it, though, and I can’t wait to read more.

Other than the ending, which I'm really not sure about, I enjoyed this a lot.

I'm loving this! The characterisation is so vivid that I don't even care about the plot! The plot's excellent, though, don't get me wrong. And there are another couple of books in the series. Result!

Book: The Cuckoo’s Calling

Author: Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling

Genre: Fiction/Mystery

Summary: After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to just 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. - Little, Brown and Company, 2013.

I'm going to openly admit that the only reason this book landed on my 'To Read' list was because I found out that J.K. Rowling was the author behind the pen name.  Of course, I'm not saying that this book would have never landed on my 'To Read' list at all.  The words 'private investigator' and 'murder mystery' typically find their way to me one way or another and I'll find myself contemplating the book eventually.

It just happened to help propel things that I love the way J.K. Rowling writes.

As far as The Cuckoo's Calling is concerned, I'm finding it quite enjoyable so far.  The introduction of the suicide, the characters, and the possible murder mystery are paced smoothly.  The writing is great, though I feel like I'm seeing a distinct difference from the way Harry Potter was written -- which would be a given considering the fact that Ms. Rowling is going for a different genre and target audience altogether anyway.

To be honest, had I not known that Robert Galbraith is J.K. Rowling, I probably wouldn't have made the connection.  Then again, it's not like I'm some sort of literary book genius either; I don't always pick up specific writing style habits from favorite authors.

Nonetheless, after a long wait to check this book out from the library, I finally got it and will see how the rest of the story fairs.  I'm sure I'll enjoy it since it's got a lot of my favorite elements at play.  Just as well, it seems fast-paced and to the point, though the crime/murder mystery aspect and the characters don't seem all too unique.

Here's hoping for a great experience from one of my favorite authors in an entirely different genre!