This is the 4th book in the Cormoran Strike detective series written by J.K. Rowling under her pseudonym, Robert Galbraith, and she is really getting in the groove here. This outing has Strike and his business partner, Robin, trying to dig up the goods on a supposed blackmailer and also looking into cryptic allegations of a cold case murder. In diving into these investigations, which share some common threads, we’re introduced to scheming British cabinet ministers, horse-owning aristocrats, labour activists and the odd wiccan shopkeeper, all against the backdrop of the 2012 London Olympics. It’s a complex twisty and turn-y mystery and although I suspected part of the ending it was fun getting there (I also learned a little about horses, so if I’m ever lunching with the equestrian set I’ll have some background).
I really enjoyed this installment- it might be my favourite of the series? The best part, as always, is Strike and Robin doing their professional/ personal dance, and although we’re still waiting for any declarations of romance by either of them, this novel felt like we were at least making moves towards something akin to romance. (Personally I’m reeeaaally hoping that Robin is done with Matthew, who is an unsupportive and obnoxious a*hole).
The only downside here, which was really a mixed blessing, was the length- 650 pages! This made it hard to carry around and read on the morning commute or even to read in the bathtub (so heavy!). It also cost me some library fines (I couldn’t renew because other readers had holds). The upside was that I had more pages to spend with Strike and Robin, and since the last half of the novel is better than the first, I actually wasn’t upset about the length.
