The Cuckoo's Calling (A Cormoran Strike Novel) (Paperback)

Staff Reviews

This is the first book of a mystery series that follows the misadventures of Cormoran Strike, a former soldier now private investigator living in downtown London, and his new assistant/secretary Robin, a young girl working for a temp agency.

A famous supermodel named Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, jumps to her death. Being a celebrity, the police take the case very seriously and, after much investigation, conclude that her death was of her own volition.

Months later, her brother John Bristow, still refusing to believe that his sister would commit suicide, comes to Cormoran Strike for help. After losing his leg to a landmine in Afghanistan, Cormoran uses his expertise to become a private detective, but he is now down on his luck. His longstanding girlfriend just dumped him, he is down to one client, and he is not even sure how he’s going to be able to pay for his new secretary. Needing the money, he decides to take the case and look into the death of John’s sister, which leads him into the upper social circles of supermodels, designers, and rock stars.

Robert Galbraith, a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling (author of Harry Potter and Casual Vacancy), does a spectacular job with showing a celebrity-obsessed London, and creates exceptional character depth in this book! You’ll get a real sense of Cormoran’s desperation and loneliness, or Robin’s eagerness to help her boss and learn more about the exciting realm of being a private detective. A must-read mystery series!