I really enjoyed this book, read it not knowing it was written by J. K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame. And I just read that a sequel will appear in June called THE SILKWORM.
Like many mysteries, or detective stories, the plot seems often secondary to the characters, especially the detective or PI. And Rowling has created a memorable private investigator in Cormoran Strike, a one legged Army veteran, of the Afghanistan wars, illegitimate son of a British rock star and a groupie, for now penniless and in debt, as he starts his business with the death of the beautiful model Lulu Landry. Hired by Lulu's step brother, it's Strike's case to prove her fall from a balcony was not a suicide. The other half of the team is Robin, initially a temp because Strike can hardly afford any help but as the novel progresses, as Robin becomes more and more enamored with detective work, we sense that the two might eventually make a good team, if Cormoran would open up a bit, about his former life, loves, and his present situation. All of this becomes clear as the two become closer and closer, as Robin proves her detecting worth, despite the warning of Robin's fiancee, Matthew, who thinks Strike must be a bounder.
We flounder for while, as does Strike and Robin, thinking the perpetrator is, at first, Lulu's loser boy friend, known for drugs and bad boy antics. Then, we think it might be Lulu's uncle, someone who has always disliked the adopted, mixed race Lulu, perhaps even envied her most of his life. And there is the door man, and the young, good looking driver of Lulu's, both who have also been questioned as to their whereabouts. Slowly, bit by bit, the tenacious and meticulous Cormoran's note taking pays off, as he's able to put together the facts and confront the killer, getting him finally to admit his guilt, his reasons for killing Robin. I won't let on who 'done it,' so you will have to read the book, well worth while. I cannot wait till June to read the next Cormoran Strike mystery.
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