The Cuckoo’s Calling

I still haven’t read A Casual Vacancy but I’m so excited I read this. I was very afraid I would not like it and then my whole life would be a lie. But I really really liked it. I just love they way J.K. Rowling writes. Her style is so distinct and I genuinely enjoy it. I love it when it’s about a boy wizard and also when it’s about a hardened detective.
A lot of this book seems to ruminate on Rowling’s thoughts on fame and wealth and the ways in which the people around you react to that. Specifically, with wealth you see the ways people react to having it and to not having it, a dichotomy she has famously been on both sides of.
I loved the slow burn conversational way the mystery was pulled out. It was fast enough for me to be surprised by the ending but slow enough that though I was longing for the next conversation I still had time to make little guesses. The way the story unfolded felt very much like I was following a real mystery. This very much links the reader into Robins psyche.
Speaking of Robin, the one thing I didn’t like about this book was the lack of Robin in most of the novel. She was handy and thoughtful and interesting when she was there but we spend most of the novel with Strike. Who I love.
I really really want to read the next two. I can’t believe I waited this long to read this book.
I will say in the beginning when there was a swear word I did get a childish spurt of glee at reading them. Then when there is a very vague hand job written I almost lost my mind for a second. I was like my childhood hero knows the word fuck. How delightful and weird.

I also can’t believe with how close I got to the right person, and knowing about the cuckoo bird I STILL was wrong about the murder. 

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads and finished it on August 20th, 2018.