Book Review: The Cuckoo's Calling

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First of all, even if Robert Galbraith was not a pseudonym, I would have read The Cuckoo's Calling simply because I love reading mysteries. I had actually bought the Kindle version of the book from Amazon even before I knew who the real author of the book is (fyi, it's JK Rowling).

The story revolves around a private detective, Cormoran Strike. Mr. Strike used to be in the Army, deployed in Afghanistan, but his injury -- the loss of a leg -- had made him decide to become a private detective. He is the illegitimate son of a famous singer and had been brought up by his mother, Leda, who died of a drug overdose. His childhood had been difficult and his father was not really a part of it.

Cormoran has just broken up with his long-time girlfriend Charlotte and is sleeping in his office. He has debts to pay, very few clients and his temporary secretary, Robin has just shown up. Things are not looking too good. However, a lawyer named John drops by his office to hire him to look into the death of supermodel Lula Landry -- the lawyer's adopted sister.

Lula Landry was a famous supermodel. She had fallen to her death from her balcony and the police had ruled the death as suicide. Lula's brother, John, thinks different and he hires Cormoran to find out who killed his sister. Both John and Lula are adopted. They have been brought up by a wealthy family and Lula has had a history of depression which led the police to believe the death was a suicide although John insists Lula was not depressed the day she died. Cormoran was approached by the lawyer because he had been friends with the lawyer's elder brother, Charlie, who died from an accident when he was still a child.

The Cuckoo's Calling is an entertaining murder mystery. The story is pretty realistic and the reader can identify with the characters. It is also a very good read because the reader will really have to keep guessing as to "whodunit." I hope to read more Cormoran Strike books in the future.

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