The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith {thoughts on}

Title: The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike #1)
Author: Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Publication Date: April 18, 2013
Pages: 455

Source: Library loanRating: 3.5 out of 5

I have to admit that this one would probably never have been on my radar had it not been for the tiny little fact that the author is really J.K. Rowling. As a huge fan of the Harry Potter series, I was extremely interested in this detective novel. The main character sounded interesting and I generally enjoy the genre.

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at just how much I like this book. The main character was different and though a bit hard to like at times, he felt real. His flaws and faults added to his charm. Throughout the book I was picturing him as a gruff friend of mine - sometimes saying the wrong thing because he just isn't sure how to say it.

The basic premise of the story is that Cormoran is a down and out private detective who's just broken up with his girlfriend. He doesn't have but one client which is hardly paying the bills and the breakup with the girlfriend made him homeless. He sleeps in his rented office. A veteran who lost part of his leg in the war, he's a no nonsense type of guy with a real eye for details. 

When attorney John Bristow asks him to look into the apparent suicide of his supermodel sister, Lula Landry, he delves head first into the mystery.

The mystery itself is tight and well thought out. The characters are varied with great storylines. I enjoyed Cormoran's character the best of them all but the somewhat side character, Lula, is quite interesting as well. All the modeling aspects of it were fun to read about. The writing was almost too lush for me. I sometimes had a bit of trouble with the flow. Long, complex sentences were filled with many details. This was sometimes a bit hard to remember and keep straight.

It's a bit hard for me to be able to review a mystery without giving away too much of the plot. I very much enjoyed it and was interested in the final resolution. I will definitely be reading the next in the series since I'd love to learn more about Cormoran.