"Silkworm" by Robert Galbraith aka J. K. Rowling. The book is published by Sphere in June 2014 and is 464 pages long. This is the second book (after The Cuckoo's calling) of Cormoran Strike series.
After solving the Lula Landry murder in first book, Cormoran Strike has become famous. Now he gets the work regularly and has rented a small apartment, above his office, to live. Robin is now his permanent secretary.
A new case comes to him. A writer, Owen Quine, has disappeared. His wife thinks he has gone away; being a writer and moody. But he hasn't. He has really disappeared. He was writing a book titled 'Bombyx mori'. Bombyx mori is a Latin name for a silkworm. Quine has added characters in this book based on real people in his life like his publisher, editor, competitor, wife, girlfriend, agent, he himself etc. His manuscript was never published.
Cormoram Strike finds him dead. His murder is elaborate, sadistic and grotesque, literary in inspiration and ruthless in execution. Moreover he dies exactly in the way protagonist of his unpublished book dies. Now Strike starts murder investigation.
Who killed the writer? What was the motive? Who had the opportunity? Was it a suicide? Can Cormoran Strike find the killer? What are aspirations of Robin?
Cormoran Strike spends a lot of time making the ends meet rather than investigating. The relationship between Cormoran and Robin has crystallized in this book and it appears that author has delayed the inevitable for subsequent books.
Although the plot is not bad, author does not demonstrate the flair that was evident in first book. The story starts at a decent pace but drags for major portion of the book. Narration is not interesting and I had a serious thought of whether I should abandon reading.
This book is definitely not as good as the first one.
AVOID
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