Career of evil by Robert Galbraith aka J. K. Rowling

"Career of evil" by Robert Galbraith aka J. K. Rowling. The book is published by Little brown book group in Oct 2015 and has 512 pages. This is Book 3 of Cormoran Strike series.

An unknown person sends a severed leg of a young girl to Strike and Robin. A lot of media attention comes their way due to Strike's fame and because he is an amputee. Strike identifies four possible suspects from his past, who may have a grudge. Body of the girl, owner of severed leg, is found. Investigation begins.

Why a leg is sent to Strike? What is the final objective? Who is behind this? Will Robin marry her long time boy friend finally? What is career of evil?

The big difference in this book, as compared to previous two, is that here the investigation becomes personal rather than professional. The answers lie in Strike's past.

The story is slow. Little happens in long stretches. Strike and Robin investigate there suspects based on Strike's hunch without an iota of evidence. Thus the book becomes a wild goose chase. It's monotonous. Readers continue to read only because they want to know who the killer is. And eventually when the killer is revealed, the clue lies in a photo.

Robin's upcoming marriage is on the verge of collapse. Why? Is there a hint of romance between Strike and Robin? Well this question remains in the minds of readers since Book 1, but again goes unanswered. In fact when the book ends, readers still wonder if Robin has married her fiancé or not. Would be clear in next book.

With every new book of the series, the quality of this series deteriorates. I have liked each next book less and less. Will I read next book of Cormoran Strike series? Probably not. Anyway, I will definitely not buy it.

Author has used titles of songs of American rock band, from 1970's, Blue Öyster cult as title of the chapters. But the relevance of the band to the story is flimsy.

I expected much more from J.K. Rowling.

Avoid.

Silkworm by Robert Galbraith aka J. K. Rowling

"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

The cuckoo's calling" by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling

"The cuckoo's calling" by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling (of Harry Potter fame).

Lula Landry, a mixed race adopted child of white parents and herself a very famous model, falls from the balcony of her apartment in the middle of a chilly winter night and dies. After investigations the police declare it as suicide. But her adopted brother is not convinced. He engages a, once brilliant, now broke and loser, detective Cormoran Strike and his latest temporary assistant cum secretary Robin to investigate.

Strike starts to investigate the case and puts the details together meticulously & methodically. There is a witness claiming it to be a murder but police prove that she was lying. Then there is another murder.

Who is the murderer? Her druggie  boyfriend? Her gay friend and fashion designer? Her co-model and friend? Her poor lady friend who has undergone treatment for mental illness? Her mother? Unknown stalker? An American rapper? Why was she murdered? Was she murdered?

Author has based the novel on the backdrop of fashion world. The lives and affairs of rich and fashionable are brought to the fore. The artificialness, hollowness, and addiction to drugs and publicity is shown effectively. The book employs foul language. The f*** word appears at least a thousand times in the book.

JK Rowling has taken her time to develop the plot. She has given a lot of attention to details. The buildup to the climax is slow. You neither get excited not bored. Sometimes I could feel influence of Agatha Christie due to attention to detail.

I was able to guess the murderer but not the modalities of murder.

Although the book is not in the same league as Harry Potter, it's a good book. Recommend reading.