I read a very good review of the fifth in the series and was looking for an easy and distracting read while going through a month of distressing family illness - so, I thought why not start with number one in the set. Characters nicely formed but not up to JK Rowlings dense Harry Potter plots... but then, as she was pretending to be a new author I guess she didn't want to enter the world looking like a fully formed author... It is a bit filmic, the narrative is all around Strike but it suited the purpose I had for it, it was an easy read, not too tangled a plot while I was struggling to concentrate and not so riveting that it stopped me falling asleep! I bought the second one too so will work my way through, expecting the plots to become more sophisticated perhaps once JK Rowlings identity was revealed

The Cuckoo's Calling is a fascinating story about a grumpy, Cornish, amputee veteran turned private investigator, based in Soho, called Cormoran Strike (after Cormoran the Cornish Giant) who is at the lowest point of his life, on the edge of living in the streets, and broken-hearted by his complicated ex-fiancée, when a young Yorkshire-born secretary called Robin Ellacott shows up, and changes his life. Right then, the younger brother of one of Strike's best friends from school, who had died as a child, shows up to ask Strike to investigate the death of his famous model sister, who the police claims killed herself. And as Strike handles the case, young Miss Ellacott proves herself incredibly skilled, and they form a life-saving friendship and mentor-apprentice relationship, all while navigating complex and equally gripping personal stories and challenges, each with their own history and burdens to be uncovered. The Strike books throw you into a fantastic universe that seems to run parallel to the real world, with Rowling providing not just a very interesting crime to be solved, but also getting you addicted to the many characters and their individual stories and journeys, that intertwine with the case and also run at the backdrop of it all. The case also proves to be fascinating; a death that took place in one building, with only one way in or out, people coming and going, no witnesses, and seemingly no way for any criminal to have gone in to kill anyone and then out unnoticed. It's like magic. And as he investigates, Strike also ends up discovering the dark truth about the death of his old school friend, bringing justice to more than one person along the way, and rescuing Robin from an unhappy life and a future she feels no excitement for, as much as she rescues him from his old demons. It's an amazing and gripping tale of friendship, crime, and long-awaited for justice, that leaves you thirsty for more.

Given as a present - recipient enjoyed it. Will borrow it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It took a while to get into, but once I had, I couldn't put it down! The story keeps you in suspense and keeps you guessing as to who did it - would definitely recommend it!

We may have the almost divine Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes. We may rejoice in the talents (and charm) of Miss Marple and Lord Peter Wimsey. We might sigh for the utterly dazzling Jules Maigret or Adam Dalgliesh. But we certainly didn't knew we were missing Cormoran Strike. And Robert Galbraith made it his mission to accustom us, the mere mortal readers, with the wit and charisma of this contemporary detective. Private and lame, in true reality, but a force not to reckon with. The debut novel of this series marks a spot in literary history. The book brings to life the world of a detective that may appear distant and brutish at first sight, but owns a couple of qualities down his sleeve. Perseverant and tenacious in his deductions, a good connoisseur of the human soul, yet sometimes sarcastic and ironic to the limit. The author tends to a narrative that can be defined by logic and order, with a realistic list of suspects and a dialogue that perspires credibility and fascination. The characters that assemble before our eyes aren't just simple clichés of the detective novel. They acquire at a steady pace attributes and flaws that make them more humane and relatable. As for the relation between the detective and his incredible assistant, one can presume there will be a lot of imaginative interactions in the books to come...