Cormoran “Strikes” Again – See what I did there?

I love visits with my in-laws. For one they’re just generally great people (I am very lucky in that regard); they also live far enough away that they don’t get to see my daughter in person more than a couple times a year. So, while we visit, my husband and I just let them handle almost everything and we get to actually sit back and relax and read a few books. This is how only two weeks into 2018 I have finished three books. Don’t expect this rate from me forever. Next up is Robert Galbraith’s (aka JK Rowling) third Cormoran Strike novel, Career of Evil.

The third installment of this entertaining detective series begins with Cormoran Strike’s assistant/partner Robin Ellicot receiving an unexpected delivery – a severed human leg. Strike immediately has four suspects that might want to harm Strike and so the two of them begin a parallel investigation to the police’s. As the investigation continues, personal troubles continue to plague both Robin and Strike, and the book becomes as much a mystery as a drama about finding out what you really want.

It’s been awhile since I’ve delved into Strike’s world so I could be mis-remembering things, but this installment felt a little more thriller and a little less literary than the previous two. I enjoyed the difference; many evenings I couldn’t put the book down. There were a lot of red herrings in this one and I was definitely guessing whodunnit up to the very end. That being said, when the murderer (the leg wasn’t given up voluntarily…sort of) is finally revealed, I felt a little cheated. I didn’t feel the culprit’s motive was quite as strong as others’. I really like the main characters in this series. We finally get to know more about Robin’s back story and why she is still with her terrible fiancé. Strike isn’t nearly the focus that he is in the earlier installments, and his growing trust and interest in Robin is definitely intriguing. I don’t necessarily yearn for the two of them to end up together, but it certainly seems like that is the direction Galbraith is taking them in, and I don’t really mind it. It probably helps that Robin’s fiancé Matt is a self-centered asshole and Strike, while full of flaws, is a quiet and strong silent type alternative. Apparently there will be a fourth installment sometime this or next year; I am really looking forward to reading more in the series. Also they obviously need to make this a miniseries on something like Masterpiece Mystery or BBC or some cable channel.

PS – I am sorry about the terrible pun in this post’s title. I can’t resist puns.