This is the
fourth book in the Cormoran Strike series written by J. K. Rowling under a
pseudonym. Set amid the 2012 Olympics in
London, the novel picks up from where the previous novel, Career of Evil, leaves off.
Strike is
approached by Billy Knight, a troubled young man with mental health problems,
who claims that as a child he witnessed the strangulation and burial of a young
child. Strike is also contacted by
Jasper Chiswell, a Conservative M.P. who wants information about two blackmailers,
one of whom is Billy’s brother Jimmy. Robin,
Strike’s partner, assists in the investigations which eventually also involve looking
into a suspicious death.
This is a
lengthy book with lots of twists and turns and red herrings. The plot is so complex with so many details
that the reader will be at a loss to tie together all the information into a
coherent whole. Of course, Strike and
Robin do manage to make connections and eventually find answers to the many puzzles. To add to the reader’s enjoyment, the
resolution makes perfect sense.
There are
some predictable elements. For instance,
Robin and Matthew continue to have disagreements over her job, Robin and Strike
take a road trip, and the women with whom Strike has liaisons cause problems
for Strike and confusion for Robin. And
there are the inevitable conversations where Strike and Robin talk at cross
purposes and fail to understand each other.
Though this
can be read as a standalone novel, it is best read as part of the series since
the Strike and Robin relationship has developed over time. This book, more than the others, focuses on
the unacknowledged romantic tension between the two. Though Robin is married to Matthew and Strike
has another sexual partner, there is an attraction that is obvious. Some readers will enjoy this romance element
but I found it distracting and it certainly slows the pace so the book cannot
be called a thriller.
This is not
the best book of the series, though it is still entertaining. I do hope that the protagonists finally
become a couple so the focus of future books will be the cases they need to
solve.
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