Review of THE RUNNING GRAVE by Robert Galbraith

 3 Stars

This is the seventh book in the Cormoran Strike series.

This time Strike and his partner, Robin Ellacott, are hired to extricate a vulnerable young man from the Universal Humanitarian Church.  Robin goes undercover and meets Papa J and Mazu Wace who have formed a cult around their 7-year-old daughter Daiyu who drowned years ago but apparently makes supernatural appearances during gatherings of church members.  Robin learns those members are indoctrinated and given little freedom; they are undernourished, exhausted by hard work, deprived of sleep, denied medical attention, coerced into unprotected sex, and made complicit in crimes.  The case becomes about not just freeing one person but bringing down the entire cult. 

The book is almost 1,000 pages long and could use some judicious editing.  There are sub-plots that received unnecessary attention.  Of course, the agency has other employees and jobs but there need not be so much detail about them; the case about the stalking of an actress goes on and on.  There is also a lot going on in Strike’s life:  Charlotte is continuing her emotional blackmail, Uncle Ted is sinking into dementia, and a rival agency is complicating investigations.

And of course, there’s the see-saw relationship between Strike and Robin.  After several novels, their constant private dissecting of feelings is getting tedious.  As usual Strike goes to bed with yet another woman because Robin is dating another man.  They seem to behave like teenagers rather than adults. 

There is considerable suspense as Robin is in real danger while undercover.  Of course, some of what happens is predictable:  she stumbles across a key piece of evidence while managing to avoid the worst of the practices and is able to escape. 

My problems with the novel are the same I had with the previous three books in the series:  an overly 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.  There are so many characters it becomes difficult to remember who is who.   

The book’s copy-editor should not be rehired.  There are many errors that should have been corrected:  “I’m try not to” and “brought back memories Robin been trying to suppress” and “sat down back down” and “to never to know what”  and “We haven’t yet been able to trace her yet.”  One minute we are told “she was wearing pyjamas under her tracksuit” but then she “grabbed her pyjamas off her bed”? 

Despite its flaws – don’t get me started on the ever-so-convenient dying cellphone battery – the book is still an entertaining read.  And anyone interested in how a cult works will find useful information.  But it’s much longer than necessary!