This is the second book in the series by the incredible Galbraith (Ms. Rowling). I love Sherlock, Elementary, Bones, Criminal Minds, etc and I never really consider that I would love mystery/detective novels but Cuckoo’s Calling (the first in the series) and Silkworm really have me reconsidering this.
These books have highly complex and well interwoven plots that keep the reader hanging in suspense until the end of the book. After watching so much crime TV I am usually pretty good on figuring out who the murderer is or at least some of the motivations behind it. With Rowling’s books I can never figure them out until the big reveal, which is always a surprise but when the logic is given make absolute sense. All the clues are there over the course of the novel, one just has too keep their eyes open for them.
One way this suspense is accomplished is that the book does not suffer from what we could call “Evil Genius Syndrome” where the characters says, “My evil plot xyz” and goes into every detail of it. Occasionally detective Comoran Strike will say that he has a plan, or has uncovered a new detail but the book will leave it at “Strike told Robin his plan”. It makes the reveal much more dramatic.
In this book we also get more information on Strike and Robin’s backgrounds and family. I am looking forward to see how that pans out in the next books.
Suggested for people who like:
-Joanne Rowling
-Detective novels
-A bit of twisted narrative
-Literature/literary world
Level of difficulty: Read on your commute
Abby's Adventures in Wonderland 