As all the world knows by now, this murder mystery published last spring under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith received moderately good reviews and moderately good sales. This all changed when the news broke midsummer that the author was actually J.K. Rowling (of Harry Potter fame and fortune). Rowling's first foray into the world of fiction for adult readers, the much anticipated The Casual Vacancy was a considerable letdown for Rowling, both critically and commercially. It was an overly long and tedious tale about a group of venal and unattractive people living out the consequences of their poor choices, and not particularly edifying or enjoyable.
The good news about this new book is that Rowling seems to have gotten her game back. Her murder is devious, set in the world of the rich and beautiful people who are famous mostly for being famous, but her hero and his sidekick are clever, complicated, resourceful and just flawed enough to gain our sympathy and support.
Lula Landry, an emotionally unstable supermodel, is found sprawled in the street beneath the balcony of her very expensive flat in one of London's most exclusive neighborhoods in the middle of an icy cold February night. A downstairs neighbor who witnessed the model's plunge insists she overheard Lula and an unknown man arguing violently just before the fatal fall, but her story is debunked by the police, who consider the neighbor hysterical and probably high on cocaine. The death is ruled a suicide.
But Lula's brother John Bristow is convinced his sister was murdered and hires a private investigator to find out what really happened. For Cormoran Strike, ex-Special Forces, wounded Afghanistan veteran, natural son of a rock music legend, a man who is often his own worst enemy, this case could make him or break him. With some unexpected help from his temporary secretary Robin, Strike follows the tenuous clues through the smoke and mirrors of Lula Landry's life to uncover the secret behind her death.
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