The fourth book in the Cormoran Strike mystery thriller series by J. K. Rowling writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith is the "Moby Dick" of the series in the opinion of at least two reviewers. At 647 pages with the actual murder not occurring until almost 300 pages into the story, I have to agree with that assessment.
The plot is convoluted and diffuse, but centers around an aristocratic family fallen on hard times --- mostly through their own incredibly bad judgement and egotism --- and desperate to keep up appearances. The patriarch, Jasper Chiswell, is the Minister for Culture in the Tory government and working on the logistics for the 2012 Summer Olympics taking place in London. He hires Strike and his partner, Robin Ellacott, to find proof that a political enemy is behind an attempt to blackmail Chiswell over something that happened six years or more ago. Chiswell won't say what he did, only that it wasn't illegal at the time but is now, and he doesn't want the press to get hold of it and embarrass him.
Another thread of the plot centers on Billy Knight, a forlorn and mentally ill young man who keeps insisting that when he was a boy he saw a child strangled and buried down in the dell near his father's cottage on the grounds of the Chiswell estate. So Strike is intrigued when Billy's older brother Jimmy appears to be involved in the attempt to blackmail Chiswell.
And of course another part of the plot has to do with the irresistible attraction between Strike and Robin, unhappily married to a husband who is jealous, controlling and self-absorbed.
The book could have been improved by some judicious editing, but it's still a compelling read and hard to put down. Galbraith/Rowling knows how to engage readers' attention.
The BBC has developed a television series based on the first three books in the Cormoran Strike series, called Strike, starring Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger. It's been shown in the U.S. on Cinemax under the title C.B. Strike. Rowling recently confirmed that Lethal White has been optioned for a fourth season of the show. When she started the book series she said she planned to do at least seven books, so we can expect more adventures for Strike and Robin.
Click HERE to read the review from The Guardian (U.S. Edition).
Click HERE to read the review from the New York Times.
Click HERE to read the review from Publishers Weekly.
Click HERE to read the review from Kirkus Reviews.
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