Tag: convoluted plot

The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith (Mystery)

This is the eighth book in J. K. Rowling’s Cormoran Strike series, and I gobbled up all 900 pages in just a few days. I honestly don’t know what it is about her writing, but hers are some of the few books that I literally can’t put down even when my neck is hurting from holding up the giant hardcover!

A body is discovered in the vault of a silver shop, mutilated and with all identifying features removed. While the police are happy to think it is the body of a convicted felon, there are at least three other unrelated theories as to whom it could be, and off go Strike and Robin to unravel the many possibilities. As always, the plot is convoluted and can get confusing (I take notes) but the convolutions feel realistic from the perspective of being a detective in a bustling world where many, many, things are happening at once, and it’s up to you to tease them apart. Plenty of dark themes, but I was happy that none of them were as creepy as the cult in the last book (that one was particularly hard for me).

My only complaint is that there was a little too much of the will-they-or-won’t-they in the long running saga of whether the two detective agency partners will get together or not. It’s been eight books, and I’m tired of it — it’s quite realistic, people being what they are, but it’s not that fun to read about.

Still, I will keep pre-ordering these books and hope that she continues the series for a long time. They continue to be top notch.

Next of Kin by Samantha Jayne Allen

Number three in Allen’s Annie McIntyre / Garrett, Texas series. Nice and complicated, full of atmosphere, and I really like the way Annie is developing. In my review of the last book, I said, “Annie suffers from occasional bouts of self-doubt which I hope she has less often in the future (I like to see characters grow!)” and guess what? She really has grown into the role, and her bouts of self-doubt have largely disappeared. Made me happy!

This deliciously convoluted plot includes long lost relative discoveries on Ancestry.com with a heavy dose of bad guy blood mixed in. Social services, group homes, drug dealing, bank robbers — they pop up in unexpected places and through it all Annie keeps her cool, pursues justice like a tenacious bulldog, and treats us to her ongoing reflections, many of a philosophical and moral nature (my cup of tea). The regular characters — her 85 year grandfather retired sheriff Leroy, his investigative partner of many years Mary Kate, Annie’s newly married cousin Nikki, and increasingly serious boyfriend Wyatt — all get better and more interesting with each book.

This is the best book so far — tighter plot, better balance of “novel” and “mystery,” and a well-developed (and continuously developing) set of characters.

A couple of quotes:

“He let information sit before speculating, enough time to regulate his own emotions, square them off, and keep them sealed.”

“Though I knew myself to be a believer in redemption, it was hard to overlook the universe’s uneven distribution of such favors.”

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on April 23rd, 2024.