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.
Books to look forward to ... 