CHENNAI: I will start with a disclaimer: I am a Potterholic. I was a very active member of Harry Potter forums in the early years of this millennium, had spent myriad hours discussing the stories and the possibilities with friends, and give the books a re-read every couple of years, even now. So do not expect me to be less than effusive about anything that Rowling churns out. Heck, I even liked The Casual Vacancy.
J K Rowling is also one of the best storytellers of our times. She has considerable prowess in handling complex, multi-threaded plots, and the intelligence to keep even the smartest readers guessing — we knew that right from the Harry Potter days. All are recipes for a successful detective fiction writer. In the post-Potter, pre-everything-else days, Ian Rankin once guessed that Rowling’s next would be a foray into detective fiction. Natural progression, I thought.
The Cuckoo’s Calling was released with little fanfare, but with decent word-of-mouth reviews, in early 2013. It was written by Robert Galbraith, an army veteran. I am a regular at a couple of online mystery fiction forums, and I remember fleeting mentions of this novel. But nothing stood out, really. On July 14, 2013, it was revealed that Robert Galbraith was a pseudonym of J K Rowling, and immediately, the book shot up the charts and became a bestseller. Here’s the thing though — it’s an excellent mystery novel, and would have remained so, had the name of the writer not been J K Rowling.
The crime in the novel involves the death of a celebrity. Lula Landry was a supermodel, whose death, under mysterious circumstances, had received major media coverage. She had died three months ago, by falling down from her balcony. It might have been a murder or an accident, but the police had not been able to make much headway. Her adoptive brother, John Bristow hires Cormoran Strike, a gruff, miserable private investigator to work on this case.
Interesting character, this Strike. He is the illegitimate child of a famous rockstar of the 70s and 80s, and had been an army detective who was discharged after losing half a leg in Afghanistan. He is in the midst of a violent breakup with a high-society femme-fatale. He is almost completely broke, a matter exacerbated by being thrust with a secretary for his detective practice — Robin Ellacott, a charming, effervescent, resourceful young lady. Strike was not very eager to take the Lula Landry case, but ends must be met, so he decides to soldier on with the investigation.
And it turns out to be a tightly-written, action-packed, complicated puzzle of a case. Strike and Robin are a superb team. Both are intriguing enough for the reader to follow them across an entire series. Parts of the book provide genuine thrill — Rowling is brilliant at writing scenes and in building up the anticipation to a crescendo. I am glad that Rowling is writing detective fiction, and having read the next two books in the series, can vouchsafe that this is a series worth the attention.
(The writer is a financial architect in Bengaluru)