The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (aka
J.K.Rowling) is an exciting crime novel with plenty of twists and turns, and
another visit with private investigator Cormoran Strike and his assistant
Robin. I like Rowling writing as Galbraith. I truly believe she shifts
into another mode, goes tough and gritty with the best of ‘em. I’ve
already reviewed the first book The Cuckoo’s Calling in this
blog. Now a tad famous and on the police radar (he basically showed them
up on the Lulu Landry case). Strike is hired by the wife of novelist Owen Quine
to find him. Of course, it’s more than a missing person case. It involves a
volatile finished manuscript that paints portraits and can ruin key players in
the publishing business. And ultimately there’s a brutal murder with bizarre
circumstances. Strike and Robin have to work around the police blocking their
way, go with their instincts, and overturn initial conclusions. (It’s way too
obvious to arrest the wife)
Meanwhile, Strike is not in fine form. His prosthesis is
bothering him (he lost a leg in Iraq) and that slows his mobility. Poor Robin
is newly engaged and fighting with her fiancé, Matthew, who distrusts Strike
and the whole investigative job. I enjoy these flawed characters and how life
influences their work. The Silkworm keeps you guessing and the
writing is solid. Here’s an example p.281:
Preoccupied with his own comfort, a mixture of football
and murder on his mind, it did not occur to Strike to glance down into the
snowy street….Had he done so, he might have seen the willowy hooded figure in
the black coat leaning against the wall, staring up at his flat. Good though
his eyesight was, however, he would have been unlikely to spot the Stanley
knife being turned rhythmically between long fine fingers.
