The Cuckoo's Calling

entertaining and an easy read but very run-of-the-mill mystery with characters that I didn't particularly like.  also fuck jkr.

This is a second go around for me but this time in audio version performed by [a:Robert Glenister 2575610 Robert Glenister https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1450723626p2/2575610.jpg]. Fantastic!Cormoran Strike is a detective in the classic mold with the attendant colorful history. Robin is the classic newbie but not naive or helpless. A match made in sleuthing heaven. The story that brings them together is an interesting one and the author does a great job of doling the story and clues, presenting a compelling portrait of a certain milieu. Recommend 10/10 and I will definitely be continuing with this series.

Loved the characters and the story was well paced and held my interest. I look forward to the next one in the series.

Didn't enjoy this as much the second time around. I think having just finished the 4th in the series left a bad taste in my mouth and made me more nit picky than usual. Also, some of the things Strike said about women really rubbed me the wrong way. Ick. I feel like his comments stuck out more on audio.

I loved Robin just as much as the first time, but I feel like many of her issues could have been made less if she just opened her mouth and expressed her feelings. It's still an issue in the latest book and it's driving me insane.

No longer interested in supporting problematic authors.

its not a thriller as such, more like a drama. lots of dialogues. patience is the key

A great traditional mystery. Sort of in-between Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie. Also I think it's better than Harry Potter. It has higher-quality characterization and a more interesting plot.

1/5 stars

I read this when I was 11. It took me 4 years to realize it was written by JKR. It was a weird read. I've read better mystery books.

Found this a bit hard going and got bored. Only finished it as I don't like not finishing a book.

It reminds me of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but is just slightly less bewitching. Very fun to read nonetheless.

Very slow, not much happens. Could have been half the length. Only finished it to see whodunit.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. So good for my mental health because the mystery kept me thinking about the characters and who did it. It was a lot of talking, as some readers complained, but that didn’t bother me, maybe partly because I was listening. I’m ready for the next one!

Fantastic from start to finish kept me guessing until the last few chapters.

Reading this was a bit of a chore. Somehow Rowling's adult books fail to satisfy in almost imperceptible way.

The story was neatly woven, I had doubts about who actually did it till the last moment. Overall, a good mystery. But the way it was told. It baffled me at times. And again (the first time was when I tried to read Casual Vacancy, DNFd) I got the feeling that she's like a teenager that's got away from parents and found themselves in a company where they can swear and say nasty things. And they go at it with gusto. The same here. It feels like she's trying to compensate for years when she was limited by the age of her target audience and now, in her adult books, she sometimes makes “dirty” remarks and swears in a way that is very off putting for me.

Pretty good first novel under the [a:Robert Galbraith 383606 Robert Galbraith https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] pseudonym.This is a complex mystery featuring interesting characters and inventive usage of some crime-fiction tropes – including a nicely-distracting red herring and a slickly inserted Checkov's gun (not an actual gun in this case). The story is perhaps a bit overly descriptive of details of dress, locations, etc. at points, which felt like a bit of a drag on the narrative to me (YMMV). Good solid ending. I will probably read more of Cormoran Strike and Robin.3.5 stars rounded up.

Very Agatha Christie-esque mystery. What you would expect from JK Rowling - someone we know can write - but adult. I was invested in the story and characters, and I didn't think the particulars were blatantly obvious. I would definitely read the next book.

Agonizing slow and awkward. Did not finish it

This book has sat on my shelves for years and I finally decided to give it a go while in the mood for a literary mystery. Unsurprisingly, the reading experience was overshadowed by my anger towards the author and her transphobic views...and also it was slow as hell. In theory I should love this series, but, no. I may pick up a used copy of the second book and see if it picks up but my expectations are low.

Я долго не принималась за книги Джоан Роулинг, и сейчас понимаю почему - их ослепительность лишает покоя. Это правда образцовый детектив - совершенно другой, нежели классический английский, но как же он хорош! Прекрасно выписанные, очень живые и в то же время несколько картинные герои, которые достаточно хороши, чтобы ими гордиться и достаточно человечны, чтобы ошибаться и быть несовершенными.
Топ-модель падает со своего балкона. У девчонки явные проблемы ментального спектра, а еще она молода, неуравновешена и успешна. Полиции проще принять, что это самоубийство, но в этой истории слишком много несостыковок... Почему врет соседка? Что за отношения были в семье погибшей? Кто та таинственная подружка, о которой знают все, но никто не может подсказать, как ее найти? Все эти вопросы требуют ответа, найти который может только тот, кто не ищет легких путей.

This one's a difficult one to recommend to anyone. It's not focused on the thrill aspect of a crime, but rather on deducing who the criminal is. I typically like those much more than the thrillers so for the most part I did enjoy this. However, I couldn't recommend it to hardcore mystery reader's, because the novel does take quite a few leaps of faith with it's logic. I did deduce who the killer was, but there were a lot of things presented as ‘clues' that were definitely a reach. But not enough to completely ruin it for me, still enjoyable.

The novel is also basically just a bunch of interviews in terms of the ‘detective' work. I didn't mind this at all, but I know it won't be some people's cup of tea. Granted I do think the book could be significantly shorter as some of the side stories could be cut out with nothing at all lost. But hey I know a little something about being long winded too. ;)

Something that wasn't my cup of tea though, was the prose. I do think JK Rowling is a great author, but something I noticed in Harry Potter that continues here, is her use of formal language. For example, if I wanted to know what time it was and my character was wearing a watch I might write “he looked at his watch” or something to that effect. In this novel that line would be “he consulted his watch”. It's grammatically correct of course and it can certainly work in many types of novels. Here the issue for me is it stands in stark contrast at times to the dialogue writing which can be very off putting.

To end on a high note though...one of the main aspects of this novel that I really enjoyed is the dynamics between Robin and Strike. I will actually continue this series, entirely because I find those dynamics so interesting and want to see how they continue to develop and change over time. All in all was enjoyable enough that despite it's flaws it was a 3/5 for me.

Ok. Eerlijk, het was even inkomen. Het boek barst van de details en uitgebreide dialogen. Maar juist dat maakt het verhaal geloofwaardig en interessant. De uitgebalanceerde karakters en verfrissende plotwendingen zorgen er bij mij voor dat ik het boek steeds meer ging waarderen. En dat einde, perfect! Jij, voor mij absoluut een #2 Cormoran Strike.

‘'Why were you born when the snow was falling? You should have come to theCuckoo's calling, Or when grapes are green inthe cluster, Or, at least, when lithe swallows muster For their far off flying From summer dying.Why did you die when theLambs were cropping? You should have died at theApples' dropping,When the grasshopper Comes to trouble,And the wheat-fields are Sodden stubble,And all winds go sighingFor sweet things dying.''Christina G. Rossetti, ‘'A Dirge''

Tight plot, extraordinary dynamics (and chemistry) between Strike and Robin, clever twists, fascinating depiction of the unique London atmosphere. My only issue was the overly ‘'long'' dialogue and the disgusting character of Rochelle. Ι skipped most of her interactions, I can't stand witnessing English being brutally raped...

On to the next one...

>‘'This was the hour when he found London most lovable; the working day over, her pub windows were warm and jewel-like, her streets thrummed with life, and the indefatigable permanence of her aged buildings, softened by the street lights, became strangely reassuring. We have seen plenty like you, they seemed to murmur soothingly, as he limped along Oxford Street carrying a boxed-up camp bed. Seven and a half million hearts were beating in close proximity in this heaving old city, and many, after all, would be aching far worse than his. Walking wearily past closing shops, while the heavens turned indigo above him, Strike found solace in vastness and anonymity.''

Pretty much middle of the road read.

I had expected some mildly challenging literary content but this wasn't it. The main character, Cormoran Strike is well drawn, but it sort of reads like the name came first and the whole character was built up around that.

Frustratingly the book opens with a back and forth between Strike and, what I thought and hoped would be the relatable character and even the protagonist, Robin - and this lead me to believe the book would be told from both their points of view, but quickly after a few chapters Robin's character is very much tossed aside as very much inconsequential to the story... so why even bother?

It read like I was watching a program on TV, and not one that I'd put too much effort into watching. I had hoped for something more interesting or perhaps more challenging.

I'd imagine this might be useful as a beach read. Maybe.

It's a 3.5 star for me
this was an interesting experience indeed. there was a push and pull within me as I read it because of the fact that this was the work of J. K. Rowling. there were parts of me that were expecting the same pacing as the harry potter books while trying to justify that these were not going to be them because this was her expressing a new kind of writing.

the basics withing the writing style where quite similar in a sense where there was a lot of situation setting as well as building the world of Corcoran Strike. the revelation of the main character as he navigates the world with characters that are very vivid. this was relatively slow-paced where all the clues were given to us by the different characters which involved a very long process of investigation that ended up being a good 300 hundred out of the 500 plus book page. it is not going to be the fast-paced police procedural you are used to but at the same time it is quite indicative of her style of writing

in comparing her books to other crime novels I have read I can't say that it is one of the best. it makes a decent attempt but is not worlds apart in terms of a difference in evoking the suspense of having a better twist. it is a crime novel that enjoyed but hopes no one is hyping it as better because of how much they love the author

I won't say the ending was bad. I enjoyed it and the twist was very much a good shock. but was it worth a 500-page explanation I'm not sure?

3.5