The Cuckoo's Calling

This was a decent experience. Not my favorite story, not my favorite writing, but worthwhile. I will give “The Silkworm” a shot and this will likely determine my future with JKR under Galbraith. Despite all, I love Cormoran Strike.

some stuff were predictable, to be honest. but all in all it was good.

Exciting, gripping, thoroughly well-written crime thriller. Really enjoyed it.

Executive Summary: Decent story and characters, but the pacing was just too slow for me for the first three quarters of the book.Audio book: Robert Glenister does an excellent job including a few accents to really bring the story to life.Full ReviewI became interested in this book (like many I suspect) when it was revealed that [a:Robert Galbraith 383606 Robert Galbraith https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1409176860p2/383606.jpg] was really [a:J.K. Rowling 1077326 J.K. Rowling https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1415945171p2/1077326.jpg]. [b:The Casual Vacancy 13497818 The Casual Vacancy J.K. Rowling https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358266832s/13497818.jpg 19926990] didn't really appeal to me, but this book did.I don't read a lot of detective stories, but my favorite series is the Dresden Files, and I enjoy the early books where Harry is working a case. Unfortunately for this book, it also means that I'm accustomed to a faster paced, snarkier and more action packed book.I could have done without the last two and still been happy I think, but the pacing of this book made it drag a bit for me. The story and the characters are both well written though. I particularly enjoyed Robin. Her relationship with Cormoran reminded me a bit of Lucy Liu's portrayal of Watson on Elementary.That said, it's not a bad book. I think if the book had been cut down a bit more, and the pacing sped up a bit I would have enjoyed it better. Ms. Rowling is likely to never be able to come close to her success with Harry Potter, but I'm glad to see that hasn't stopped her from writing. She certainly doesn't need the money, but writers need to write.There is certainly enough here for me to be interested in checking out the next book in the series the next time I'm in the mood for a change of pace.

A good crime story with an interestingly quirky detective and a finish you won't see coming. Looking forward to the next one.

Finally finished this book. While I love the characters (Robin and Strike are a great team), the plot took me forever to get into. I felt like I was constantly forcing myself to read more of the book instead of picking up a different one.

The writing was good, I think the plot was just too slow for my taste. I have the next book and I'll probably read it. I just hope it is easier to read than this one was.

I had a difficult time getting into this book at first because few of the characters were likable. But I stuck with it and wasn't disappointed.

O livro começa com a notícia de morte da supermodelo Lula Landry, a quem a crítica adora incontestavelmente. Agora a notícia corre pelo mundo inteiro como a de suicídio mas, três meses depois, Cormoran Strike deve provar que, na verdade, se tratou de um assassinato.

Narrado em terceira pessoa, O chamado do Cuco não deixa espaço para cansar a leitura desde a primeira página. O detetive é contratado logo no início por John Bristow, irmão adotivo de Lula, que foi adotada pela família, e o caso de desenrola com a ajuda da secretária Robin, contratada ao acaso temporariamente.

O noivo de Robin acredita que ela não esteja no lugar certo, que deveria estar em uma carreira mais sólida e tradicional, embora essa não seja a sua vontade desde o primeiro dia em que começou a prestar seus serviços como secretária do detetive Strike. Ela é inteligente, perspicaz, proativa e muito bonita - não tanto comparada a Charlotte, ex-mulher de Strike, por quem ele sofre durante boa parte do seu tempo.

Entre entrevistas com os suspeitos do crime e todos àqueles que têm alguma ligação com Lula, Strike conduz a investigação sempre de maneira muito inteligente, e a escrita do livro faz com que o leitor pense junto, como o detetive, confabulando e criando teorias sobre quem possa ter matado a modelo. Dessa maneira, a leitura se torna cativante e impossível de ser deixada de lado.

Me senti preso ao texto como em Harry Potter. É impossível tentar não comparar de alguma maneira as duas obras, que não têm nada em comum, a não ser J. K. Rowling, a autora, sob o pseudônimio de Robert Galbraith. A inteligência com que os fatos são desenrolados e a maneira com que os cenários e atitudes são descritas é bem feita ao ponto de se imergir na história, capacidade que a autora tem desde o seu primeiro grande sucesso.

O chamado do Cuco é um livro que eu esperava ler há muito tempo. Não é prolixo em nenhum momento e em todas as páginas temos informações importantes, seja sobre o pensamento e a vida de algum personagem ou sobre o crime cometido. É muito fácil ligar os elementos apresentados no começo da história quando eles retornam à tona vários capítulos depois.

Desde o primeiro é fácil fazer ligação entre os personagens e suas características físicas, fazendo com que o leitor se apegue a um ou outro até o fim. Também há aqueles sobre os quais duvidamos, e para com quem ficamos com a pulga atrás da orelha por um bom tempo.

Terminei a leitura em êxtase e me perguntando porque os livros que trazem como temática o meio policial não seguem o mesmo exemplo. A leitura é fácil, embora permeada de detalhes necessários, pensamentos complexos e atitudes suspeitas. Consegui imaginar claramente as cenas em uma tela de cinema, e ficaria muito feliz em ver como se desenrolaria essa história nas telonas.

Resenha do livro no blog Epigrafia Alternativa

Con gran pesar de mi parte, debo ponerle 2.5, porque como dice la puntuación, “it was ok” pero no lo suficiente como para gustarme.Le tenía grandes expectativas a este libro. Esperaba que me gustase lo suficiente como para tener a un nuevo detective al cual admirar; y en cierto modo, Cormoran no me desagrada del todo. Lo que no me gustó fue lo largo que se hace la historia. Parece forzada y un poco estirada.Leo mucho misterio y suspenso así que supongo que me te acostumbrado a cierto ritmo en la historia; y con este libro me sentí estancada en muchas partes, por lo que terminó aburriéndome conforme avanzaba.El final ha sido de lo más predecible. Era bastante lógico deducir quién era el asesino; pero le doy crédito a la autora por haber tenido algunas sorpresas reveladoras.En conclusión, estoy bastante decepcionada y supongo que influye el hecho de que le tenía grande expectativas a este libro.No estoy muy segura de querer continuar leyendo más libros de esta serie, aunque creo pero tendré que pensarlo bien antes de comprar [bc:The Silkworm 18214414 The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike, #2) Robert Galbraith https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392577290s/18214414.jpg 25639104] porque me parece que tiene mejor pinta que éste.

So firstly before we begin I think that we can remove the belief, 12 months after the books publication, that people don't know that Robert Galbraith is in fact a pseudonym for perhaps the worlds most financially successful author J K Rowling. After some rather shaky reviews about her other foray into adult fiction, The Casual Vacancy, I wonder why anyone would be surprised that she decided to cloak herself in secrecy for the release of this book. She need not have been worried however.

The Cuckoo's Calling is a wonderful book, it is a thing of great beauty. It evokes those old fashioned Agatha Christie novels where the story is centralised around wonderful detective work based not on science and DNA but on observation of people, their relationships and secrets. Cormoran Strike, Rowling's central character is enigmatic and engaging whilst remaining mysterious. He may be described as being of physical ilk to manage himself in a difficult situation but we get the sense he'd never need to as he too darned clever.

This book has a very simple premise, which is that 3 months prior a supermodel fell to her death from her home balcony. The death was labelled suicide and her brother wishes the case investigated, refusing to believe the police. What follows was a wonderful series of long luxurious chapters where Strike introduces us to the key players in Lula Landry's life prior to her ‘suicide'. There is no great action, no blood and ogre and nobody dying every second chapter. Instead we get lots of beautiful dialogue between Strike and the people he meets as they recall their memories of the days leading up to Lula's death.

Through these memories the story builds, we learn of inconsistencies, family troubles, hidden agendas and secrets. We never meet many of the characters more than once but they are discussed by other characters as part of their recollections and they literally leap off the page. We don't need to spend chapters building their back stories to intrigue us, Rowling weaves her characters so well that the snippets of information we gather and the connections she makes between all her cast make it perhaps the most engaging book I've read all year.

I was literally hard presses to put this book down, I just wanted to keep reading more and more. I was literally raving about it the whole time I was reading, I just couldn't help bursting over with intrigue and anticipation at finding out who, if anyone, had in fact killed Lula Landry.

Rowling has done a wonderful thing, she's shown that she is not a one trick pony. She has demonstrated her ability to produce work under a different genre and for it to be critically acclaimed. I truly applaud her for that, I also applaud that even when her pseudonym was so trust crushingly exposed in the press she has continued to use it for the second novel in this series. She could have simply cast it aside and said “well now I know you liked it I don't have to pretend”. I am gut bustingly excited about the release of The Silkworm, the second Cormoran Strike, this month. I cannot wait to dive into another adventure with her detective and for another mystery to unfold.

I know there are fans who say she will never ever write anything as good as Potter, or she should have kept writing stories about the boy wizard - I however feel that Harry's journey was always a finite one and Rowling has moved on. I am just overjoyed she's doing so in a way that continues to engage, challenge, stimulate and reward me as a reader.

I am not even going to pretend I didn't know it was JK Rowling or wasn't biased. But if anything, expectations are a bitch - and she did an amazing job neverthless. Such a good storyteller! I saw myself seeing places and streets and people and emotions as clearly as if I had been there, loved Cormoran by chapter 3 and symphatized with Robin's every feeling by yhe 4th. Joanne, you seriously rock.

Eu comecei a ler sem muita pretensão e dois dias depois me vi com pena de voltar de carona porque ia perder o tempo do metrô de ler o final, o que é realmente algo digno de nota...
A história: uma modelo, chamada Lula Landry, cai da sacada de seu prédio. O suspeito automático é o namorado, Evan, que ‘vive la vida loca' como ela, mas aparentemente ele tem um álibi bom. O irmão, John Bristow, procura Cormoran Strike, um investigador particular à beira da penúria, porque não acredita na concepção policial de suicídio.
Robin, que acabou de ficar noiva (abaixo da estátua de Eros, quem foi pra Londres suspira), vira temporária do Strike, e contra todas as possibilidades, começa a se envolver com a investigação e prova ser de ajuda inestimável. Cormoran - que foi soldado no Afeganistão após uma tragédia pessoal familiar, e voltou ao perder uma perna lá - foi colega do irmão (adotivo) de John e Lula, e ...
tudo que eu for falar depois pode virar spoiler. O que realmente importa? Você tem uma narrativa exemplar, com detalhes suficientes para poder imaginar as pessoas e os diversos personagens (o rapper, o policial camarada, o policial idiota, a amiga modelo, a amiga que vive na rua, o designer, há vários personagens, todos descritos com primor), mas não para estragar sua própria imaginação.
Ao contrário de muitos livros de crime ou mistério, as coisas vão acontecendo junto com você. Eu gosto de Agatha Christie, juro, mas me irrita um pouco que no último capítulo algo que você não tinha nenhuma informação acontece e transforma tudo (ah, o sétimo assassinado na verdade estava vivo!). É inteligente, claro, mas gosto muito mais quando as peças vão sendo colocadas à nossa frente, nos provocando a descobrir o que o investigador está suspeitando. Lembrei de uma reportagem que li há algum tempo (não tenho certeza se estou sendo influenciada ou se era uma moça que passou uma semana com o Garcia Márquez) que dizia que um escritor famoso e muito bom alegava ter absolutamente tudo muito claro antes de sequer pegar papel e caneta, e não entendia as pessoas que diziam que ‘os personagens vão me surpreendendo'. Não sei qual o papel criativo da JK Rowling, mas você tem a impressão de que tudo está devidamente amarrado, e é bonito ver tanta competência :)
Só não dou cinco estrelas porque sou uma pessoa problemática que tem dificuldade em dizer que algo é impecável e perfeito :P

I don't like mysteries. I don't have time for Dupin or Holmes. I could care less about James Patterson or Janet Evanovich. I don't care who the killer is. I don't believe the detective on the case is all that brilliant. You like mysteries? Here's one for you: Why am I reading this book? The answer may surprise you.

The answer is The Casual Vacancy.

You expected me to say Harry Potter, didn't you? I've never read Harry Potter; I know almost nothing of the wizard. I developed my Rowling-crush because of that wonderful book that seemed to disappoint nearly everyone else. So here I am—still ignorant of Potter—diving into a second Rowling book. And a mystery on top of all that.

The reasons I don't like mysteries are simple. First of all, I find them boring. They rely too much on a premise that the reader cares who the killer was. I don't. The part of the story I want to hear is the killing itself, the lives of the victims, the tale of the killer before or after the fact—the whodunit is dreadfully boring. Second, there is only one detective who can see a bottlecap a mile away, connect it to a hair found in a haystack, and deduce that the killer is a three-hundred year old sea creature masquerading as a nighttime janitor; that is Fox Mulder. I don't buy that the average human can make the leaps that these literary sleuths can. And my final reason for not liking mysteries is that I have a stick up my ass. Literally. And mysteries rub me the wrong way. Ouch.

Enough about my dislike for the genre. Truth is, I liked The Cuckoo's Calling. Does this mean it avoids the whodunit premise? Nope. Does this mean Cormoran Strike doesn't make the most absurd leaps to solve the crime? No. Does this mean Rowling's magic has somehow removed the stick from my ass? Unfortunately not.

The Cuckoo's Calling is your typical mystery, but the characterization, pacing, and language make all the difference. It's written very well. The story may chase with the whodunit, but it doesn't rely on it. My interest in who killed Lula Landry was insignificant as I found myself wrapped in the story of who these characters were. They're not just devices used to move a mystery novel along; they're people, caught up in a mystery while the rest of the world keeps spinning. Too many mystery writers fail in this regard.

Despite the stick up my ass, I'd read another Galbraith mystery. Naturally, I worry that the series will eventually descend into the typical mystery, but for now I'm too invested in Strike and Robin to not read the next chapter in their lives. And maybe eventually I'll get around to that Potter-thing too.

L'm giving this book a 3.5 stars. It was an okay book. Wasnt that suspenful as i thought it would be. The story was ok, the characters were not bad but I didnt feel any like I learned anything about them in the story.I know there`s a 2nd book coming soon and I will read it, maybe it will be a little better.

o livro é realmente... muito bom.
suspeitei que era o irmão, pois, sempre o melhor criminoso é o mais tosco. e os tiques nervos de vermelhidão no corpo quando mentia foi uma ótima dica...

mas embora algumas horas o livro fossem bem parado, o final valeu SUPER DUPER a pena cada página, cada raciocínio e caminho que Strike fizera para chegar a resposta correta.

sensacional.

dessa vez JK acertou na mão.

really.

e o mais fantástico é que vc se apaixona pela personagem, não de uma maneira “príncipe encantado” mas sim, como um cara que vale a pena acreditar, e de uma inteligência impár!

muito bom, recomendadíssimo!

Confusing and convoluted... did not inspire connection with nor sympathy for the characters. A far cry from her debut adult novel The Casual Vacancy. I could barely make it to the end, and must confess I skimmed the last 1/3 in a desperate attempt to find out the great “mystery” with my remaining ounce of fast-deteriorating attention. I'm not sure why I bothered. The revelation was like something out of bad tween movie.

Very slow read. No action or virtually none and the book dragged on and on and on...

Listened to the Audible recording.

No way would I have guessed that this book is written by the author of the Harry Potter series. I have not finished the Harry Potter series, but I did finish this book, and enjoyed it thoroughly. It's pleasantly surprising to see JK Rowling excel in an entirely new (to her) genre, and I really hope she keeps writing about Cormoran Strike.

I am a bit surprised by all the rave reviews and believe that if it wasn't written by Harry Potter's mother, it wouldn't be that raved about.

This is a average, as-to-be-expected, detective story. Model dies under suspicious circumstances, a detective down on his luck is hired to solve the crime. What is accomplished in 449 pages, could have been done in half of that. I kept waiting for some major twists and turns - they don't come. By page 200, I took a guess as to “who'd done it?” and by 400, I proved myself correct.

It will make a great movie adaptation for a summer flick - when nothing but fluff entertainment comes out. That is exactly what this is, fluff. It is an easy read, a page turner, and something you can get through in a long weekend, without thinking too hard about it.

What is disappointing, and because it is written by J.K. Rowling herself, is that it doesn't meet the hype or the creativity that, at least I have, come to expect to her. You won't be drawn into some parallel world of invention filled with a made up language or characters with rich back stories. And I think that's what I've come to expect from the woman who brought us Hogwarts... and if she can't transfer that style into another genre, then maybe I should refrain from reading it.

Wow! I forgot how great J.K. Rowling is. It's been so long. I honestly didn't even know this was a J.K. book until after I had added it and picked it up from the library. Confession: I just never read all the way through the synopsis on the book page... ha.

After I researched J.K.'s motives for writing under a pseudonym, I was really excited to read this book, and after reading it, I'm really excited for all of the recognition that the book got in the first 3 months after it was published before anyone had figured out that the writer was indeed J.K. Rowling. She completely proved herself... she is still a fantastic writer. Her adult fiction is phenomenal, and she finally escaped everyone comparing her current writing to Harry Potter. YAY J.K.!!!

The Cuckoo's Calling was a great crime mystery. I love how Strike figured out who the murderer was about halfway through the book and kept hinting that he knew who it was, but it was not revealed until the end of the book. And I never guessed who it was. I also love that all the interviewing was so detailed that you even felt like you got to know Lula, the victim, who was dead for the entire book.

I also love Robin. She's my favorite in the story because she has a childlike wonder for solving crimes. She admires Strike at first, and then they become friends and she proves herself to be a solid asset to the team. The dynamic between her and Strike added a lot to the story but did not overpower the main plot.

Overall, this was a perfect read for me. I actually slowed down and digested it (that's how you really know I'm enjoying it). The plot never became slow or boring. Tidbits from Robin's and Strike's personal lives were woven perfectly throughout the story to make this a beginning to a great series. I can't wait for more. I will definitely be reading them.

Perhaps the slowest-paced murder mystery I've ever read. Pages and pages of tedious dialog as everyone is investigated, far too much backstory, and multiple female characters who get bossed and put down by the men in their lives. OK at its best.

This is more of a 3.5 stars read than 4 (I'm pretty stingy with my ratings). Don't get me wrong though, I really enjoyed this book. The writing was SUPERB and the characterization of the two main characters was also very good and sympathetic that I was fully invested a couple of pages into the story. However, I would not consider it a GREAT whodunnit mystery. The twist at the end was wholly unexpected but does not totally make sense in the greater scheme of the story. So yeah, it's a good book and I look forward to more of Cormoran and Robin's adventures but I hope the second book is better.

Very good! I really enjoyed this book. I thought the pacing was great for a mystery, and I really enjoyed the characters and storyline. I would like to think that knowing it was JK Rowling didn't affect how I feel about the book (maybe giving a little leeway on things) but there's no way to know for sure. Regardless, I really enjoyed it.

I have to admit, if I didn't know the name that's on Robert Galbraith's birth certificate, I don't know that I'd have picked this book up. It's possible– I pick up odd mysteries sometimes(the U.K. cover would've been more likely to get me to do it than the U.S. cover). But by the time I was halfway through with this one, I was ready to buy the next 2 or 3 in the series, regardless how this one turned out.

This is not the J. K. Rowling of Harry Potter – that's obvious, and as it should be. Nor is this the J. K. Rowling of The Causal Vacancy – and that's just merciful and wise. Here, she taps into the same vein that brought her success – a different voice, a different world, different characters – but the same ability to tell a story. Not necessarily all that new, perhaps not written in the most “literary” way, but in a way that grabs the reader, draws them in and keeps them turning pages.

Our entry into this world comes via Robin Ellacott, newly moved to London with her fiancé who comes to the office of a P.I. as a temp secretary. She's smart (and we eventually get an idea just how smart), spunky, and has long had an interest in detecting, it turns out (which must be nice – I've never had a temp job that was in a field I'd been interested for years and years). It's through her eyes that we get confirmation that yes, the protagonist is a decent guy,despite problems he might be having – and a good detective. While we are introduced to this world through Robin's eyes, we eventually get to the point where we envy her as she gets to take part in the investigative work.

Her temporary boss, on the other hand isn't someone we envy – nor is he noticeably spunky, there's reason to doubt his intelligence from time to time – although he's clearly an experienced and well-equipped detective. Injured in Afghanistan, he now (almost) ekes out a living doing private investigations. He has an interesting – and novel – past, one that opens doors for him (although he hates having to cash in on it). With the unlikely (but inherently cool) name of Cormoran Strike, he's a member of a long-line of down-on-their luck, idealistic, hard-boiled, hard-drinking, lone-wolf detectives that goes back to Chandler (if not further). The friendship that Strike develops with Robin gives him the motivation–at least temporarily – to be a better version of himself than he's apt to be, if only to pay her back for the extraordinary amount of help she's been to him. It seems inevitable from almost the beginning that thus will develop into at least an unrequited love on his part, as long as Galbraith moves the relationship along in future books as deftly as she does here, I don't see it becoming the cliche it so really could.

The case that Strike is hired to investigate has plenty of twists and turns, more than enough to keep those who don't care for the rest of the book entertained. I was pretty sure who the Big Bad was early on, and I was right. But I wasn't in the same time zone as the motive. I was about 50/50 on some of the more minor mysteries, which is nice – for a first time mystery author, I'd have expected to be right about 70% of the time or so. But when I was wrong – I was very wrong. I should add that Galbraith didn't cheat – everything we needed to know in order to identify the villains of the piece is right out there for us to see, just wish I'd done a better job of it.

A solid set-up for a series, decently interesting characters, and a mystery solid enough to prove that this newbie author (at least in this genre) has some chops. A distinct pleasure. I'll be waiting for more Cormoran Strike – no matter what author's name is attached.
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A longer version appears at: http://wp.me/p3z9AH-1gh

Really great. Looking forward to the next one.