Cuckoo's Calling (Book Review)

 

I just finished reading The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith, who is actually J.K. Rowling, author of the much-loved Harry Potter series. This is the first crime novel that I've ever read so I can't compare it with any others.

I am not one for reading much, as I bore very easily, and this book did not bore once. The pace was steady throughout. At no point was I eagerly anticipating a semi-climax, which often happened in the Harry Potter series and at no point, did I feel like she had simply written filler pages, which kind of lull that require a bit of patience to read through. At any given moment, it was an equally compelling read. Maybe a second read would change my novice mind.

Since she has refined her writing skill, all the story elements went together without any awkwardness. In some cases, almost too easily - and it would have been nice to see her stretch her imagination a bit more. She was working with many concepts that are all too-clique and rather uninteresting intellectually, such as paparazzi, fame, and wealth, which made me want for more in these parts of the story.

There were also some cases in which there was repetition of word usage and sentence structure within a few pages of one another, which were at times distracting. For example, she used the word "gaudy" and then a page or two later,  used "gaudish." Her main character, Strike, at one point was caught by someone's "striking" beauty. In another moment, her characters were dining at a restaurant named Cipriani and they mentioned another character named Cyprian. All I could think about was, why not give one or both a different name? I found it distracting.

Another technique she used for dialogue was first referring to a character by name and then at the next moment referring to that same character by his occupation, such as detective or lawyer. I see the strategy effective for not repeating the character's name but I found it distracting to repeat the pattern within a couple pages of one another - this only happened once that I noticed, which means if it was used at other times, it was less obvious.

Despite these minor nuances, it's a worthwhile read. Maybe I am too dense but I couldn't figure out which character was at fault. Even at the climax, when the private detective was explaining the facts, I found myself impressed that I had not caught on. She did something right.

It's a good book. It's not a masterpiece, but it is well-written and easy to read. It's the type that takes you out of this world for a short while.

Recommended.