[book-review] Robert Galbraith - The Cuckoo's Calling

“Strike was used to playing archaeologist among the ruins of people’s traumatised memories;”
― Robert Galbraith, The Cuckoo's Calling

Many of you may have heard of this book/ series by now. The story of owning/reading this book is kinda funny in some ways... I had ordered The Cuckoo's Calling ages ago, a few weeks after it got published. Mostly because of the story, I didn't even knew by the time that actually Robert Galbraith was a synonym for J.K.Rowling. So I ordered it and put it in my shelf. I was very bad at reading all this stuf in English. I was slow and had to look up so many words so I put it away every time I wanted to start it again and forgot it somehow. I moved and put it - once more - in my shelf. By the time I was addicted to English. I only read and watched English things and I got quite good at the language, at least way better than all those years ago with my school Englisch. Anyway... Then I heard - via Twitter - that there would be a TV Show. I saw that two of my fav actors, Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger - where in it and was looking forward to it. I had completely forgot that I actually owned the book. (Yes that sometimes happens with all of my books... Don't judge me! 😜 )
Finally, the show was out last year and I was addicted after the first episode. I watched it and then, after a bit of research, remembered the book so I immediately started reading it after I saw the story. You might think now, that all the tension of the case was gone because of this but it wasn't. Not really. I knew the murderer, obviously, but the book is different to the show (like always). I adored it even more and completely fell in love with Cormoran Strike.

“Matthew kept hinting that Strike was somehow a fake. He seemed to feel that being a private detective was a far-fetched job, like astronaut or lion tamer; that real people did not do such things.”
― Robert Galbraith, The Cuckoo's Calling

I always loved detective stories and detectives bute he was one of the characters you either love or hate. I love that we see so little of him and then it gets more and more information.
He's an interesting background story, weird relationships and somehow haunted past (you get to know him better and better with more of the books). He is kind of a bad boy, yet very calming and with an interesting personality and a bit broken himself.
I also adore Robin Ellacott. She's sensitive, ambitious, broken, beautiful and took good for this world. I love her and Strike's friendship and how they work together and grew closer and closer. And yes I ship them... 🙈

Ok ok to the story then...
It is a crime novel, obviously but not the way of "catch the murder, he's most important" it's more somehow.. You travel with the characters and see their past & development. You get to know Strike & Robin, see their working relationship develop. You don't know the victim or more Lula who's supposed to have committed suicide. You just see some bloke with one leg, a failed relationship and an ended career in the Army investigate because Lula's brother ask him too. It may sound boring but it surely isn't.

I loved the way 'Robert' wrote the characters & describes the situations. And to be honest, if you don't know it's Rowling writing, you wouldn't know. His style is very simple, yet so good. You see the story, it floats and you get addicted after a while. I finished the book in about a week (during work). Haven't read a book this fast in what feels like ages.

Anyway, I'm rambling on again... Story!
The model, Lula Landry is supposed to have jumped to her death. Suicide. But her brother things it's murder so he asks Strike - who knew his brother Charlie when they were kids - for help. Charlie too had died when he rode his bike into a quarry. His mother never coped with the death of her younger son so she adopted Lula.
Strike accepts - also because he needs the money - and starts to investigate. He speaks with DI Wardle who was responsible for the Landry case, with the concierge, the neighbors, some personal at Vashti's, her boyfriend - Evan Duffield -, and some friends.

For a while you have this usual feeling that he or she might be the murderer but you're never quite right. You feel like Strike himself, desperate and a bit confused maybe, while searching the true killer.
During the investigation we have another murder. This time - soon after Strike hat spoke to her - Rochelle Onifade - Lula's friend - dies. Killed by - like everyone suspects - the same person that killed Lula.
While the case gets more and more complicated and nothing seems to make sense for a while, you also get to know more family/ friends of Strike and Robin, e.g. Strike's half-sister Lucy or Robin's fiance Matthew. Yes I don't like him at all. And I didn't from the beginning, neither in the show nor in the books but anyway... Judge yourself about him when you read/ watch Strike.
And that's an aspect I really like about the books. It's always the crime but - as I said before - so much more. More personal stuff for the characters. More backgrounds for us. We never get fully lost in the crime and get to know our characters - I definitely started to love after a while - to know better.
Strike uncovers some lies and facts the police didn't get to know at all. While he's investigating and still thinking about Charlotte - his ex-fiancee - Robin is looking for a permanent job because being with Strike is just temporary. But temporary for one week becomes 2 weeks and then longer.
After a while Strike realized who the killer is - no spoilers from me - and we have a brilliant and thrilling show down in his office. Ahhh loved that part very much.

At the end - here we go for my ship!! - he gives Robin a gift. The green dress she looked so beautiful in during their visit at Vashti's. After a few more - interesting and completely unnecessary personal struggles - Strike agrees to take Robin on permanently although he can't really afford her at the time.

What I like most about Strike is, that he is so human. He make's mistakes, he was a good soldier and is a brilliant detective, but he also had problems with his ex-fiancee Charlotte. He had problems when he was a child and he got never accepted by his famous father Jonny Rokeby. His mother died on an overdose when he was a teenager and he quit university. But nonetheless he know's what's wrong and right and cares so much in some ways. Well he smokes and drinks too much and is very careless about his leg sometimes - we get to see more about that in the book and I liked this aspect very much - but he's a good man. A character, so easily to love.

Robin is wonderful and an adorable person. I can truly understands why Strike like's her - either in the book or in the series. Their chemistry is strong, even stronger in the show to be honest. She's a very ambitious young woman who wants to live her dream after she too faced some horrible things in her past. She has Matthew who wants to marry her, a loving family and is very passionate about her job. And she gets more and more important - in the books and also for Strike while investigating. I adore her.

Anyway...
I loved this book so much and continued reading The Silkworm - the second case of C.B.Strike and Robin. But there will - obviously - be another review for this.

Have you guys read the Strike novels? Or watched the BBC show? What's your opinion on the characters and the story? Will you be reading the books at all or is it not your metier?
Feel free to tell me your thoughts on the one-legged detective.