The Cuckoo's Calling

By: Robert Galbraith

Narrated by: Robert Glenister

Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Published under a pseudonym, J. K. Rowling’s brilliant debut mystery introduces Detective Cormoran Strike as he investigates a supermodel's suicide in “one of the best books of the year” (USA Today).

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, creditors are calling, and after a breakup with his longtime girlfriend, he’s living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with a shocking story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry - known to her friends as the Cuckoo - famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

Fast-paced and sharply drawn, this dazzling detective novel inspired Strike, the BBC crime drama series that has captivated millions of viewers worldwide.

©2013 Robert Galbraith (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Loved the Characters, Boring Middle

The characters were very real and very awesome. I loved the main characters in this book. I wanted to love this book and I certainly loved parts of it, but overall I was bored through much of it. I'm not saying I won't read the next book in the series because I honestly care about and really like the main characters, but I'll be reading it hopeful that more will happen in the story. The end of the book was satisfying and fun to read, and the beginning where we got to know the characters and their situations was great, the middle just sagged for me. It was pretty much Strike interviewing people. That's it. A whole bunch of conversations. After a while it got old. Even still I enjoyed getting to know the characters more.

Also there were like a million F-bombs in this book. I'm all for an author using language to realistically portray a character and I suppose that's what the language did in this novel, but man. Sometimes it was like two per sentence. It was ridiculous.

While the story tended to drag in the middle the writing was very good. The portrayal of the characters was awesome and I really do want to know what Cormoran Strike and his awesome assistant Robin will be up to in the book. It was a good mystery, I just wish there would have been more going on to get me through act 2.

I read through all the Harry Potter books this year, for the first time on the last 4 books, and J.K. Rowling has fast become one of my favorite authors, but in this one she went a little flat. It was still a good book and has a lot of great moments. I was smiling, laughing out loud, and almost crying through the last act of the story. It wrapped up nicely and Rowling nailed the ending. Hopefully book 2 will have a better act 2. I'm still on board for the next one and will be reading it.

great voice actor

just love the descriptive detail. the voice actor is fantastic sometimes you forget it's one person.

Good listen

The narrator was terrific. The story was quite good. I'll probably get the second book in the series eventually, but this one wasn't so compellingly great that I need to rush right into it.

Disappointed.

Considering the author, I expected much more excitement. This book was just downright boring. Unless you want a slow romantic mystery, I'd skip this one.

Great book!

We listened to this as we drove to Canada. The character development was excellent and kept us engaged as the hours flew by. Best was the unexpected conclusion. Great for a college professor, high school student and a senior/grandpa.

tedious presumptous and too long

Dull & tedious. I was frustrated with the style of writing. There’s no action. wanted it to be over. Also I didn't like the Latin introductions to each part as they have no relevance to the story taking place in London of today. A big mishmash of forlorn characters.

Tad long

I enjoyed the book - however I found it a bit long. The narration was excellent.

A Positive Surprise

Would you consider the audio edition of The Cuckoo's Calling to be better than the print version?

Don't have time enough to read print versions, why audio versions of all books are better for me.

What did you like best about this story?

The genuine English style.

What does Robert Glenister bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Genuine English.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Too long for that, but well worth a try.

Any additional comments?

I look forward to the next book of "Robert Galbraith" about the same characters.

Wasn't a fan at first, but it quickly grew on me!

I'll start off by admitting that I had forgotten that this book was written by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. I'm listening to this book and thinking it's just "a little too British", but the story is entertaining. By the end of the book, none of that mattered. Good storytelling, an entertaining mystery, and an outstanding reading by Robert Glenister led me to go online to find out what else Robert Galbraith had written. Boy did I feel foolish!

I'm looking forward to the next book. Strike and Robin are great characters and I'm eager to see how they develop in the sequels that are sure to come.

J K Rowling Really Delivers

Where does The Cuckoo's Calling rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 5% by far. I'm glad that her pen name was uncovered or I would not necessarily have found this book. Unlike fantasy/YA enthusiasts that are disappointed that this is not another Harry Potter, I loved the HP books because of the fabulous plot and character development. It reminded me of classic talent like Victor Hugo. I'm delighted she applied her significant talent to one of my favorite genres.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Cuckoo's Calling?

There are so many great visuals in this book, so hard to pick one. The vivid character development of the main protagonists is fantastic and the build up to plot climax extremely well done.

Have you listened to any of Robert Glenister’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but he was so spot on I wish I could demand he redo Ian Rankin's books (another favorite author).

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Can't wait to share it with others and looking forward to many more installments in the series.