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

Great Read!

Lots of twists and turns in the story. Loved this series and the characters.

So Much Better than her last Book!

This is a page turner!!
You can't wait for the next twist or turn. Just when you think you know where the plot is going; you are surprised. I hope she's working on another book with these same characters.
If so. I'll be first in line.

Cheering for Cormoran Strike All the Way

Great plot brought to life by excellent narration.

Just enough intensity at the crucial moments to keep you engaged, and the character development got me caring and cheering Cormoran on.

quite entertaining

I was pleasantly surprised to get an adult version of J.K. Rowling's style and genius. Highly recommended!

Excellent!

If you could sum up The Cuckoo's Calling in three words, what would they be?

Engrossing, Well-Written and Modern

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Typical of JK Rowling's writing, her innovative and lyrical use of descriptive devices brings the story to life. Her characters are always slightly off kilter and lively, making you want to know more right away. The way she weaves the plot together is, well, magical!

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

The book"s narrator is clear and understandable.

Any additional comments?

I will definitely give this a second listen, which is not typical for me, but the writing holds up.

J.K. Rowling is amazing!!!!

Would you listen to The Cuckoo's Calling again? Why?

Yes, it makes me laugh and sad at the same time

What did you like best about this story?

I love the storyline between Strike and Robin. I have not figured out yet if there is a romance brewing or they just have a strong affection for one another. I hope that J.K. continues this series.

Which scene was your favorite?

The store interview with Robin and Strike when she pretended to be his sister

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When it was finally told that John Bristow was the murderer not only of Lula but of his brother. I didn't see that actually coming

Doesn’t Get Better Than This

Second time listening. I love this series and the characters. Robin and Strike are so alive in my mind. Rowling really knows how to tell a tale.

Rowling's detective novel is pretty good

J.K. Rowling's first post-Potter adult novel, The Casual Vacancy, just did not interest me and I haven't read it. I do like detective novels, though, so when "Robert Galbraith" was outed as a pseudonym for Rowling, The Cuckoo's Calling made it to my to-read list.

I can understand why Rowling wanted to see how she'd be received under an assumed name. If not for knowing who Robert Galbraith really was, I likely wouldn't have gotten around to this book. I am glad I did, because it turns out that Rowling's talent for interesting characters and worldbuilding translates pretty well to the real world of adult fiction, sans magic.

"Cormoran Strike" is a very Potter-like name, but The Cuckoo's Calling otherwise reads like a typical genre novel. Strike was an investigator in the British military police. He came back from Afghanistan with a prosthetic leg, and hung out a shingle as a P.I. Business has not been good, so the book begins with Strike being like most shabby PIs in these sorts of novels, having recently separated from his girlfriend, kicked out of their shared home and living in his office, for which he is badly behind on his rent and in need of clients besides the crazy former one who keeps sending him death threats.

In walks a rich bloke who wants him to investigate the suicide of Lula Landry, the recently splatted supermodel. Strike at first thinks his would-be client is crazy, but it turns out he really is Lula Landry's adoptive brother, and he believes Lula was murdered. Even though the police investigated and Strike doesn't see any reason to doubt their conclusion of suicide, it's hard to turn down a rich client offering a wad of cash, so he reluctantly agrees to take the case.

The case itself is moderately interesting, dragging Strike into the world of London's rich and famous, a world in which he has peripheral connections because it turns out that he is himself the bastard son of a rock star. The rich people he talks to constantly want to know about his estranged father; Strike has no interest in gratifying them or their curiosity.

The characters are what make the book, and this is where Rowling's hand is most evident. Cormoran Strike is a likable lug - he's smart, tough, a little rough, not a saint, but definitely a good guy, and while he certainly has much in common with his literary detective predecessors, he's not cut from other mold, he's clearly Rowling's own creation.

So is Robin, the secretary improbably thrown together with Strike at the beginning of the book. Arriving as a temp worker that Strike didn't really mean to hire and can't afford, she finds herself secretly enthralled by the case and the idea of working for a detective. Robin proves herself to be clever and likable as well. Strike likes her, and so as the novel winds to its conclusion, we know that somehow she's going to wind up continuing to work for him, despite the much better permanent job waiting for her, and her disapproving fiancee.

So far, the hints of sexual tension between Cormoran and Robin are subtle. It's not quite Remington Steel or Moonlighting, but Rowling is definitely teasing the reader with genre conventions. Will they or won't they?

The conclusion of the Lula Landry case ends with a not completely shocking twist (I was about 50/50 on who the culprit was), but one that was constructed with the detail and groundwork that Rowling was known for in her Potter series.

Definitely good enough for me to read the next book.

I liked it.

I liked the characters but thought the whining about Charlotte was annoying! I liked the story was but, the end was a bit choppy.

very suspenseful

loved it, kept me captivated. Never knew or could guess the ending. I accidentally steyr on this book first