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

Too long by 1/3

There were lots of good things in this book --- interesting characters, good plot twists, well narrated scenes. It's just there were lots of dull times as well. I don't know if it was the narrator or the plot, but I ended up listening at 1.25 speed just to get the book moving more.

Fantastic

What made the experience of listening to The Cuckoo's Calling the most enjoyable?

The story was absolutely amazing, the characters well-rounded and entertaining, and Robert Glenister really BECAME the narrator. I forgot that I was listening to him reading aloud and was able to really lose myself in the story.

I absolutely loved this book and will listen to it again and again.

Slow start but worth sticking to

The beginning of the book takes some time setting up but by the end you will be holding tight to discover how it ends

No Nonsense Detective - I like him!!

I was curious to see what kind of detective story Harry Potter's creator came up with and I thought it was brilliant!!
The narrator was terrific and really drew me into the story.
Another win! Thanks Audible!

Good Book

Not one of my favorites, but well worth a listen. I am hoping this is the beginning of a series.

Excellent!

Detective fiction, set in the UK is my favorite genre, and JK Rowling really nailed it! Great story, characters, and performance. Hoping for at least a sequel, if not a series!

Guy Noir in exquisite detail

Plotline, environment and details fit together like hand in a black glove on a moonless night

Fantastic Ending

When I heard JK Rowlings wrote a new book. I had to listen. Now that I have completed the book I loved it. Half way through, I thought it was a very slow moving book. It gave a lot of detail. Which at the end made complete sense and was great! I never once, even guessed the true murderer, had it completely wrong.

Murder or Suicide - Cormoran Strike will find out

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

I didn't see that one coming! Gruff and worn Cormoran Strike is a throw back to the down and out Detective genre.
The story develops at a meandering pace but has twists and turns to keep the reader off kilter just enough to not be predictable and boring.
I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.

What other book might you compare The Cuckoo's Calling to and why?

Elements of the story and writing style remind me of Dashiell Hammett.

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

a lovely variety of character voices. It was very nice to be able to distinguish who was who.

Ties together nicely

I give the story only 4 starts because it took me a bit to get into it. The book is well written, with good characters, but I like a little more grit in my detectives -- a la Harry Bosch. in the end Stryke gets there, it just took a little longer than I hoped.