THE CUCKOO'S CALLING by Robert Galbraith

When a troubled model falls to her death from a snow-covered Mayfair balcony, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts, and calls in private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case.

 

Strike is a war veteran - wounded both physically and psychologically - and his life is in disarray. The case gives him a financial lifeline, but it comes at a personal cost: the more he delves into the young model's complex world, the darker things get - and the closer he gets to terrible danger...

A gripping, elegant mystery steeped in the atmosphere of London - from the hushed streets of Mayfair to the backstreet pubs of the East End to the bustle of Soho - THE CUCKOO'S CALLING is a remarkable book. Introducing Cormoran Strike, this is a classic crime novel in the tradition of P. D. James and Ruth Rendell, and marks the beginning of a unique series of mysteries.
 

I'm a sucker for a good mystery, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. And it definitely delivered!

 

When the brother of a dead supermodel approaches Cormoran Strike to investigate her death, the private investigator is hesitant. Sure, this guy's brother used to be a friend of his when he was a kid--and died after an accident--but Lula Landry committed suicide by jumping off her balcony. Still, John Bristow is willing to pay a hefty fee, so Cormoran begins an investigation.

 

Robin Ellacott has just gotten engaged and is over the moon, so when she gets a temp job with a private investigator, it only adds to her happiness. However, her fiancée isn't as thrilled, Cormoran seems to keep her at arm's length, and she's not as involved in the investigation as she'd like to be.

 

As Cormoran gets deeper into investigating Lula Landry's last few days of life, he discovers that the beautiful supermodel's life was riddled with secrets, mental illness, disappointments, and the constant pestering of the paparazzi and media. The more people he interviews, the deeper he gets into the mystery. He even calls in a few favours along the way, as he slowly starts to piece together the despicable murder of a woman so determined to find herself...

OMG. I loved Cormoran and Robin. Cormoran is a man with a complicated and painful past. He's the son of a supergroupie and the lead singer of a 70s rock band, he's also a war veteran who lost part of his leg while in Afghanistan, and he's involved in a tumultuous relationship with a woman who keeps reeling him back in. Robin is a young, happy woman who wants to help Cormoran and believes in him, no matter what her uptight fiancée is saying behind the scenes.

 

The Cuckoo's Calling is an intriguing mystery, a total page-tuner. I was hooked from the very beginning. First by Cormoran and Robin, and then by solving Lula's murder. I decided pretty early on that it wasn't a suicide and devoured the details and clues leading up to the answer I wanted to know the most: who done it?

 

Yeah, I loved this book. I'm looking forward to reading more adventures featuring Cormoran and Robin.

The Cuckoo's Calling, May 2013, ISBN 9781408704004, Little, Brown Company