For quite some time now I’ve been interested in picking up Galbraith’s The Cuckoo’s Calling because as a crime thriller it’s quite long (over 500 pages whereas the usual is probably between 300-4000 pages). Now, you may be wondering why this would intrigue me and not deter me. Well, I’m I know this has been a successful series for J.K. Rowling and so I the combination of its length and its popularity had me wondering how it manages to stay well liked despite its length. And now I know.
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The Cuckoo’s Calling introduces us the series protagonist Cormoran Strike. Strike is a private detective who’s struggling quite a bit both financially and in his personal life. When his new intern starts and a lawyer comes in asking him to look further into a death was simply reported as a suicide, things start to pick up a bit. However, his past keeps following him and making his every day struggle difficult. As well as struggling with this, the case he’s now working on seems to be a little more tricky than he initially suspected.
The Cuckoo’s Calling plot – 4/5
The plot of The Cuckoo’s Calling had its pros and its cons. We’ll start with the cons. It felt at times like the actual case was being dragged out. It makes sense as to how long these books are – it appears Rowling just kept introducing new characters for the same of adding onto the plot. The characters were great though and I’ll get onto that more in the next section of the review.
Another con I found was that it took quite a while for me to really know where the book was going. The pacing at the start was very slow and it took me quite some time to actually become interested in the case itself and Strike’s personal life.
But boy, when I did become interested, I really started to see why people enjoy these books. Rowling has a fantastic ability of writing great characters – we saw this with the Harry Potter series and its evident here in her more mature work with Strike’s backstory too which, for me, was one of the most interesting elements of the book and the bit that kept me turning the page.
The Cuckoo’s Calling characters – 4.25/5
Expanding on Strike’s backstory and ongoing personal issues, The Cuckoo’s Calling features some other very memorable and enjoyable characters too. Strike’s new temporary secretary Robin is also another character worth your time whilst reading. She’s someone who comes into Strike’s life in a relationship and ends up being more involved in his life than her station really pertains her to be. She supports Strike and feels for him like a father figure which was an aspect I enjoyed.
As I mentioned at the start, this is quite a long book for a crime thriller and that quite a lot of characters are introduced to help flesh out some of the pages. I found a couple of the characters that Strike meets on his ventures quite entertaining – some of them over-the-top, camp characters, others eccentric rockstars. These characters not only drew my attention back in when maybe it was waning from the length but also were characters I still remember after finishing the book and would happily have included in any future editions (though for reasons you’ll find out, I doubt they will be).
The Cuckoo’s Calling final rating – 4.25/5
Despite its length, there’s a lot to like about The Cuckoo’s Calling. Could it possibly have been cut by about 100 pages? Quite possibly. But did it ever feel like it was dragging on? I wouldn’t say so. Strike’s personal struggles are a highlight of this first novel and the substance that will keep me reading the story. The actual plot/crime involved was a little hit and miss but did introduce us to some great personalities and characters who kept me incredibly entertained. Though we all know Rowling does write great characters. If you’ve been considering the Strike novels but have been put off by their length, I’d suggest giving this first one a go and seeing if the characters you know are going to stick around do enough to keep you engrossed like I feel they did me.
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