TheCuckoo's Calling

'The Cuckoo's Calling reminds me why I fell in love with crime fiction in the first place' VAL MCDERMID

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Now a major BBC drama: The Strike series

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 the acclaimed first crime novel by J.K. Rowling, writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

*** The latest book in the thrilling Strike series, TROUBLED BLOOD, is out now! ***

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PRAISE FOR THE STRIKE SERIES:

'One of the most unique and compelling detectives I've come across in years' MARK BILLINGHAM

'The work of a master storyteller' DAILY TELEGRAPH

'Unputdownable. . . Irresistible' SUNDAY TIMES

'Will keep you up all night' OBSERVER

'A thoroughly enjoyable classic' PETER JAMES, SUNDAY EXPRESS

Now a major BBC Drama, The Cuckoo's Calling is the acclaimed first crime novel by J.K. Rowling, writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.The Cuckoo's Calling reminds me why I fell in love with crime fiction in the first placeOne of the most unique and compelling detectives I've come across in yearsOne of the best crime novels I have ever readEverytime I put this book down, I looked forward to reading more. Galbraith writes at a gentle pace, the pages rich with description and with characters that leap out of them. I loved it. He is a major new talentJust once in a while a private detective emerges who captures the public imagination in a flash. And here is one who might well do that . . . There is no sign that this is Galbraith's first novel, only that he has a delightful touch for evoking London and capturing a new hero. An auspicious debutIn a rare feat, Galbraith combines a complex and compelling sleuth and an equally well-formed and unlikely assistant with a baffling crime in his stellar debut . . . Readers will hope to see a lot more of this memorable sleuthing teamLaden with plenty of twists and distractions, this debut ensures that readers will be puzzled and totally engrossed for quite a spellA scintillating debut novel . . . Galbraith delivers sparkling dialogue and a convincing portrayal of the emptiness of wealth and glamourUtterly compelling . . . a team made in heaven and I can't wait for the next in the seriesThe detective and his temp-agency assistant are both full and original characters and their debut case is a good, solid mysteryThe plot could have come from an Agatha Christie novel and yet The Cuckoo's Calling is absolutely of today, colourfully written and great funGalbraith demonstrates superb flair as a mystery writerThis debut is instantly absorbing, featuring a detective facing crumbling circumstances with resolve instead of clichéd self-destruction and a lovable sidekick with contagious enthusiasm for detection . . . Kate Atkinson's fans will appreciate his reliance on deduction and observation along with Galbraith's skilled storytellingThe most engaging British detective to emerge so far this year . . . An astonishingly mature debut from Galbraith, it marks the start of a fine crime careerRowling is a formidable storyteller . . . the plot is tightly moulded and toldA sharply contemporary novel full of old-fashioned virtues . . . wonderfully fresh and funny. I hope this is the inauguration of a series that lasts long enough to make Harry Potter look like a flash in the panThe appeal of The Cuckoo's Calling doesn't depend at all on Rowling's prior status. All credit to her: she has created a really good series here. Strike will be backRowling's descriptions of contemporary London are excellentIt should come as no surprise that her first foray into crime fiction is so accomplished . . . a brilliant depiction of London life . . . at heart it's an engrossing and well-crafted who-dunnit. Unsurprisingly excellentIt's probably best, for the moment, to forget Robert Galbraith's real identity; this is a very good book in its own rightHer crime debut beguilingly shows that she can renounce magic and yet be magicalAn accomplished piece that thoroughly deserves its retrospective successA gripping, finely crafted and atmospheric mystery, and its charismatic hero, ex-solder-turned-private-eye Cormoran Strike, is a brilliant creationBeautifully written with a terrific plot ... It's a terrific read, gripping, original and funny ... Please, please give us more of Robert Galbraith and Cormoran StrikeThe work of a master storyteller . . . This is a sharply contemporary novel full of old-fashioned virtuesRobert Galbraith has written a highly entertaining book ... Even better, he has introduced an appealing protagonist in Strike, who's sure to be the star of many sequels to comeThe master is back. In The Cuckoo's Calling, a detective novel that Rowling published under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith, she returns to the strengths that made Harry Potter - the beautiful sense of pacing, the deep but illusionless love for her characters - without sacrificing the expanded range of The Casual Vacancy. In doing so, she's written one of the books of the yearRowling moves through the polished world of fashion designers and rock stars with the same aplomb as she did when writing about wizards and witchesRowling switches genres seamlessly ... A gritty, absorbing taleCleverly plotted ... Rowling serves up a sushi platter of red herring, sprinkling clues along the way, before Strike draws a confession out of the killer in a climax straight out of Agatha ChristieOne of the great pleasures of The Cuckoo's Calling, as with most detective stories, is observing the gumshoe's Aha! moments, without being told what they are ... Money and general fabulousness does for The Cuckoo's Calling what magic did for Harry Potter, creating an extravagant, alien, fascinating world for its characters to explore ... The Cuckoo's Calling is funIt's terrific ... A brilliant achievement, mordantly funny and monumentally absorbing ... A masterful novel, the kind of big, noisy, busy, beautiful book in which it is so easy and so pleasurable to become enmeshedI wasn't disappointed. Whether she's writing about Dementors or detectives, Rowling is a proThe private eye novel is not dead. It was merely waiting for Robert Galbraith to give it a firm squeeze, goosing it back to bold, new life. Hardboiled crime fans are going to go cuckoo for this one. I haven't had this much fun with a detective novel in yearsThe Cuckoo's Calling reminds me why I fell in love with crime fiction in the first placeOne of the most unique and compelling detectives I've come across in yearsOne of the best crime novels I have ever readEverytime I put this book down, I looked forward to reading more. Galbraith writes at a gentle pace, the pages rich with description and with characters that leap out of them. I loved it. He is a major new talentJust once in a while a private detective emerges who captures the public imagination in a flash. And here is one who might well do that . . . There is no sign that this is Galbraith's first novel, only that he has a delightful touch for evoking London and capturing a new hero. An auspicious debutIn a rare feat, Galbraith combines a complex and compelling sleuth and an equally well-formed and unlikely assistant with a baffling crime in his stellar debut . . . Readers will hope to see a lot more of this memorable sleuthing teamLaden with plenty of twists and distractions, this debut ensures that readers will be puzzled and totally engrossed for quite a spellA scintillating debut novel . . . Galbraith delivers sparkling dialogue and a convincing portrayal of the emptiness of wealth and glamourUtterly compelling . . . a team made in heaven and I can't wait for the next in the seriesThe detective and his temp-agency assistant are both full and original characters and their debut case is a good, solid mysteryThe plot could have come from an Agatha Christie novel and yet The Cuckoo's Calling is absolutely of today, colourfully written and great funGalbraith demonstrates superb flair as a mystery writerThis debut is instantly absorbing, featuring a detective facing crumbling circumstances with resolve instead of clichéd self-destruction and a lovable sidekick with contagious enthusiasm for detection . . . Kate Atkinson's fans will appreciate his reliance on deduction and observation along with Galbraith's skilled storytellingThe most engaging British detective to emerge so far this year . . . An astonishingly mature debut from Galbraith, it marks the start of a fine crime careerRowling is a formidable storyteller . . . the plot is tightly moulded and toldA sharply contemporary novel full of old-fashioned virtues . . . wonderfully fresh and funny. I hope this is the inauguration of a series that lasts long enough to make Harry Potter look like a flash in the panThe appeal of The Cuckoo's Calling doesn't depend at all on Rowling's prior status. All credit to her: she has created a really good series here. Strike will be backRowling's descriptions of contemporary London are excellentIt should come as no surprise that her first foray into crime fiction is so accomplished . . . a brilliant depiction of London life . . . at heart it's an engrossing and well-crafted who-dunnit. Unsurprisingly excellentIt's probably best, for the moment, to forget Robert Galbraith's real identity; this is a very good book in its own rightHer crime debut beguilingly shows that she can renounce magic and yet be magicalAn accomplished piece that thoroughly deserves its retrospective successA gripping, finely crafted and atmospheric mystery, and its charismatic hero, ex-solder-turned-private-eye Cormoran Strike, is a brilliant creationBeautifully written with a terrific plot ... It's a terrific read, gripping, original and funny ... Please, please give us more of Robert Galbraith and Cormoran StrikeThe work of a master storyteller . . . This is a sharply contemporary novel full of old-fashioned virtuesRobert Galbraith has written a highly entertaining book ... Even better, he has introduced an appealing protagonist in Strike, who's sure to be the star of many sequels to comeThe master is back. In The Cuckoo's Calling, a detective novel that Rowling published under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith, she returns to the strengths that made Harry Potter - the beautiful sense of pacing, the deep but illusionless love for her characters - without sacrificing the expanded range of The Casual Vacancy. In doing so, she's written one of the books of the yearRowling moves through the polished world of fashion designers and rock stars with the same aplomb as she did when writing about wizards and witchesRowling switches genres seamlessly ... A gritty, absorbing taleCleverly plotted ... Rowling serves up a sushi platter of red herring, sprinkling clues along the way, before Strike draws a confession out of the killer in a climax straight out of Agatha ChristieOne of the great pleasures of The Cuckoo's Calling, as with most detective stories, is observing the gumshoe's Aha! moments, without being told what they are ... Money and general fabulousness does for The Cuckoo's Calling what magic did for Harry Potter, creating an extravagant, alien, fascinating world for its characters to explore ... The Cuckoo's Calling is funIt's terrific ... A brilliant achievement, mordantly funny and monumentally absorbing ... A masterful novel, the kind of big, noisy, busy, beautiful book in which it is so easy and so pleasurable to become enmeshedI wasn't disappointed. Whether she's writing about Dementors or detectives, Rowling is a proThe private eye novel is not dead. It was merely waiting for Robert Galbraith to give it a firm squeeze, goosing it back to bold, new life. Hardboiled crime fans are going to go cuckoo for this one. I haven't had this much fun with a detective novel in yearsThe novel is the work of a master storytellerCracking detective novel