The Cuckoo's Calling

Hopefully this is the first of a series

Surely the sign of a really good book is when the last words have been spoken and listeners find themselves disappointed at having been abruptly separated from people and events that have been a real part of their lives (in this case for nearly16 hours). Well, if that is the case then this qualifies as a Really Good Book -- it ticks all the boxes.

The narrator: great voice, acted out the roles very convincingly (change of accents and voices very well done) and, best of all, didn't differentiate male and females voices through changing pitch. The writing was vivid. Elegant and succinct prose endowed each sentence an energy which created settings and personal characteristics.

While this was a crime mystery, that was only part of it. In fact, despite the urgency of the plot, for me the people became the most interesting aspect because The Cuckoo's Calling (clever title) was also the story of the lives of many individuals. Cormoran Strike, for example, is the detective, but he has his own compelling story which entwines throughout the central plot. I found myself caring about his well-being along with the decisions that Robyn will make about her life direction, and I was also repelled by, or drawn to the many other characters that moved in and out of my life through this book.

I had not read any of J K Rowling (Robert Galbraith) before but this book demonstrates what a talented writer she is and why she has been so very successful. I hope this is the beginning of a series.

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Really pleasing mystery

I hope that JK Rowling's outing as the author of this novel doesn't discourage her from publishing any followups, because I really enjoyed it.

The style is very paced. It is a mystery that slowly unfolds, with no car chases, or mad escapes against the odds, just a pair of intelligent, observant people making steady progress towards solving a mystery.

The dialogue is engaging, and the reader (Robert Glenister) does a fantastic job with the voice characterisations. I only lost track of the characters (and there is quite a large cast) one time.

I liked how the scenes were painted in the mind's eye. You could feel the light in the room, or hear the sounds of distant children playing. It was literature written with a painter's eye.

The resolution is satisfyingly twisty, you will likely deduce some or most of the story, but probably not all of it.

A couple of minor issues:

The police characters were caricatures of ineptitude, and a little unbelievable. The quantity of swearing from some characters was a bit distracting though again, the narrator does a great job. Otherwise a very fun read, and I look forward to more in the same vein.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Wow What a Story

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

I am getting ready to listen to this book again and I have only just finished it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Cuckoo's Calling?

The way this book has been structured there isn't one moment that isn't memorable

What about Robert Glenister’s performance did you like?

Robert Glenister gives a superb performance of this book. He is now my second favourite reader on Audible.com

If you could take any character from The Cuckoo's Calling out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Definitely Robyn and Cormoran Strike.

Any additional comments?

I am aware who has written this book under a different name now and I am absolutely of the opinion that the books to come from this series, and I hope there will be more, will be as much awaited as those this writer has penned before. With the exception of the last book under the writer's real name that I didn't enjoy. I don't want to spoil it for those who don't know who it is but there is so much detail in The Cuckoos Calling combined with the research and style in which the book is written makes it impossible to put it down. I can't wait for more to come.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

May Cormoran Strike Again!

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

Though this book didn't have the blood and gore of many mystery fiction available today I found this book fascinating and compelling to listen to, it was well written, beautifully described so that many of the images related to by the author were very vivid in my mind's eye. I have to say that I couldn't put it down, as my wardrobe, my bedroom drawers are now perfectly tidy and sorted because I wanted to know "who dunnit". I hope to hear from this author again. May Cormoran Strike like lightening again!

Which character – as performed by Robert Glenister – was your favorite?

Cormoran himself, his big bulky and affable (in his own way) nature became very endearing as the story unfolded.

If you could take any character from The Cuckoo's Calling out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Cormoran and his delightful secretary - just so I too could pretend to take notes and hang on their every word.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Very Good Book But A Bit Drawn Out.

I must admit I bought this book when I learned that J.K. Rowlings wrote it. I wanted to see how she would write a mystery. I have to also admit that I have never listened any of her books and I was buying on her amazing reputation. With that said, I really liked the book, but did not love it.

What I loved about it.
* Fantastic job on character development (but would you think anything less?) I got to know and love Strike and Robin right from the beginning and warmed up to all the other cast very shortly.
* The story was a good mystery.
* I liked that the ending gave way to a sequel to this book as I am interested where Strike's business and personal life take him.
* I loved Strike's crazy ex girlfriend and hope to see/hear more of her in future books as she was just briefly mentioned in the beginning and snippets throughout the book.

What I didn't....
*The book was OVERLY long. At almost 16 hours it dragged at times. She is an amazing descriptive writer but at times it just went on and on and I just wanted her to get on with it.
* As in the above sentence, it took ages, sometimes chapters to wrap up a small part of the story line. Perhaps I like books that move faster.
Having said that I still could not put the book down despite some frustrations.

All in all a good solid listen and something you would expect from this caliber of writer. I looking forward to the next installment of the series.

Robert Glenister was fantastic with the delivery of the story.
Worth a credit, very much yes from me.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Brilliant and gripping!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was thrilling and gripping and kept me captivated for the full length of the story. robert Glenister narrates beautifuly and his tones, accents and portrayal of women's voices was very good.

The overall story was exciting and plausible and was a really good detective story.
Worth the read!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Excellent Read Great Story

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

Wow I have finished the book and feel a little sad. The story kept me guessing right to the end. Robert Glenister told the story so well and made the characters come alive. I cannot wait for the next in in the series J K.( Robert) please hurry!!

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

Yes it did I could not guess what had happened and loved the characters each giving their version of the other characters and events

Which character – as performed by Robert Glenister – was your favorite?

Strike himself!! He is such a well drawn character and the author has a wonderfuk creation here and can develop him as the series progresses.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Kept me on the edge of my seat if that is possible when you are walking

Any additional comments?

Next Book Please

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

A New Detective Series to Read

I can understand why JK decided to write it under a pseudo name, but if I hadn't known it was her I probably wouldn't have picked it up for quite awhile, but I am glad that I did! I really enjoyed it and look forward to more in the series. It kept me guessing and wondering all the time.

I would have given it 5 stars all around, except for the language. Although it was used in context of the characters, because I don't speak like that, it could be a bit jarring at times.Thankfully it wasn't over the top or used excessively. (And Strike even apologizes for it! :-) )

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Excelent Narration . . Profanity may put off some

The narrator does an excellent job and i would like to listen to more of his work. from what i understand he has been involved in TV shows, radio dramas, and audio drama to note just a few.

I found Cormoran Strike to be too self absorbed and overall not a pleasant character where as his new temp is a much more engrossing. That said the characters are on the whole well rounded. but in the most cases extremes of their particular niche in society as portrayed in this novel

The story reallies heavily on incidents in just about every major characters life that just all happen to occur at the same time thus causing guilty and innocent alike to cover for one another on the same evening a model dies.

Also Robert Galbraith aka J. K. Rowling appears to think that an excessive use of the "F" word etc needs be be used in abundance to ensure that this is taken as an Adult style book. In some areas of the book it is inserted between just about every second word. I felt it was used in excess. But I guess it ensures it wont been seen on shelves next to Mr Potter :)

I don't think that Robert Galbraith aka J. K. Rowling has much affinity for the Paparazzi or the news media in general by the way they portrayed in this novel . . . not that i disagree

Overall the book is a decent read but the excessive use of profanity might put some people off. The story also reallies of to much coincidence to make it a really great plot . . .

I would still recommend this given the disclaimers above

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great job!Let's have a Cormoran Strike series now!

I am a fanboy, so let me get done with the gushing first. JKR is such a legend! Love her!
Ok, let's talk about the book now. Ms. Rowling has an incredible ability of putting word after word, and making you look forward to the next word. A natural-born story-teller to compare with the very best. Even while reading the Potter novels, I had always thought that mystery would be her natural habitat, she is so brilliant and ingenuous at plot and storytelling. And this here is a proof. Does it hurtle through like, say, a Lee Child novel? Nope, the story builds up gradually -- this is a classic detection novel, the thrill is secondary to the detection -- but it is still effective, you can still not put the book down. I couldn't.

Characters: Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott are both such interesting characters! I'd very much like this book to be Cormoran Strike #1, a part of a long series.

Writing: there's craft here. The characters are almost uniformly well-developed (as you have come to expect from JKR), the sexual tension between characters is brought out really well (without being explicit -- this is JKR, folks. She is a children's writer, remember?), and it is well-researched, again another JKR trait.

And okay then, let's have the acid test for all private-eye books --- Could I guess the killer? Nope. Not till the very end I couldn't.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful