The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith

photo courtesy: goodreads.com

A well crafted. compelling story.

I am a major Harry Potter Fan. But when Rowling reinvented herself as Galbraith through Cuckoo's Calling, she did not find a fan in me.

I found it had too much hype and the reading experience was no where near the Harry Potter series (I have read the series twice!)

I found it hard to believe Rowling had written in and suspected some ghost writers stepping in to make it work. Cuckoo's calling seemed to be trying hard to break away from its children's fantasy genre and it took great effort, as a reader, just to get to the end.

Therefore, my reluctance to pick this one up. But once I did, I admit, I just zoomed through it. The premise is a bit bizarre and unconventional but it is convincing and the detective duo of Cormoran and Robin are a great pair of solid characters.

Gist:

Cormoran is asked to locate a well known author who has gone missing. However, he ends up finding his body. Bizarrely, the author's book details his murder. The book is also controversial for he has offended many meaning there are a host of suspects, interested in bumping him off.

Cormoran who has found publicity after the Lula landry case, finds himself in the the thick of things again. Together he and Robin get to the end of the matter even as they go through upheavals on the personal front.

What works:

• Great characters. Loved the character of Owen Quine and his wife Leonara.  They are distinct, full of flaws and have a great presence. The detective duo is also etched so well. The way they progress into the second book is good and interesting. 

• The narrative. It is linear and does not attempt experimentation. It is smooth and fluid.

• The plot is interesting and moves forward at a great pace. There are no boring portions and contain some very interesting twists and turns.

What doesn't:

• There is gore and violence especially in the way the murder has been described. This can be a put off for those preferring subtle, psychological thrillers. 

Overall, it was a good read. The writing is smooth and compelled me to sit up for two consecutive nights. 

I am looking forward to picking up the latest one now.