Career of Evil - Robert Galbraith

photo courtesy:goodreads.com

Better romance than crime

I was excited when I got to this one, but alas the excitement quickly turned to despair as I trudged along, desperate for it to end!

A major fan of the Harry Potter Books, I was disappointed by the last two crime novels. This one however, was better, but for different reasons.

Like the last two novels, there is crime and gore, lots of it. However, what makes this one better is the parallel story concerning the personal lives of protagnists. It was that got me through this whodunnit.

Gist:

Robin and Strike have now settled down to their lives chasing obsessed fathers and paranoid men. However, things take a turn when Robin finds a severed body part in post. Suspicions rise when it has a connection to Strike.

It doesn't help that  Robin keeps finding other dismembered body parts belonging to random women attacked in the dead of the night. Soon it becomes apparent that Robin is being stalked and could be a possible victim until Cormoran digs his past and tracks down the killer. 

What works:

• Cormoran and Robin are such well etched characters. It was a delight getting back to where the other book left off. The troubled relationship between Mathew and Robin, Strike and Robin trying to salvage their failing business and figuring out their feelings for each other.

• I loved the tension between Robin and Mathew. The way the tension escalates in fact for me that became the focus rather than the crime and who did it.

• It was the only thing that kept me going, my favourite bit being the cliffhanger.

What doesn't:

• There is a desperate overdose of crime and gory to justify its position as a crime thriller. However, it is lacklustre and fizzles out.

• I found myself waiting to find out more about Robin and Strike rather than the figure out the killer.

• There is such an overdose of crime that it feels desperate. 

• The search for the killer makes for a very boring read and there are moments of wading through paragraphs just to get to the end.

The way the story ends is a clear indication it will be picked up in Strike's later novel. I look forward to Rowling's sequel in the series for that reason alone I concede this one is the best of the three.