Synopsis
Private investigator Cormoran Strike returns in a new mystery from Robert Galbraith, author of the #1 international bestseller The Cuckoo’s Calling.
When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days—as he has done before—and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.
But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine’s disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were to be published, it would ruin lives—meaning that there are a lot of people who might want him silenced.
When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before…
Review
The second novel in the Cormoran Strike series is titled The Silkworm. I had trouble recalling the events of the first book because I had read The Cuckoo’s Calling a few years prior. Does this require that you have read the first book? I don’t believe you have to. A couple of sections alluded to events from the first book, but not enough to be concerned about. The plot will still make sense to you.
Honestly, the plot left me a bit underwhelmed. It dragged on for many chapters, making it a slow read. Despite my appreciation for J.K. Rowling’s (or Robert Galbraith’s) writing, she used too many fancy words that would make it tough for regular readers.
On a positive note, it’s a departure from the typical detective solving a case swiftly. The idea that the readers were unaware of the truth hanging in front of them appealed to me as well. The intricate writing and thorough research were commendable, even if the execution could have been more engaging.
While my personal taste leans towards the Amos Decker series, I acknowledge the merits of “The Silkworm.” Overall, I’d rate it 3/5.
