The Library of the Uncommons

Jonathan A wants to read Key West by Maureen Ogle

Maureen Ogle: Key West (Paperback, 2006, University Press of Florida)

Key West by Maureen Ogle

Jonathan A wants to read Ambitious Brew by Maureen Ogle

Maureen Ogle: Ambitious Brew (Paperback, 2007, Harvest Books)

No rating

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Jonathan A reviewed Cuckoo's Calling by J. K. Rowling

J. K. Rowling, Robert Galbraith: Cuckoo's Calling (2018, Little Brown & Company)

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping …

Solid with some missteps

4 stars

Despite a few missteps, this was a solid opening book in the CB Strike series. I really enjoyed the set up, as a truly down in the dumps private detective hires a new temps secretary, who proves her worth several times over. Cormoran Strike is a fun character, with both good and bad habits. Robin is a clever character, as she has always wanted to be a private eye(!) and is a fun discovery as she works out her issues as well

The actual mystery of a big time model "committing suicide" wasn't all that interesting and there was far too much exposition. And Galbraith (Rowling) got away with too much hidden information, because it isn't a first person book. Strike would "know" things but wouldn't let the reader in on the secret. And his habit of looking at women as objects was a little overdone.

But like I said, …

Despite a few missteps, this was a solid opening book in the CB Strike series. I really enjoyed the set up, as a truly down in the dumps private detective hires a new temps secretary, who proves her worth several times over. Cormoran Strike is a fun character, with both good and bad habits. Robin is a clever character, as she has always wanted to be a private eye(!) and is a fun discovery as she works out her issues as well

The actual mystery of a big time model "committing suicide" wasn't all that interesting and there was far too much exposition. And Galbraith (Rowling) got away with too much hidden information, because it isn't a first person book. Strike would "know" things but wouldn't let the reader in on the secret. And his habit of looking at women as objects was a little overdone.

But like I said, the set up was great. And I'm looking forward to seeing how Robin and Strike work out their relationship. Robin is a great character, with lots of potential. Probably a 3.5 star book, but worth the round up.

Jonathan A finished reading Cuckoo's Calling by J. K. Rowling

Cuckoo's Calling by J. K. Rowling, Robert Galbraith

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. …

Jonathan A reviewed A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch

Charles Finch: A Beautiful Blue Death (Hardcover, 2007, St. Martin's Minotaur)

A bit too twee for me

3 stars

The first book in a long running twee British detective series featuring Charles Lenox, a Victorian gentleman and dabbler in solving mysteries. It's obviously well research and written with just enough humor to get by. But it is a very twee book, from the top class of British society and he sends off his butler to find things out from the "lower class", which just feels icky and deus ex machina. It was okay, but I'm probably not going to continue with it. I need more grit in my private detectives. The narration was solid and he hit all the accents, even the Scottish one.