Book Review: The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith (aka, J.K. Rowling)

 

Disclaimer - I’m a huge J.K. Rowling fan.  I loved the Harry Potter books (d’uh), but I also thought that The Casual Vacancy was excellent and very underappreciated.  I enjoyed The Cuckoo’s Calling, but it’s my least favorite out of the three worlds.

 

The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith (pen name of J.K. Rowling for the two of you out there who didn’t know) is the second book in the Cormoran Strike detective series.  The story starts with the disappearance of a second-rate but overly dramatic author named Quine, who has recently written an incendiary and potentially libelous book, and ends with all of the entrails everywhere.  In his search for Quine, Strike delves into the publishing industry, which is presented as a dying aristocracy.  Once the gatekeepers to elite intellectualism, the entire industry is now on edge as it suffers through the “new challenges” of ebooks and self-publishing.  The insight into the publishing world, especially coming from such a popular author, was fascinating, and the tension and suspicion surrounding everyone related to traditional publishing made a literary murder that much more believable.

 



BAMF

First of all, let me say that I at no point guessed the identity of the murderer, which is a major coup for any mystery novel.  Even better, the murderer did not come out of left field, either, and the evidence could be traced back and fit together so that, theoretically, the reader could have solved the crime with nothing more than the information given them and a little creative thinking.  That is by far my favorite kind of reveal.  There were even some clues that were not specifically brought up in the obligatory “so here’s what happened” monologue, but that a careful and retrospective reader could still link to the case.


The Silkworm was also a very quick and entertaining read - I finished it in a couple of days.  The pacing was consistent, and I can’t think of any places that it dragged.  Towards the end, I became a little frustrated when Strike thought that he knew whodunnit but did not let the reader in the loop until a few chapters later.  This sort of delay is pretty much a trope at this point (I can remember being a little miffed at Sherlock Holmes whenever he pulled this), and it’s obviously used to sustain the suspense, but that doesn’t make me like it any more.

Quine uses a typewriter, just like JKR.  Is it an English thing?

My main complaint, which bothered me in the first book as well, is the Strike/Robin dynamic.  I think that there is supposed to be some sort of chemistry there, but I just don’t see it.  Their scenes (particularly their banter) seem much more forced than any other passages in the book.  I also don’t see why all these beautiful women keep wanting to sleep with Strike, who is not physically attractive and not the most engaging, socially speaking.  If this were presented in a you-have-to-get-to-know him kind of way - he is very clever and, deep down, a good guy - I would have no problem, but women become obsessed with him pretty much from the-get go, which seems unwarranted, given the interactions that we’re privy to.  

I much prefer his relationship with Charlotte, which started as Charlotte being contrary but evolved into something deeper, though troubled.  Charlotte, who was only briefly seen but much discussed in the previous book, returns through word of mouth here.  We are treated to a little bit more of her backstory and the story behind the violent break-up in the first book.  She’s crazy, but I think she’s one of the more interesting characters, considering how little we actually see her, and I hope that she gets more page-time in future books.  As for Robin, her fiance’s no prize either (although he might be getting better...we’ll see), so at this point, I’d like to see her single and solving crimes.

TL;DR - If you enjoy a good gumshoe novel, or if you enjoyed The Cuckoo’s Calling, you’ll like The Silkworm.  If classic detective stories aren’t your thing, it may not be for you.

The was going to be a silkworm, but they're super ugly. 
Have a puppy instead.