The Silkworm

Thoughts Immediately After Finishing:
I heart J.K. This one was even better than the first.

Real Review:
Every time I read a J.K. Rowling book I fall more and more in love with her... she's such a great, concise, and imaginative story teller... She makes you think you know what's going to happen and then completely surprises you over and over. She gives you details that are always completely relevant to the entire story and not just filler. I'm obsessed. (Confession: I'm not saying this as a Harry Potter lover... because... well, I never actually finished the series. I read the first 2 books in 6th grade and never picked up J.K. again until The Cuckoo's Calling. Yes.. I'm ashamed. I will redeem myself in the near future. Promise.)

In The Silkworm, Cormoran Strike and his assistant, Robin, are once again investigating a murder that the police think they have wrapped up in a nice neat little package. Owen Quine, an author with a twisted imagination and a habit of insulting people through making them characters in his books goes missing. Strike finds Quine's body mutilated in the exact fashion that the main character is murdered in his newest, not yet released book. The police are able to pin the murder on Quine's wife, but Strike believes she is innocent. Thus begins a search for the killer out of the vast amount of people in the publishing industry who had access to the pre-print version of the book. Since Quine has managed to make many enemies throughout his writing career, there are plenty of people with the motive to kill him.

The plot is extremely fast moving. I read this 500 something page book in a day, if that says anything. It's never dull. Most of the story focuses on the murder investigation. But some chapters show Strike's and Robin's personal lives and provide more character development for the them individually. Strike is trying to get over his ex-fiance, and Robin is trying to help her fiance to understand her love of her job.

This story honestly reminded me of And Then There Were None because it has a classic mystery feel and keeps you wondering until the very last chapter who the killer is.

I'm pretty sure that a lot of J.K. Rowling's underlying feelings about the publishing industry are expressed through this story, but then again... I can't really say what her motives are. Just a thought I had while reading, since the plot thickens heavily around corruption with Quine's agent and publishing company. Sneaky, J.K., very sneaky. But then again, I think she made it pretty passively apparent.

Either way, I truly enjoy the Cormoran Strike books. This one was even better than the first, and I'm interested to see where Strike and Robin's relationship will end up. Because we all know, J.K. never does what you think she's going to.