Kathy

While I found this book average and full of inconsistencies in characterization, it was entertaining. It is an easy and engaging read. I don't regret reading this book.

I almost put the book down in the beginning because it was full of tropes I have outgrown. Sometimes characters were cruel and spiteful just to be cruel and spiteful, which I think is an indication of poor writing skills. It was full of teenage drama, and not the good (or at least well-written) kind.

I didn't feel like I knew Isabelle at all. I couldn't really get a grasp of her character, beyond the jealousy and insecurity. That was very disappointing. Alec was a little better defined, but I don't feel I knew him very well either. I think Clary was written best. She had very real and believable reactions to what was happening. Jace was kind of boring. The witty banter between Clary and Jace that was supposed to count as flirting (?) was trite. I couldn't hear their individual voices. It was basically like reading one person having a clever conversation with herself. Most of the time the chemistry wasn't there. The end of the book was pretty intense, which adds half a star to the rating.

I give this book a 2.5
I usually round up, but I don't think this book merits a 3 star rating from me

Alright, so I have pretty much no self control. I finished The Silkworm yesterday and immediately checked out Career of Evil on ebook from my local library.

For all the dark, grizzly content, I didn't find this book to be full of sensationalism. As a warning, this book does contain rape, incest, physical violence, cannibalism, drug abuse, and, of course, murder. Several of the victims were children. The author does a good job of handling these events with honest depictions of alarm, disgust, and fear, and the learned gallows humor of people (including Strike) who have had personal and professional experience with the abusers and victims. It wasn't always pretty, but if felt real and true.

It was a good read, and kept me engaged. I liked having a look into Strike's and Robin's heads. Like I've stated before in my review for The Silkworm, I enjoyed Robin and Strike's self-awareness. They knew when they were being unreasonable, and where the tension was coming from, in both their personal and professional lives. Boundaries between the two shifted, blurred, and were completely reset. The book delved heavily into the backgrounds of Strike and Robin, with some stunning revelations for both of them.

I like Strike and Robin and will definitely read the upcoming new book that can't come soon enough. But Matthew can go jump in a ditch. What a prat.

I usually don't read contemporary mystery/crime/thriller books, so it took me some time to really get into the book. Once into it, I happily shadowed Strike and Robin as they hunted down the culprit.

I haven't read the first Cormoran Strike book, The Cuckoo's Calling, but I don't think that necessarily took away from my reading experience. The characters were fleshed out and seemed real, and this is what kept me reading. Most the characters were definitely not likable, but I appreciated that Galbraith's writing made me ‘know' them and dislike them on so many levels. Some parts of the book were disturbing, and Galbraith successfully made me horrified and a little ill.

I appreciated that the relationship between Strike and Robin wasn't completely cliche, and Robin wasn't flat or unlikable. Strike had a keen insight into people, and that didn't exclude himself. I enjoyed his sense of self-awareness, or as Terry Pratchett would say, his second and third thoughts. While some parts of the novel seemed contrived, I feel like the latter half of the book made up for it. The Silkworm wasn't an excellent novel, but it was a good read. I hope my local library has the other books because I think they'll be worth the read.

While I think it might be a 3.5/5 for me, I don't think it deserves a 3 on Goodreads.
4/5 it is.