The Silkworm
Ratings244
Average rating3.9
If these books get any better I'll be mad at Rowling for wasting so much time writing children's fantasy. More Cormoran Strike please!
I really, really love this series. Robert Galbraith (or JKR) has created two amazing characters in this detective series. I absolutely love both Cormoran and Robin. They are a great team and I enjoy how seamlessly they work together.
As for the plot of this one, I love how the story unfolds with it first being a missing person's case and then turning into something so much more. Especially when the contents of Owen's unfinished book are released and everyone becomes a suspect.
For me, this book was stronger than the first. I think the writing is better and Robert has settled into the genre. There were so many aspects of this book that were downright creepy and disturbing, but it was highly enjoyable nonetheless. I cannot wait for more of these books! Hopefully we get a title and a release day soon for the third.
Wanted to pick this up since forever.
Was alright. Would have liked to see a bit more on strike's past life.
Just found out they've made a series on it.
Cormoran Strike is back, and I couldn't be much happier. After the events described in The Cuckoo's Calling, Strike's enjoyed a few minutes of fame – a degree of notoriety with the police, and a profile big enough to land him bigger clients, plus his fair share of would-be clients with a weak grasp on reality and/or not a lot of money. Leonora Quine certainly appears to be in the latter camps when she comes to hire Strike to find her missing husband – but he sees an opportunity to collect eventually, and he likes her. The missing husband, Owen Quine, is a writer of some measure of success and renown. He's been known to disappear for a few days every now and then, but this time seems longer, and with a special needs child at home, Leonora needs her husband back. Something's fishy, and his soon-to-published next book is at the heart of it. While juggling his other clients – the ones with large checkbooks – Strike starts poking around, and it doesn't stay a missing person's case for long.
Cormoran Strike continues to be reminiscent of several mystery fiction types and specific characters – yet he still feels mostly fresh. There's your typical hard-boiled loaner (Spillane, Spenser, Marlowe, Cole, etc.), the armed services background (same list, come to think of it), the troubled family history, and so on. There were a couple of detectives that I kept coming back to this time around (and I'm probably alone in this, I realize). Strike's musings on the way he still works like he did in SIB removed me of the way Danny Boyle talks about John Ceepak. It's odd to see the two ex-military men in the same light, while on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Yet, it's also incredibly fitting. Strike and Robin also remind me a great deal of Yancey's Highly Effective Detective and his assistant. Except Strike actually is highly effective.
The description of Quine's new book in question was fantastic – it is not a book I want to read, in any shape or fashion, but I really enjoyed reading about it. Galbraith is able to give us enough to get the idea without having to take the time to compose another book in the process – very well done there.
This is slow, yet deliberately moving (like the protagonist, really) until it doesn't need to be any more – once the pieces are in place and it's time to reveal and trap the killer, then it moves on at a brisk clip and forces the reader to pick up the pace, too (or at least it felt that way). But it never drags, never meanders – it's always on point, and is building to something.
It's tough to say that Strike develops much over the course of this book – we grow in our understanding of him, but he's pretty much the same man at the end. Not so for Ellacot – she grows and becomes stronger throughout, and its only a matter of time before she's going to be a 50-50 partner in the agency, I bet – and maybe Strike's partner in other ways, too. I'm looking forward to watching Galbraith develop this character more in the books ahead, but I can tell I'm already getting impatient for it to happen, rather than trusting him and his timeframe. The other supporting characters not involved in Quine's disappearance are great additions and make everything better, helping us understand the characters more (e.f., Strike's family, Ellacot's family – still not the fiancée, Strike's old friends).
The biggest selling point (for me) with this book is an intangible quality – a je ne sais quoi – about one-third of the way in I noted I was enjoying it. It was a good, solid detective novel – but in a real sense, nothing I hadn't seen before. Yet – I noticed I was really “into” the book. I couldn't explain why I was invested as much as I was – but my goodness, I was in whole hog. I have to chalk it up to Rowling's super power – she can tell a story that grabs you in a way you just can't explain. If you've read her, you know the effect.As I read the last couple of paragraphs and closed the book I noticed something – I was smiling. Not a usual reaction for me as I complete a book, no matter what it is. That has to say something, doesn't it? —– Unless, of course, she's talking about a little town called Pagford and its residents. Then there's nothing at all that will grab you.
I enjoyed this as much as I did [b:The Cuckoo's Calling 16160797 The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1) Robert Galbraith https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1373868343s/16160797.jpg 22002305]. I will continue to read each in the series as soon as it is available.
O livro É muito bom, mas ainda assim gostei mais do chamado do cuco... O bicho de seda enrola um pouco mais-valia deixa pontas mais soltas de como Strike finalmente deduziu o crime.
E eu, como química, quase me contorci de desgosto com a afirmação que ácido clorídrico é derivado do sulfúrico ... Mas enfim. Muito bom-dia.muito bom.
BLUF: I'm not a fan of this book, but will likely read the next one anyways.
Cormoran Strike and his steady sidekick are back! After solving the Lula Landry case, Strike has become quite famous. On the plus side, the fame has resolved all traces of the debts Strike used to have. On the flip side, it's a complete bore working for the rich and entitled. When the eccentric wife of a narcissistic artist comes in, urging Strike to help recover her husband from wherever he is pouting, Strike takes the case simply to shake the boredom. As always, the case isn't as easy as it seems.
I just couldn't get into this one. The case was intriguing, but all the characters were written to be awful. I'm certain this is a play on reality or a critic of the publishing industry or elitist groups, but I didn't find it appealing, insightful, or interesting. I will likely find my way into the third book when it comes out, but I'm hoping for something more.
I didn't like this one as much as the first one. It got sidetracked and lengthy for no reason. I'm hoping the next one is better.
Murderstyles of the rich and famous is back looking at the politics and jealousy of the writing world.
One of the things that sells this book is the performance of the reader. The story is compelling, though it has elements I don't look for in my reading. It's a fun mystery and I find that I like the main characters.
So regular readers of my reviews will know how much I raved about the first Cormoran Strike novel by Robert Galbraith, or as we now all are aware J K Rowling. I was literally champing at the bit to get started on The Silkworm and so by 9am on publication day I had dove in.
I loved the clever narrative of the first Strike novel, the weaving of a story from the interrogation of the major players. In this second book in the series we have more of the same, the key characters are introduced through observations or recollections and then we meet them one by one throughout the book. This is still a very clever writing style as again reflective of the old fashioned writing of Agatha Christie.
There is a little more gore in this book. It has more discussion of the science of murder than in book one. This was necessary due to the fact this book clearly felt with a murder whereas book one was based around a suicide and one that happened prior to the book starting.
I didn't find the story in this book flowed so easily as the previous novel, this I found was down to the characters. I can hand on heart state that I found almost no redeeming qualities in any of them. They were hands down the most unsavoury, unscrupled and downright unlikeable group. This meant that it was difficult to want to spend time with them reading about them. It was a slower read, the characters were at times so similar in characters and nastiness that I had to keep checking who was whom.
The two main players, Cormoran and Robin are still excellent central characters and hold the story together well. They play excellently off each other and make great reading. Strike is still a somewhat man of mystery on which further Galbraith novels can be hung.
I could only give 4 stars due to the slower pull of it and it's storyline. It was difficult to find empathy for the murder victim who is portrayed as a sexual deviant with a penchant for the obscure and a thirst for revenge. It made for less sympathetic reading than that of supermodel Lula Landry.
Rowling has penned what will doubtless be one of THE beach reads of the year. It will be talked about many times over and deservedly so. I am keen to spend more time with her enigmatic detective and his assistant in novel number 3
After having a hard time reading the first book because of its excessive length I decided to consume this book with a different route. I decided to listen to the audiobook while following the words on the book. This allowed to to keep track of the chracters much better and following the plot much easier.
And honestly the plot and plot twist where much better than the first book. Carefully hidden but still there. In the context of being a book in the mystery genre I feel that if faired much better than the first book. This might also have been due to the fact that the chracters themselves had been established and they where not being brought up in between the murder suspects
Executive Summary: I thought this started out strong and fell off a bit before finishing strong. I'll probably continue on with the series at some point.
Audiobook: Robert Glenister does a fantastic job. He's an excellent fit for Strike in particular. It helps when the book got slow that I enjoy the narration so much.
Full Review
I thought the first book in this series was fine, but I found the pacing on the slow side. The pace of this book seemed better, at least in the early going. Over time I came to be annoyed at the subplot with Strike and his assistant Robin. It just got to be tedious after awhile.
The mystery itself was fine but nothing spectacular. I probably enjoyed the stuff with Strike's brother the most. Much like the last book I thought things really picked up at the end.
I find the deliberate hiding of details from the reader an annoying technique. I don't mean not revealing all, but essentially showing the characters discussing things in a way the reader is not privy to.
Overall much like the last book I enjoyed this enough that I'll probably continue on, but I'm not going to rush off to pick it up.
Satisfying mystery, though I found it a bit slow at times. I love the characters of Strike and Robin and am jumping into the next book right away. I recommend it for mystery lovers that don't require a fast paced plot.
This was another page-turner, like the former, and had an ending I did not expect. I found myself wanting to continue on the adventure alongside Strike to figure out who did it, learn more about each of the potential suspects, and see if there would be more opportunities for Robin to play a larger role. In essence, I enjoyed it and was gratified upon finishing the novel, although it did happen quickly and felt somewhat rushed. All that being said, I give this book 3 stars in part due to the aforementioned rushed ending as well as the language and some of the graphic subject matter because it's frankly not my cup of tea. I don't plan on re-reading or keeping my copy of the book either for this reason. I recognize the rawness and details such as what may be found in the book (particularly regarding Bombyx Mori) may draw many a reader further into the mystery or others may not think twice about it, but it's not what I prefer in what I read. I'd like to see how the story moves forward and may end up reading the next novel, but we shall see. Perhaps it is naive of me to expect writing for the same audience as the HP series when Rowling used a pen name and appears to want to separate this work from HP, but I think it's also fair for readers to have their own preferences when it comes to reading anyhow.
Went into this knowing nothing of the plot and it made it all the more interesting! It was a bit confusing and somewhat hard to get into, but still enjoyable. Looking forward to the next one!
3,5 ster, naar boven afgerond. Het lezen van de cormoran strike serie is gewoon achterover leunen en genieten hoe het boek zich ontvouwd. Continue word je op verkeerde gedachten gezet en blijft het tot het einde een mysterie. Het zit weer briljant in elkaar en ook zijn de dialogen in al die restaurants, pubs en theehuisjes soms lang. Het draagt allemaal bij de ontwikkeling van het boek. Aanrader!
Another excellently crafted detective novel from Galbraith. Tightly plotted, barely a spare word anywhere, vivid descriptions abounding, great dialogue, dark humour too in places. Also, I am really enjoying seeing the wonderful relationship between Strike and Robin develop, and hearing about Strike's old school and army buddies.
This was a marked improvement on the series debut [b:The Cuckoo's Calling 16160797 The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1) Robert Galbraith https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358716559s/16160797.jpg 22002305], which did not wow me. Book one hooked me on Cormoran Strike, but not the storyline itself. Book two, hooked me on the storyline, and I became extremely excited by the burly, brow-beating, Cormoran Strike. The writing was far improved, the development was continuous, and the crime was more vile. The ending was not altogether satisfying. However, it was sufficient for my needs and I will certainly be reading the third book when I get the chance.
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.
I absolutely love Cormoran Strike. As engaging as so many of the characters JK Rowling created in her other life, lol, and that's what matters, isn't it?