The Silkworm is a decent continuation of the Cormoran Strike mystery series by Robert Galbraith, who is really J.K. Rowling. This is the second outing for the one-legged gumshoe.
Strike’s detective business has received a bump since his highly publicized murder case was solved in the debut novel, The Cuckoo’s Calling. One of his clients is a distraught wife who is wanting to find her husband who walked out of the house in a huff. The husband is moderately well-known novelist and was apparently planning to publish a novel which would be rather embarrassing for some of his associates. Strike eventually finds the writer after he has been eviscerated in an abandoned house. Suspicion falls on Strike’s client, which doesn’t sit well with the detective. Strike gets an up-close look at the publishing industry as he proceeds to uncover the truth.
Cormoran Strike is getting a little more interesting as the reader rides along on a new case. Strike also is contending with the news that his ex-girlfriend is getting married. He has a bit of an erratic psyche, but I am finding him more likeable, and he seems to be a sharp investigator. His new assistant, Robin, wants to learn more about investigating crimes, but she has a fiancée who is not quite on board with her current job.
The case itself is kind of interesting, but Galbreath seems to be indulging in a bit of overdone gruesomeness. The book in question that was written by the victim is pretty explicit and gross. I found the gorier aspects of the plot to be somewhat distracting.
The plot was pretty average, but it did the job as far as holding my attention. I think Galbraith’s strength lies in the creation of interesting protagonists. Some of Strike’s struggles with getting around on a prosthetic leg does make him rather unusual among fictional detectives.
The Silkworm isn’t likely to set the genre on fire with its greatness, but it’s not without any merit or interesting features. Galbraith is a talented writer, so I have some expectations that each novel gets better in this genre. I will see once I get to the next installment.
Time to delve into a newer author in both my book collection and the literary scene as a whole. Amiee Gibbs kicks off her novel writing career with The Carnivale of Curiosities.
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