The Cuckoo's Calling

I recently read a wonderful book by Robert Galbraith called The Cuckoo's Calling. In a word, I thought this book was brilliant! I liked it even better than The Casual Vacancy which was also written by J.K. Rowling (Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym). This is a detective story about the death of British supermodel Lula Landry, nicknamed Cuckoo, which may or may not have been a suicide. Her brother John has hired down on his luck detective Cormoran Strike to prove that Lula did not commit suicide. I loved Cormoran and his temporary secretary Robin and am thrilled that this is the first in a series. I can also see it as a movie - Hollywood take note!  Since I enjoy crime fiction and also love novels that are set in London, this book was right up my street! It's a very well written and compelling book and I highly recommend it.

Check out www.robert-galbraith.com for answers to frequently asked questions such as:

1) Why the author chose to write a crime novel and why she used a pseudonym:

"I’ve always loved reading detective fiction. Most of the Harry Potter stories are whodunits at heart (‘Order of the Phoenix’ is more of a why-did-he), but I’ve wanted to try the real thing for a long time.
As for the pseudonym, I was yearning to go back to the beginning of a writing career in this new genre, to work without hype or expectation and to receive totally unvarnished feedback. It was a fantastic experience and I only wish it could have gone on a little longer."

2) Where the title comes from:

"The title is taken from the mournful poem by Christina Rossetti called, simply, A Dirge, which is a lament for one who died too young. The title also contains a subtle reference to another aspect of the plot, but as I can’t explain what it is without ruining the story, I’ll let readers work that one out."

3) Why the novel was set in London:

"Both my parents were Londoners and I spent a lot of time there during my childhood and teens, visiting relatives. I lived there in my twenties and still love the place. You could write about London all your life and not exhaust the plots, settings or history."