robertgalbraith – MANNIECURES

“Career of Evil” by Robert Galbraith

CareerofEvil

I’m so hooked on this series. It’s killing me with the cliffhangers, and the creepy creepers, and the terrible fiancé! I love it. This one was a bit dark in the best way and I was legit creeped out. I really hate being scared by movies, but there’s something I love about being scared by books. Flashback to when I was a wee 9 year old, reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I was alone in my room and I reached the part where Tom Riddle rearranged the letters of his name to be Lord Voldemort. I was so scared, I had to stop reading and join the rest of my family in the living room. Shocker that, as a 28 year old, I was thoroughly creeped out, alone in my room, reading a book by the same damn author. JK – 2, Annie – 0.

“The Silkworm” by Robert Galbraith

Oh this was a fun one. And quite graphic, I might add! Props to RG/JK on that one. I loved that she set this in the winter time. It felt like a third character that just kept showing up to make everyone feel uncomfortable all the time. Once again, I had no freaking clue who did it until the end. That’s how I roll, though. I know the next installment is currently being written, and I am pretty stoked. This series has established itself as incredibly legit. I love the continuing dynamic between Robin and Strike. I love/hate the dumbass fiancé. I love Strike. They are such entertaining reads that I can see myself reading over again. I’m on a pretty solid murder mystery roll right now.

“The Cuckoo’s Calling” by Robert Galbraith

I was going to make an Eminem/Slim Shady joke here, but then I came to my senses. I enjoyed the CRAP out of this book. I just think JK Rowling is wonderful at writing characters and relationships. This Strike/Robin duo is FANTASTIC. I am all in on Strike. He’s just the right amount of snark without going full House M.D.

Another aspect I liked – all the pop culture stuff was pretty legit. There weren’t any awkward “she put in her headphones and carefully selected Coldplay’s ‘Parachutes’ on her iPod” moments. (Side Note: Fifty Shades of Grey is my FAVE example of this. We’ll address this soon.) What I mean is, when she writes dialogue for people under the age of 30, it doesn’t sound like a caricature of a young person. (Point JK Rowling’s attention to her kids, I think.)

All that aside, this is just a great private detective novel. It’s got everything – humor, relationship drama, gruesome murders, and lots of drugs and alcohol related activities.

Extra Feature: It’s British, so you get all kinds of fun British jargon and customs.

I say job well done, Mr. Galbraith. I look forward to the next.