It’s been many years since I read Harry Potter, but I can still say with confidence that this is certainly a big departure from the series that brought Rowling to fame. The novel so far has been told largely from a dual perspective; Robin is a hopeful, newly-engaged woman assigned by her temp agency to work for her extreme opposite, the older, much more cynical Cormoran Strike. Strike’s failing detective agency is given a light at the end of the tunnel when the brother of infamous model Lula Landry asks Strike to investigate her death, which has been ruled as a suicide. The overall tone of the novel is pretty bleak so far, not unexpected for a book about a murderer. I’m still waiting for the ‘propulsive suspense’ to kick in and draw me forward. I’m five (short) chapters in and still getting to know everyone. I think the next few chapters will be hugely important for the story because as of right now, not much has really happened yet. I hope the detective story I so wanted to read gets going soon.

Thank you for reading,

Benjamin Hawley