This is the fifth book in Robert Galbraith's (aka J.K. Rowling) series about grizzled private detective Cormoran Strike, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who lost his leg during the hostilities.....
......and his pretty, strawberry blonde partner Robin Ellacott.
The book works fine as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a plus.
*****
Ever since private investigators Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott made headlines by catching a high profile killer, business has been booming in their detective agency. The enterprise now has a full-time secretary and several additional detectives, all of whom are busy with cases ranging from blackmail to infidelity.
Still, Cormoran and Robin are intrigued when they're approached by a woman named Anna Bamborough, whose mother vanished in 1972. Anna explains that her mom, Margot Bamborough, was a doctor in a London clinic when she left work and vanished, never to be seen again.
The Bamborough case remains unsolved after four decades and two separate police inquiries, and Anna is still haunted by her mother's disappearance.
Though Anna knows a case this cold is unlikely to be solved, she hires Cormoran and Robin to investigate, and gives them one year to get results.
Around the time Margot vanished a horrific sadistic serial killer was active in London, and the monster was suspected of snatching the doctor. However the murderer, named Creed, was subsequently arrested.....
.....and his collection of victim souvenirs contained nothing connected with Margot. So the physician's disappearance was treated as a (more or less) separate incident.
Cormoran and Robin get hold of the original police files about the Bamborough case, and the notes of the first two police detectives that headed the inquiries. They then proceed to rebuild the case from scratch.
The PIs re-interview witnesses who are still alive, re-visit the scenes of alleged Margot sightings, delve into the lives of Margot's husband and the nanny he later married, and so on.
The PIs learn that the first cop who led the investigation was mentally ill, and tried to resolve the case using astrology and mysticism.
Though this seems like an obviously incorrect approach, Cormoran and Robin STILL spend an inordinate amount of time going over the addled detective's mystical 'clues.' (This unnecessarily pads the book by hundreds of pages in my opinion.) The PIs also study the second cop's notes, which are more straightforward, and provide useful information.
Cormoran and Robin DO obtain lots of new data by speaking to people who knew Margot, because witnesses are more willing to tell the truth, and divulge deep dark secrets, after forty years have passed. Some of the new discoveries are startling, and help to uncover what happened.
Though the Margot Bamborough case forms the heart of the book, the narrative - which is is over 900 pages long - contains several tangential story lines. Some revolve around the detective agency's other cases, which are described in detail; some focus on Creed, and finding all his victims; and some are connected with the personal lives of Cormoran and Robin.
⦿ Cormoran
Cormoran's Aunt Joan, who essentially raised him and his sister Lucy, is dying of cancer, and the detective spends a lot of time with her in Cornwall; Cormoran's father, rock star Jonny Rokeby - who abandoned Cormoran when he was a baby - wants to reconcile now that the detective is famous; Cormoran's former girlfriend Charlotte, now married with twins, wants to get back with her ex and threatens suicide; and more.
⦿ Robin
Robin is still haunted by being raped when she was in college; Robin and her husband Matthew are in the midst of an ugly divorce; Robin and her landlord/housemate Max give a dinner party that turns into an ugly debate about prostitution and human trafficking; Robin is having trouble with a new detective in the agency, who's too flirty and aggressive; and so on.
⦿ Cormoran and Robin
Cormoran and Robin, who always had a low-key attraction, are both single now, and (individually) think about taking their relationship to the next level. Personally, I hope they don't; romance can ruin a good business partnership.
The book is unquestionably MUCH too long, but I'm a fan of the series and I enjoyed it. Still, I hope the next book is more tightly edited.
Note: I've seen a lot of comments about Rowling being trans-phobic, and demonstrating this by making the serial killer Creed sometimes dress in women's clothing to snatch victims. I have no intention of getting drawn into a discussion about Rowling's personal opinions, but in my view - in THIS book - cross-dressing is just a ploy Creed uses to get close to victims.
I'd recommend the book to fans of the Cormoran Strike series, and advise a bit of skimming over the astrology parts.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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