The Silkworm: Two-Chapter Extract (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
Cormaran Strike and Robin Ellacott appear again, this time investigating the disappearance of a writer who has been known to flit off for days at a time, thus not worrying his wife unduly.This book is more Agatha Christie-like in its denouement, with a cast of characters assembled obligingly for Strike to out the murderer.I still can't improve my rating, as I feel the murder is unnecesarily gruesome, following the lead of some other American women writers eg Lisa Gardner Though the book is gripping, it falters in some places and Strike becomes like any other PI, using a woman for his own gratuitous needs. A strong and wonderful follow-up to the Cuckoos Calling. Rowling develops her two main leads in more depth and their personalities become richer and more vibrant with this book's publication. Robin and Strike compliment each other so well that they are becoming one of my favorite literary duos currently in publication. The mystery at the center of the Silkworm is much more twisted and layered then the Cuckoo's which has Rowling at her best. I can only hope the rumors are true that she has a 7 book ARC planned for this series because if not I WILL BE DEVASTATED. And here is where Rowling will be most disappointed in my review, the dreaded Harry Potter comparison. You can feel lots of underlying character traits wrapped up into both or either Robin or Cormoran that are very reminiscent of her Harry Potter world. But I find it neither flawed nor tiresome. After all, both Harry and Strike would be considered reluctant heroes but most reluctant heroes typically make for the best type of reading. Readers embrace characters that overcome personal tragedies like losing a leg or being orphaned at a young age, or dealing with an unwanted celebrity status thrust upon them from birth. These are the issues that readers love to see their protagonists have to wrestle with in the outer fringes of story lines. They make stories more fascinating and less 'black and white". They make our literary heroes more human and allows us to identify with them. Rowling has given adults her version of Harry Potter in many ways in her presentation of Cormoran Stirke. A man who only wants to be anonymous, work in his chosen profession because of a deep residing passion within him that propels him into the mysteries of the universe around him, and be gifted with some close acquaintances that become his chosen and extended family that support his lifestyle. And every once in awhile Strike has to do literary battle with a Voldermort-like-evil residing in his fictional world.
What do You think about The Silkworm: Two-Chapter Extract (2014)?
LOVE Cormoran Strike! Sucks that I have to wait until next year for a new one!
—072590
Another page turner. I can't wait for the next book in the series.
—ogb
