The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike Series #2)

by Robert Galbraith, J. K. Rowling

Overview

Private investigator Cormoran Strike must track down a missing writer — and a sinister killer bent on destruction — in this "wonderfully entertaining" mystery (Harlan Coben, New York Times Book Review) that inspired the acclaimed HBO Max series C.B. Strike.
 
When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days — as he has done before — and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.
 
But as Strike investigates, he discovers that Quine's disappearance is no coincidence. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were published, it would ruin lives — meaning that almost everyone in his life would have motives to silence him.
 
When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, Strike must race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any he has encountered before . . .
 
A compulsively readable crime novel with twists at every turn, The Silkworm is the second in J. K. Rowling's highly acclaimed series featuring Cormoran Strike and his determined young assistant, Robin Ellacott.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316206891
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	06/02/2015
Series:	Cormoran Strike Series , #2
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	21,521
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potterseries and The Casual Vacancy.

Editorial Reviews

"Cormoran Strike is back, and so is his resourceful sidekick, Robin Ellacott, a gumshoe team that's on its way to becoming as celebrated for its mystery-solving skills as Nick and Nora Charles of "Thin Man" fame, and Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander (a.k.a. the girl with the dragon tattoo)."—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"'The last line of The Silkworm, which will lift the hearts of readers who have come to love its deeply sympathetic characters, offers the prospect of more of that joy both for her and for us."—Charles Finch, USA Today (3.5/4 stars)

"Robert Galbraith... has written a second absorbing whodunit starring detective Corcmoran Strike to follow last year's stealth hit, The Cuckoo's Calling.... Astutely observed, well-paced... The Silkworm thoroughly engages as a crime novel."—Sue Corbett, People

"...why is "likable" the first word that comes to mind upon finishing The Silkworm? Surely, that has something to do with Rowling's palpable pleasure in her newly chosen genre (the jig may be up with her Robert Galbraith pseudonym, but the bloom is still on her homicidal rose) and even more to do with her detective hero, who, at the risk of offending, is the second husband of every author's dreams."—Louis Bayard, The Washington Post

The Silkworm is fast-paced and entertaining... Strike is heroic without intending to be and has a great back story. He's the illegitimate son of a rock star whose half-siblings grew up in privilege... And he's brooding, but not annoyingly so. Strike has all kinds of potential. It'd be a crime not to keep up with him."—Sherryl Connelly, Daily News

"Having just the better part of a day and a night making my way through the 455 pages of The Silkworm ... I must say, I don't mind at all... The murder mystery at the heart of The Silkworm is a genuine mystery with an altogether satisfying resolution." —Malcolm Jones, The Daily Beast

PRAISE FOR THE CUCKOO'S CALLING:


"The master is back. . . [Rowling] returns to the strengths that made Harry Potter great—the beautiful sense of pacing, the deep but illusionless love for her characters—without sacrificing the expanded range of The Casual Vacancy." —USA Today (3.5/4 stars)

"A gritty, absorbing tale." —People

"Cleverly plotted... Rowling serves up a sushi platter of red herring, sprinkling clues along the way, before Strike draws a confession out of the killer in a climax straight out of Agatha Christie." —Entertainment Weekly

"Highly entertaining [with] a team whose further adventures the reader cannot help eagerly awaiting." —Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

"[Rowling's] literary gift is on display in this work. She crafts an entertaining story [and] comes up with an ending that I'll admit I was surprised by. . . . A fun read, with a main character you can care about and one you'll want to see again in other adventures." —The Washington Post

From the Publisher

…endlessly entertaining…Strike himself may at first appear to be something we have seen too often—a brooding, damaged detective…but there is an optimism to him that is refreshing and endearing…Strike also shares a trait with many great fictional detectives: He is darn good company…The Silkworm is a very well-written, wonderfully entertaining take on the traditional British crime novel…Robert Galbraith may proudly join the ranks of English, Scottish and Irish crime writers such as Tana French, Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, John Connolly, Kate Atkinson and Peter Robinson…to put any author on that list is very high praise.

The New York Times Book Review - Harlan Coben

…[Rowling's] appealing detective hero Cormoran Strike is back, and so is his resourceful sidekick, Robin Ellacott, a gumshoe team that's on its way to becoming as celebrated for its mystery-solving skills as Nick and Nora Charles of Thin Man fame, and Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander…What keeps the suspense percolating along is Ms. Rowling's instinctive sense of storytelling and her ability to make the reader sympathize with Strike and Robin, two middle-class strivers plugging along in a status and increasingly money-conscious London…The result is an entertaining novel in which the most compelling characters are not the killer or the victim, but the detectives charged with solving the crime.

The New York Times - Michiko Kakutani

★ 06/23/2014
J.K. Rowling, under her Galbraith pseudonym, again demonstrates her adroitness at crafting a classic fair-play whodunit in a contemporary setting, peopled with fully realized primary and secondary characters. PI Cormoran Strike, who debuted in 2013's The Cuckoo's Calling, has had a professional renaissance after his success in that book. To spite an uppity client, he accepts Leonora Quine's request to trace her missing husband, novelist Owen Quine. Leonora is pretty sure that Owen is at a writer's retreat, but has hit a dead end trying to get its address. Meanwhile, someone is following Leonora, and excrement is being shoved through her mail slot. Strike begins his search in London's literary circles, aided by his resourceful assistant, Robin Ellacott. He eventually finds a horrifically mutilated Owen, who was killed in a manner apparently copied from a controversial unpublished manuscript. The evolving relationship between Strike and Robin, whose fiancé objects to her choice of work, is realistically portrayed, and Golden Age fans will be delighted by passages that could have been written by John Dickson Carr (e.g., "Turning up his coat collar Strike thought he knew, now, what the meaning was: of a dwarf in a bloody bag, of the horns under the Cutter's cap and, cruelest of all, the attempted drowning"). Agent: Neil Blair, the Blair Partnership (U.K.). (June)

Publishers Weekly

Cormoran Strike is back, and so is his resourceful sidekick, Robin Ellacott, a gumshoe team that's on its way to becoming as celebrated for its mystery-solving skills as Nick and Nora Charles of "Thin Man" fame, and Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander (a.k.a. the girl with the dragon tattoo).

The New York Times Michiko Kakutani

Robert Galbraith... has written a second absorbing whodunit starring detective Corcmoran Strike to follow last year's stealth hit, The Cuckoo's Calling.... Astutely observed, well-paced... The Silkworm thoroughly engages as a crime novel.

People Sue Corbett

Why is "likable" the first word that comes to mind upon finishing The Silkworm? Surely, that has something to do with Rowling's palpable pleasure in her newly chosen genre (the jig may be up with her Robert Galbraith pseudonym, but the bloom is still on her homicidal rose) and even more to do with her detective hero, who, at the risk of offending, is the second husband of every author's dreams.

The Washington Post Louis Bayard

The last line of The Silkworm, which will lift the hearts of readers who have come to love its deeply sympathetic characters, offers the prospect of more of that joy both for her and for us.”

3½ out of 4 stars USA Today

The Silkworm is fast-paced and entertaining... Strike is heroic without intending to be and has a great back story. He's the illegitimate son of a rock star whose half-siblings grew up in privilege... And he's brooding, but not annoyingly so. Strike has all kinds of potential. It'd be a crime not to keep up with him.

Daily News Sherryl Connelly

A second absorbing whodunit starring detective Cormoran Strike…Astutely observed, well paced…The Silkworm thoroughly engages as a crime novel.”

People

This is a wonderful listen! Once again, talented narrator Robert Glenister brings detective Cormoran Strike from the printed page to full life…Glenister captures the likable but flawed Strike with a voice as gritty and heavily accented as London’s North End. Yet he transitions easily to more refined accents and softer tones to convincingly portray all the memorable characters…and gives each character a distinct voice by merely varying tone and pace. Fans of Rowling’s previous works and listeners who simply like a good mystery will be hoping Rowling and Glenister continue their partnership. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”

AudioFile

Why is ‘likable’ the first word that comes to mind upon finishing The Silkworm? Surely, that has something to do with Rowling’s palpable pleasure in her newly chosen genre and even more to do with her detective hero, who, at the risk of offending, is the second husband of every author’s dreams.”

Washington Post

'The last line of The Silkworm, which will lift the hearts of readers who have come to love its deeply sympathetic characters, offers the prospect of more of that joy both for her and for us.

USA Today (3.5/4 stars) Charles Finch

[The Silkworm is a] swift-paced, suspenseful mystery....Robert Galbraith has announced himself a fresh voice in mystery fiction: part hard-boiled, part satiric, part poignant, and part romantic.

The Wall Street Journal Tom Nolan

Bring on the next one, please....Galbraith writes with wit and affection for detective-novel tradition (it's impossible not to see her central duo as a modern-day Nick and Nora, minus the marriage), and races us through a twisty plot so smoothly that you won't notice as the hours tick by.

The Seattle Times Moira MacDonald

A compulsively entertaining yarn.

Entertainment Weekly Thom Geier

The plot zings along...Swift and satisfying

The Los Angeles Times Carolyn Kellogg

The story is enthralling, not only for its twists and turns, but for the fun of the teamwork.... [It's] a cast of characters who you'll want to meet again and again.

Time Ashley Ross

Strike shares a trait with many great fictional detectives: He is darn good company...The Silkworm is a very well-written, wonderfully entertaining take on the traditional British crime novel...Robert Galbraith may proudly join the ranks of English, Scottish and Irish crime writers such as Tana French, Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, John Connolly, Kate Atkinson and Peter Robinson.

The New York Times Book Review Harlan Coben

[Rowling's] literary gift is on display in this work. She crafts an entertaining story [and] comes up with an ending that I'll admit I was surprised by. . . . A fun read, with a main character you can care about and one you'll want to see again in other adventures.

The Washington Post

Cleverly plotted... Rowling serves up a sushi platter of red herring, sprinkling clues along the way, before Strike draws a confession out of the killer in a climax straight out of Agatha Christie.

Entertainment Weekly

Highly entertaining [with] a team whose further adventures the reader cannot help eagerly awaiting.

New York Times Michiko Kakutani

03/15/2014
As we all know, Galbraith's first Cormoran Strike novel won great reviews but not great sales until it was revealed that Galbraith was actually J.K. Rowling. Wouldn't you know a famous novelist is at the heart of this second Strike outing. When Owen Quine disappears, his wife assumes that he's on one of his little escapades and asks Strike to find him and bring him home. But as Strike discovers, Quine has just finished a novel full of nasty portraits of people he knows, and one of them may have wanted to finish him off. Just announced but out in June.

Library Journal

This is a wonderful listen! Once again, talented narrator Robert Glenister brings detective Cormoran Strike from the printed page to full life in this second crime novel by J.K. Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith. Glenister captures the likable but flawed Strike with a voice as gritty and heavily accented as London's North End. Yet he transitions easily to more refined accents and softer tones to convincingly portray all the memorable characters in this mystery featuring London's cutthroat publishing world. Just as the author can create a scene with a few perfectly chosen words, Glenister gives each character a distinct voice by merely varying tone and pace. Fans of Rowling's previous works and listeners who simply like a good mystery will be hoping Rowling and Glenister continue their partnership. M.O.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2015 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

JULY 2014 - AudioFile

★ 2014-06-15
In her second pseudonymous outing as Galbraith, J.K. Rowling continues her examination of fame—those who want it, those who avoid it, those who profit from it.Cormoran Strike, Rowling’s hard-living private eye, isn’t as close to the edge as he was in his first appearance, The Cuckoo’s Calling (2013). His success at proving supermodel Lula Landry was murdered has brought him more clients than he can handle—mostly businessmen who think their lovers are straying and divorcing wives looking for their husbands’ assets—and he’s even rented a small apartment above his office near Charing Cross Road. His accidental temp–turned-assistant, Robin Ellacott, is dying to stretch her investigative muscles, but she has to deal with her fiance, Matthew, who still wishes she’d taken that better-paying job in human resources. Then odd sad-sack Leonora Quine comes in asking Strike to find her missing husband, Owen, a fading enfant terrible novelist. Strike soon discovers that Owen had written a baroque fantasy novel in which he exposed the secrets of everyone he knows—including his editor, publisher and a famous writer with whom he had a falling out years earlier—and his agent had just sent it out for consideration. Rowling has great fun with the book industry: Editors, agents and publishers all want to meet the detective, but only over lunches at fancy restaurants where he’s expected to foot the bill. It’s no big surprise when Strike finds the writer’s dead body—though it’s certainly gruesome, as someone killed him in the same extravagantly macabre way he disposed of the villain of his unpublished book. As Strike tries to figure out who murdered Owen, the writer is splashed across the front pages of the tabloids in a way he would have loved when he was alive, while the detective tries to play down his own growing fame.Rowling proves once again that she’s a master of plotting over the course of a series; you can see her planting seeds, especially when it comes to Robin, which can be expected to bear narrative fruit down the line. It will be a pleasure to watch what happens.

Kirkus Reviews