The Silkworm | Robert Galbraith | Reviewed by Ria

The Silkworm | Robert Galbraith | Reviewed by Ria

• Wednesday, 7 January 2015

Comoron Strike is back. Right off the back of his success in solving the Lula Landry murder, Strike is now hot property in London and his private detective business is plodding along pretty steadily.

The mystery this time round? The case of Owen Quine. An infamous author who’s untimely disappearance coincides with the circulation of his unpublished manuscript depicting hideously grotesques versions of everyone he knows. 

When Quine turns up dead and brutally mutilated like one of his twisted fictional creatures, it’s up to Strike to figure out who did it. With his, now trusted assistant Robin by his side, Strike delves into the shady underground of the publishing industry.

So what’s my verdict? 

We’re back in a familiar territory with Strike, Robin and the dark underside of London, and the magic of a sequel is Strike really has come into his own in this story. We know his backstory, his rocky relationship with Robin has now settled and hot of the back of the Lula Landry case Strike is now in full Gene-Hunt mode with a brand new mystery to solve. 

Robin is also much more fleshed out and proves herself to be just as capable as Strike during the case. Their relationship dynamic is much more enjoyable in Silkworm, though Robin is the apprentice in this situation it’s nice to see Strike start to put them on level footing as the story goes on. 

The case itself is a classic 'whodunnit’ mixed with our suspects all in play at the beginning of the story this time, it’s just a case of piecing together the puzzle when Strike arrives on the scene. In true Galbraith style, the murder and seedier parts of the story are pretty graphic with excerpts of Quine’s infamous manuscript being particularly gruesome. There’s a host of irritable love-to-hate characters from all facets of Quine’s life, including his agent, family, lover and other rival novelists. 

Though the ending itself is slightly predictable, the race to get there is just as gratifying to get to as 'Cuckoo..’ was with twists and turns to keep you page-turning right to the very end. 

Reading Soundtrack: 

The Importance of Being Idle: Oasis; Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair: Arctic Monkeys; Chandelier: Sia; Ten Tonne Skeleton: Royal Blood; Died In Your Arms: Bastille 

For lovers of…The Cuckoo’s Calling, Sherlock and Dan Brown

This post was written by regular reviewer Ria, get to now her here.