The Hallmarked Man

I didn't want this book to end! Robin and Strike are my two favorite detectives and the sexual tension burning between the two of them was so good in this book. SO GOOD! I want them to get together, but I also don't because I think that is part of the allure. They always pine for each other but the timing is never right. This is the 8th book in the series, and I have to say they keep getting better. i was totally invested in finding the identity of the body in the vault. I had an inkling of the murderer's identity but I didn't have all the pieces put together on the identity of the body in the silver vault. Intriguing and filled with lots of moving pieces and red herrings. Also the ending!!! I hate that I am going to have to wait over a year (or two) for the next one! I need it now!

The Running Grave

I was ENGROSSED from the beginning. Galbraith's writing and intricate plots keep getting better and better and I could not put this down. I literally stayed up until 2am last night to finish it like a crazy person. Strike and Robin's latest case is from a concerned father who just want to get their adult son back. Will Edensor has been taken in by the Universal Humanitarian Church (picture Scientology, but worse) and is unwilling to leave. Will has a delicate mental state and is easily coerced so they are sure that he is being taken advantage of. Robin agrees to go under cover and join the ranks of the UHC and what she discovers is far worse then they had imagined. They knew it was a cult, but what is going on at the farm is beyond the pale. It's dark, fucked up, and omg this book was intense. Such  a great twisty read. I am already sad that I have to wait upwards of a year for the next book!

The Ink Black Heart

I put off reading this book for so long because 1) JK Rowling is problematic as hell and 2) it's ridiculously long. However once I started it I was COMPLETELY absorbed - it was an absolute treat to read 1,000+ pages with Robin and Strike (the slow burn continues!) investigating their trickiest case yet. The creator of a popular online cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, is found brutally stabbed and murdered in the park along with her partner (although he lives). The week prior Edie Ledwell (the creator) had reached to Robin to ask for help for because the online harassment that she had been receiving for years had really ramped up and she thought she was in danger. After she is found murdered, Robin is wracked with guilt about not taking the case when she was still alive, so when Edie's relatives reach out to see if they can discover who Anomie, the online troll is, (who also happens to be the number one suspect) they jump on the case. Anomie is a moderator of a game based off The Ink Black Heart and does nothing but spew vitriol about Edie, even after her death. Strike and Robin will have to go online and learn quickly all about this toxic fandom and pull the mask off Anomie before anyone else connected with the cartoon dies. Dense, but fantastic. I could not put it down - hell I would have read more. I didn't come close to correctly guessing Anomie. Give me more Strike and Robin!!!

Troubled Blood

First off, obligatory disclaimer that I do not endorse JK Rowling and her transphobic views. I am eliminating the author from this book series (as I have with Alexi, Diaz, Carroll, and others) and appreciating the story for the story. Personally I think this is my favorite in the series. Which says a lot as this dense book is over NINE HUNDRED PAGES! I've been all in on Cormoran Strike since the first book in the series and I love him even more now. I love that Robin is his full fledged partner and I love that beneath their mutual respect is simmering slow burn attraction (kiss already!). For the first time ever they decide to take on a cold case about a woman who disappeared more than thirty years prior and what they have to go on isn't much. Everyone assumes the Essex Butcher murdered her along with others but there has never been any proof. When Strike and Robin finally get their hands on the police notes they're horrified by the state of the case. It was mishandled from the beginning and the officer in charge back in the day suffered a neurotic break in the middle of it - attributing suspects to black magic and astrology. On top of that Strike's aunt, the woman who raised him, is slowly dying and Robin's ex-husband is determined to draw out the divorce proceedings. They have their hands full. So many layers and twists and turns - I didn't see the end coming. Fantastic detective novel!!

Lethal White

I won't lie. This might be my favorite out of the Cormoran Strike series so far. Once I got into it, I was INTO it. There were soo many twists, turns, clues, and red herrings; it takes a genius to map out a plot like this. I also enjoyed where their love lives are heading are heading in Lethal White; at this rate I don't know if Robin and Cormoran will ever get together but after reading this... book five should be promising. So much sexual tension!!!! The plot of this one is intriguing, it starts with a mentally deranged man barging into Strike's office blathering on about witnessing a murder as a child and suddenly it ties in with socialists, ministers, some wealthy snobs, and worst of all, Strike's ex, Charlotte. Tightly wound and filled with unforgettable (albeit, mostly unlikable) characters. I literally cannot wait for the next book. What will they solve next? Hopefully their attraction for each other!

Career of Evil

Another great installment in Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike series. Honestly, they keep getting better. I don't know if this or the first one (The Cuckoo's Calling) is my favorite. As all good mystery stories start, this one begins with a murder. Of who, it's not entirely sure. A package containing a severed human leg is sent to Robin at the detective office. Quickly other body parts start mounting up and it's clear that someone is trying to take down Strike and his reputation. He's convinced that it's one of three people from his past so Strike and his beautiful assistant, Robin, start doing a little sleuthing on their own. They're worries that the police will blunder (as usual in this series) and Strike is worried for Robin's safety as the killer is targeting young women. Amidst all this, Robin is having a trying time with her fiance, Matthew. Is her work life going to interfere with her wedding? Fast paced and intriguing, I didn't solve the mystery until a chapter before it was revealed. I already can't wait for the next one!

The Silkworm

I know, I know. I'm a horrible JK Rowling fan, this book has been out for nearly three weeks and I'm just now getting around to reading. I'm awful! I loved the first Comoran Strike novel and I'm glad to say I loved the newest addition as well! For readers that haven't read the first book, don't be alarmed. As with any good mystery series they all serve well as stand alones and don't have to be read in order.

This mystery was fast paced and had me guessing the entire time. I had no idea how it was all going to possibly come together. This mystery follows the disappearance of a b-list author. His wife contacts Detective Strike to find him after he's been gone for ten days thinking that he's off on some writer's retreat or worse with a mistress. Strike soon finds out however, that things are much, much worse.

For fans of JK Rowlings, mysteries, and anything set in London.

The Cuckoo's Calling

Wow, what an exciting romp! I enjoyed this work infinitely more than I did Rowling's other non-Harry Potter piece, "The Casual Vacancy." This is just a good ol' fashioned murder mystery with a down on his luck detective and a bright beautiful secretary.

The story opens with the "suicide" of world famous model, Lula Landry, and all the hype it caused. Fast forward to three months later and Lula's adopted brother hires a private detective to look deeper into the mysterious circumstances shrouding Lula's death. Comoran takes the case even though he doesn't think there's anything to be uncovered, but he soon discovers just how wrong he was. He and his secretary Robin team up to find the lost and scattered breadcrumbs that lead them into a life so distinctly different from theirs, the life of the rich and famous.

This fast paced novel will keep you turning pages and guessing who killed Lula (if she was killed after all). Highly recommended and I can't wait to read the next in the series!