Lethal White by Robert Galbraith

This is the fourth book in the Strike series written pseudonymously by J.K Rowling. Each book improves on the last; every one of the 650 pages was packed with story.

The book begins with Robin's wedding to Matt. The intricacies of Robin's love life and Strike's are just as compelling as the crime they're investigating.

The pair has been hired by an MP who is being blackmailed. The story is complex. It moves between a socialist thug and his girlfriend, the MPs posh horsey family, and other politicians.

My only slight criticism is that Strike has problems with his amputated leg throughout the book. I'm hoping he gets a new state of the art prosthesis in the next book, because I wouldn't want to read another one about it. Other than that, I can't wait for the next one.

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

This is definitely the best so far of J.K Rowling's pseudonymously written Cormoran Strike crime novels. Strike's partner Robin is sent a severed leg in the post with a message that relates to Strike's past. Strike can immediately think of four men who hate him enough to have targeted his partner and his business. The story unfold as they try and track down each of these men.

Robin's impending marriage to the good looking but shallow Matthew and her past secrets, feature prominently. One of the four suspects is Strike's former step-father, so more is revealed about his past and his childhood.

By basing the case around Strike himself, the book avoids wasting time building up background stories for a whole array of possible suspects. Each suspect reveals something about Strike's past. Business plummets as a result of the publicity from the severed leg. This allows the story to focus on the single case. The police investigators are all characters from the earlier books; this again saves time sketching out new characters.

Rowling seems to enjoy writing about the seedier side of life, the drug dealers, the sex trade and the paedophiles. These are all in the book but they're nicely balanced with details about wedding planning and expensive restaurants. Strike's life sits uncomfortably between the seedy world of the people from his past and the monied world of his girlfriends, his father and his clients.

The complexity of language and sentence structure, compared to the Harry Potter series, show Rowling's skill as a writer. There are plans for a BBC miniseries based on the books. I look forward to seeing who is chosen to play Strike.

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

This is the second book in the Cormoran Strike series, which currently includes three books, penned pseudonymously by J.K Rowling.

Strike is again working with his beautiful, but spoken for, sidekick and secretary Robin. They are investigating the disappearance of an erratic writer, who has recently completed a book seemingly designed to offend everyone in his life including his wife, his mistress, his agent and his publisher.

The case is more interesting than the one in the first book, but suffers from a similar weakness; there are so many thinly sketched suspects, the reader is left guessing but not necessarily caring, which of them committed the murder. This is particularly true of the male suspects. In contrast, the background stories of Strike and Robin are expertly developed. So again, I can't wait to read the next book.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

This is the first book in a crime series by Harry Potter author J.K Rowling (written under a pseudonym). Cormoran Strike is the illegitimate son of a rock star. He was injured in Afghanistan and is struggling to make ends meet as a private investigator. John Bristow asks Strike to investigate the supposed suicide of John's famous adopted sister, supermodel Lula Landry. Other characters include Robin, Strike's temporary secretary who begins to play Watson to his Sherlock; and Charlotte, Strike's beautiful but tempestuous girlfriend.

I'm not used to this genre, but I quickly realised I was going to have to read 400 pages to find out whodunnit. This didn't seem very appealing when I started, but I soon became interested in Cormoran and Robin, and after about 300 pages I wanted to know who did it!

Rowling seems to be master of the long complex sentence and clear descriptions that tell rather than show. I read a review that said you need to read the book with a dictionary by your side but I didn't find that to be the case.

Overall it's a great read. The crime being investigated was interesting but not enthralling; however, I'm keen to read the next one to find out what happens to Strike and Robin.