Book Review: The Silkworm

…by Robert Galbraith aka J. K. Rowling.

The Silkworm is Rowling’s second crime novel under the pseudonym Galbraith. Private investigator Cormoran Strike’s business is flourishing after the Lula Landry case. His temp from the year before, Robin, is now his full-time assistant. Strike is approached by Lenora Quine to look for her husband, writer Owen Quine, who she thinks has gone to a writer’s retreat.

Strike begins what seems to be an easy case and soon realises that Quine created a huge stir before taking off. He had written a book, Bombyx Mori {i.e. The Silkworm}, based on several characters in his life including his wife, his agent, his publishers, his mistress and a few others. Unfortunately, none of them is portrayed in a positive light. As Strike begins looking for Quine, he soon finds him. Except, Owen Quine has been murdered. Thanks to the manuscript of Bombyx Mori, suspects are aplenty. Could it be his agent Elizabeth Tassel, his alcoholic editor Jerry Waldegrave, his publisher Daniel Chard, his mistress Kathryn Kent, his protégée, Pippa Midgeley, his rival and author, Michael Fancourt, or even his wife Lenora?

It’s up to Strike to find out before the murderer strikes again.

Rowling is pretty damn good at mysteries. I enjoyed the first book and I loved this one too. I kept guessing and going back and forth regarding the killer. While I wasn’t completely thrown by the revelation as in the previous book, I was still captivated by the motive behind the murder. Rowling is a great storyteller and her main characters — Strike and Robin — are well-developed and extremely likeable. Sometimes I reckon she writes massively long books to throw the reader off. I’m sure she leaves little clues along the way but given that it’s such a long book, you forget those hints! 😛

If you want a good mystery, I’d recommend this book.

My rating:

Where to find the book:

Amazon | Book Depository | Booktopia | Flipkart

Until next time,

Cheers!!!