Ben Saufley

Software
Engineering Leader

The Cuckoo's Calling

Note: please see my 2025 blog post re: Rowling

Original Review I'm not really a crime novel reader, or whatever this genre would be called. I've listened to a few (listened to this on Audible as well) and they weren't awful but I found myself mostly impatient to know the end and be done with it. Here, I definitely wanted to know what happened but I also found the characters pretty entertaining and the process of getting there pretty fun.

I had no idea what to expect from Rowling in such a different genre, but she’s a really good storyteller, and it showed here as it showed in the Potter books.

It wasn’t a perfect book. But I think it knew its strengths and went with it – it didn’t spend very long establishing Deeby Macc as a rapper, or go into much detail about his music, and I think that was a good choice, because that pretty much never ends well. Strike is a kind of cartoon of a private eye, but I loved it. It was good pulp. I mean, basically that’s it. It was a fun read. I’ll read the next one.