Robert Galbraith

Cormoran Strike Book 3

Career of Evil

When a woman's severed leg is delivered to Robin Ellacott, her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, looks into his past to determine who is responsible.

Career of evil

Lara Engle

Another rollicking adventure, though gruesome. They really ramped up the sexual tension this time. They solved the mystery, but still managed to end on a cliffhanger. I can't wait for the next one to come out this fall!

'Deliriously clever' GUARDIAN ----- Now a major BBC drama: The Strike series When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman's severed leg. Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible - and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality. With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them... A fiendishly clever mystery with unexpected twists around every corner, Career of Evil is also a gripping story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives. You will not be able to put this book down. *** The latest book in the thrilling Strike series, TROUBLED BLOOD, is available to pre-order now! *** ----- PRAISE FOR THE STRIKE SERIES: 'One of the most unique and compelling detectives I've come across in years' MARK BILLINGHAM 'The work of a master storyteller' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Unputdownable. . . Irresistible' SUNDAY TIMES 'Will keep you up all night' OBSERVER 'A thoroughly enjoyable classic' PETER JAMES, SUNDAY EXPRESS

Imogen west

Good mystery but is a lot more dark than the other books in the series

Career of Evil is the third in the highly acclaimed series featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott. When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman's severed leg. Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible--and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality. With the police focusing on one of the suspects, Strike and Robin delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them...

Charlotte Dann

Update - made a video on this.
The writing is brilliant and the character development in this one particularly is great. My one problem is that it was a little hard to follow all the plot threads and remember tangential character names, but I put that down to my audio consumption. All in all this is turning out to be a gripping series.

Simon Lund Larsen

This is by far the best in the Cormoran Strike series, and JK Rowling is showing that she is more than capable of writing anything else than teenage fantasy books. 

It is a classic English crime / detective novel but also a fantastic character study of the two main characters Strike and Robin. Their relationship is the true story of the book the rest is just forming the background.

Highly recommended... for anyone.

Juliana Matias

So this just happened.

Again I feel like I need to start this review with a disclaimer: I am the worst book geek there ever was. I say that because I mainly just read when I’m living abroad. I don’t know why, but the fact of the matter is that from 2010 till 2015 I was reading perhaps less than 6 books a year. It was only last year that I moved back to Europe, and suddenly I’m joining bookclubs and reading 35 books in 9 months.

Anyway, I hope this might excuse the fact that I did not know this was a JKR book when I picked it up, nor had I read the previous ones. The only reason I bought this was because it was on sale for £0.99 on Audible. I know. I should not be allowed to call myseld a book afficcionado. I promise I’ll try and do better.

In any case, let me get on to the actual review portion of my rambles. Brief summary for those of you who, like me, have no idea who Cormoran Strike is.

Strike is a PI who, along with his assistant/partner Robin, has solved a few high profile cases (I am assuming in the previous books) and has become quite famous. He’s also missing a leg and, surprisingly enough, a positive balance on his bank statement. Someone from his past is obviously very jealous of his success and decides to screw with him by sending him a package – containing a human leg. Yes, you read me right: a human leg.

He contacts the police (apparently they don’t like him much on account of his previous successes having made them look like incompetent fools), and presents them with suspects: men from his past who hold him responsible for misfortunes in their lives (such as murder or going to jail for abuse – you know, the kinds of things that are totally another person’s fault ¬¬), and who he believes are capable of murder. The police officer doesn’t put a lot of stock into his suspects, so he decides to start investigating on his own, with Robin’s help.

Then it starts: there is SO MUCH going on with this book. The story unravels slowly, each thread carefully presented and woven together in a masterful way. We don’t get the backstories right from the start. We don’t know why Strike considers them to be the possible perpetrator. As the investigations begin, paralel for each suspect, we start getting little nuggets of information and maybe there are clues throughout (hindsight being 20/20 and all that), but it left me hanging until the very end.

We slowly learn so much not only about the suspects, but also about Strike and Robin, and the supporting characters. They are all complex creatures, full of nuance and I just got so involved (I wanted to bitchslap Matthew so hard).

Anyway, I don’t want to spoil anyone – you should read the book.

It is a great mystery novel, without all the forced romance crap you find sometimes in books of the genre which tend to kill the stories (at least for me). Although I think she may have been trying to hint at a romantic foundation there somewhere, I can’t be sure. I think she’s brilliant, but the woman is not a romance writer and for me, that’s a good thing.

Tiago Mariz

The caracter development and big parts of the book dedicated to the relationships between the main characters are what I thought stalled the flow of the investigation taking place in some spots, but on the other hand, those same relationships are vital to the overall plot of this novel and perfectly understand this decision. Overall really enjoyed this (although not to the same extent as the "The Silkworm") and am looking forward to continuing the series in the future.

Izza

3.5 stars | This is definitely the strongest (and most interesting) case in this series so far.

J. K. Rowling

When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman's severed leg. Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible - and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality. With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them... A fiendishly clever mystery with unexpected twists around every corner, Career of Evil is also a gripping story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives. You will not be able to put this book down.

Sebastián

This is an incredible way to pick up the story, I thoroughly enjoyed the shifting perspectives in the chapters and how much we got to learn about the character's past as well as their development in the present. A must read for fans of the genre.

Eva Bailey

This was so scary, my fav Strike novel so far. The serial killer POVs were terrifying.

Neta Steingart

Coasts on my affection for jk rowling and for her characters. The plot is as always with this series a big ole meh.

Yulande Lindsay

I'm a definite fan of the Cormorant Strike series. J.K. Rowling knows how to write. Her gift for description takes you in so completely, you almost feel you're there. She's good. Looking forward very much to the next installment.

Melanie Richards

Dangit, Jo. How am I supposed to wait for the next one?

Nick Bicko

Da mir die ersten beiden Teile besser gefallen haben und dieses Buch deutlich schwerer in die Gänge kommt, "nur" 4 Sterne. Strike und Robin sind jedoch weiterhin tolle Figuren und JKR die gewohnt großartige Erzählerin.

Carolina

Quiero que jk se disculpe personalmente por haberme hecho leer ese final digno de una novela pedorra del trece.

Maria

как-то очень много не относящихся к расследованию подробностей, мне показалось

Becky

Such mixed feelings about this one. The mystery was on point and absolutely amazing. I loved that element and I loved the continued crossed wires between Strike and Robin as they tried to catch the killer. I didn't love the Robin's fiance did not get what he deserved though. I mean, he wasn't a terrible let person but a fake materialistic one who you just know you wouldn't like. I don't know. I will stew on this one for a while.

WHAT THE HELL OF AN ENDING HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE NOW.

I NEED ANSWERS J.K.

Alex

I'm going to run out of stars to give if the series continues to get better and better with each book. This one was just amazing - the characters developed so much and the plot is so far the best from all Cormoran Strike series. I especially loved the parts written from the killer's point of view, they were super disturbing but at the same time fascinating. It captured perfectly what I think would go on in a psychopath's mind. I think it's one of if not the best crime book I've ever read. Good job Rowling! I'm waiting for the next one!

Carla Borralho

laura

Very good. A little bit slow at points but a strong mystery. I loved the characters even more and can't wait for the next book!

Yoomi

4 1/2 stars
JK Rowling (aka Robert Galbraith) gets really dark in this one: murder, mutilation, child abuse, and rape. I cringed and couldn't shake the awful skin crawling feeling but I couldn't put it down. I've been recommending this series to anyone who likes suspense/mystery.

I felt like Rowling shined in the relationship portion of this book. The mystery was average. I wasn't a fan of the final turn, but will look forward to the next installment.

Akanksha Chattopadhyay

Reading a Rowling book, you walk away with characters you love like real people, if not more. Her detective fiction is no exception. A grisly, unnerving theme managed with utmost sensitivity and perfect storytelling leads to a multidimensional expansion of Cormoran Strike's world, setting stage, as is doubtless, for more adventures to follow.
Coming to look at it, The Silkworm had probably been a better-written piece of crime fiction. This, however, is more Rowling-esque.

Career of Evil Cormoran Strike Book 3

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