The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

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The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith


Cormoran Strike has reached a certain level of notoriety since solving the Lulu Stark murder case eight months ago. Business as a private investigator is booming and he is finally able to start paying off his considerable amount of debts. Most of his clients are dealing with adulterous spouses and bad business dealings that is until he is approached by Leonara Quine. Her husband, the novelist Owen Quine, has been missing for ten days. Unwilling to go the police because he has disappeared before and been found at his mistress’ house, she simply wants him to be located and to return home. Cormoran begins investigating the novelist’s disappearance and learns of his latest manuscript, Bombyx Mori. The manuscript that he was hoping to get published, angered many members of the literary community, including his agent and publisher, with the outlandish claims he was making on their personal lives. When the investigation of a missing man turns into a murder investigation, Bombyx Mori will not only provide the motive for the crime but the suspects as well.
The Silkworm is an intense, dramatic, murder mystery novel. Our main character, Cormoran Strike, is filled with depth and complications. In short, he feels real. He is likable and capable of handling the situations that are being thrown at him. Robin, his assistant/secretary/right hand, is eager to prove herself and to eventually become his partner in the business as an investigator as well. As the case becomes more complicated, their tasks change but their integrity stays. Their journey seems never ending and the murder unsolvable because of Bombyx Mori and all of the people who are given motives, or at the very least incentives, to hate him.

For anyone who doesn’t know, Robert Galbraith is J.K. Rowling’s pseudonym. What has become the Cormoran Strike series is amazing. The Silkworm is a brilliant bit of storytelling, filled with layers that slowly reveal themselves and with a conclusion wholly unexpected, in my humble opinion. Galbraith took on a tremendous task by including so many “suspects” in this novel, but it was tasks that was handled beautifully. Each character was completely flushed out and thoroughly developed. I was engrossed in the story from the onset. I was already familiar with Cormoran Strike and his unique position in life and I was interested to see how Galbraith could develop this character further. At this point I am hoping for more novels involving this character. The subtlety of the writing and intensity that developed on each page was extremely entertaining. The exploration of the characters, the idea of revenge and its consequences, the criticism of the literary community as a whole made this novel great. I give this novel 5 out of 5 stars. I couldn’t put it down. 

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