#4: The Silkworm

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) is the 2nd book in the Cormoran Strike series.  I really loved the 1st Strike novel.  I think I finished it in less than 2 days.  While I was really intrigued with The Silkworm, it just read kind of slow for me.  There was a lot going on in this novel, so maybe it was just a little too much to read fast.

In The Silkworm, Cormoran's detective business is booming due to all the hype over him solving the Lula Laundry case.  This time a woman named Leona Quine comes to him looking for help to find her husband, writer Owen Quine, who has gone missing.  Mrs. Quine simply thinks her husband has went away for some quiet time due to a fight with his publisher about his newest novel.  We later find out that Quine has been murdered in a very gruesome manner.  Cormoran and Robin are on the case to find out all the details before the police.

This book was filled with tons of characters.  I had a hard time keeping all of them straight in their lives and in Quine's novel.  In the end another twist of who really committed the crime.  While I didn't like this one as much as the first, I'm still looking forward to more adventures for Cormoran and Robin.

Up Next:  Yes Please by Amy Poehler

#3: Five Minutes Alone

Five Minutes Alone by Paul Cleave is book #4 in a series.  It's about a detective named Theodore Tate.  He is recently back on the police force in Austrailia after being in a coma.  We learn that his wife and daughter were in an accident a year ago.  His daughter died and wife keeps forgetting the present and reverting back to the day the daughter died.  There is a whole lot of background that is probably given in the previous books.

In this story, Tate's previous partner, Schroder, is no longer on the police force.  He has a bullet in his brain and decides that the last thing he wants to do is give victims five minutes alone with the criminals who destroyed their lives.  What starts out as a "good idea" takes a turn and innocent people start to die.

We know who the "Five Minute Man" is from the start, but the story is still interesting.  I found the story a little hard to read.  Kind of confusing, but maybe because I missed some stuff in the other books.  It also described wounds in a lot of detail which was hard to read at times.  It was an interesting story, but not sure I liked it enough to read the other books in the series.

Up Next:  The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

#2: Little Mercies

I first heard of Heather Gudenkauf when I lived in Ohio and read the book Weight of Silence about two girls who go missing in Iowa.  I really liked that book and especially loved reading an Iowan author.  When I was looking at the new release section at the library, I saw a new book by Gudenkauf and thought I'd give it a try.

Little Mercies was the story of Ellen Moore, a social worker for DHS in Iowa.  The story is set in Cedar City, IA (maybe a combination of Iowa City and Cedar Falls?).  The story opens with Ellen forgetting to set the alarm.  The whole family is rushed to get to everything on time and while she is driving to a meeting she gets a call from one of her child clients.  She makes a detour to help the girl and then the unthinkable happens, changing her life forever.

Intertwined with Ellen's story, is the story of a 10 yr old girl named Jenny.  She lives with her alchololic father in a string of rundown apartments and hotels.  They are hoping to make a new start in Dubuque, IA, but arrive at a problem right before the bus leaves.  Jenny ends up finding herself in Cedar City, IA.  The book switches through both stories throughout the book

I liked the story.  I just felt it was a little too predictable in some parts.  It almost had a little bit of a Picoult flare to it.  It wasn't as good as the Weight of Silence, but I think I would still read more books by Heather Gudenkauf.

#1: The Cuckoo's Calling

I finished The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith last night.  Galbraith is a pseudonym for JK Rowling.  The Cuckoo's Calling is the first book in the Cormoran Strike series.  Strike is a private detective in England.  Both his business and love life are failing, but he gets a great new start when Robin joins his office as a temporary secretary.  The day she joins, he gets asked to help prove that supermodel Lula Landry did not commit suicide, but instead was murdered.

I really liked the characters of Strike and Robin.  They had such a unique way of working together.  I also loved the voice of Strike.  He was really grumpy and rude at times, but he was also funny and definitely good at his job.

I had a hard time putting the book down.  I really wanted to figure out what happened.  Several times I thought I had it figured out, but I really didn't know what happened until the very end.  I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

Up Next:  Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf