The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Since I read extensively in the murder mystery/detective genre, and am especially fond of many British novelists of this ilk, I might very well have come upon this book in my own sweet time without knowing the pseudonym of the author.  Unfortunately I did not have the chance to read it anonymously, and did so knowing it is the product of J.K.Rowling.  That was perhaps a mixed blessing, in my case, because while I ardently adore the Harry Potter series, I was not at all impressed by her last book, 'Casual Vacancy'.  So I was pretty flexible in my approach--hopeful that the book would be good, but acknowledging that it might not be.

I have already disclosed a positive bias towards the genre that Rowling chose for her second (and apparently her third) post-Harry Potter efforts.  She has created a strong protagonist, in the shadow of great school-of-hard-knocks gumshoe detectives--Cormoran Strike is an Afghani War veteran who suffered a loss of one leg below the knee in the war, but to date doesn't seem overly burdened by PTSD.  He has a complicated love life with a woman who seems like she has Borderline Personality Disorder and a father who is well known for shady activities.  Lots of room to grow stories with a start like that.  He manages to get an incredible secretary/side kick (in a completely believable way), and while his private detective agency is very much struggling, the case in this book is well articulated and interesting.  Rowling as Galbraith continues to be an excellent story teller--the wrap up of the story is weaker than what comes before it, but this is a strong start as a murder mystery writer.