Cormoran Strike is a private detective who has just broken up with his on-again/off-again girlfriend of fifteen years. He's living in his office, where he gets almost daily calls asking for the money he owes for the business. Robin is a temp sent from an agency to help run his office, although she quickly discovers that there's not much to do because there's not much business. Out of the blue, in walks a man asking Strike to investigate the death of his sister, Lula Landry. She was a famous supermodel whose official cause of death was suicide, although her brother believes she was murdered. Strike doesn't believe it was murder, but he accepts the case regardless and begins looking into Lula's life.
Strike makes for an interesting main character, one who regrets how much of his life is now turning out, yet he never asks for pity or even wants to let on to others what he's really going through. The professional relationship between Strike and Robin keeps propelling much of the emotional story forward.
Many may know that the author is writing under a pseudonym and that the author is actually J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame. I had not read anything by J.K. Rowling prior to The Cuckoo's Calling, which may have been in my favor. I wasn’t comparing the book to anything, and I really enjoyed it. I’m not a big mystery reader, but I thought this was a very enjoyable read and it kept me guessing until the very end.