Robert Galbraith (The Cuckoo's Calling; The Silkworm) has written another excellent hardboiled mystery. Violent and brilliant, Career of Evil continues the story of private detective Cormoran Strike--the one-legged, illegitimate son of a famous rock star, forced to leave active service after being blown up in Afghanistan. His secretary turned partner, Robin Ellacott, is understandably appalled when she receives a parcel from a courier, and it turns out to contain a woman's severed leg.
Cormoran and Robin begin staking out the men whom Cormoran believes could be responsible for sending the leg. ("You know four men who'd send you a severed leg? Four?" Robin queries in horror.) Hampered by a lack of support from the police, by the difficulty of tracking down the suspects' whereabouts across England, and by complications in Robin's personal life (her jealous fiancé hates that she works for Cormoran), the two are in a deadly race to uncover the truth as the killer continues his gory work, mutilating and killing more women.
Writing under the Galbraith nom de plume, J.K. Rowling's genius shines through, and fans of dark mysteries are sure to enjoy Career of Evil. An excellent blend of creepy details and relationship struggles, with Cormoran's bizarre childhood and Robin's own past coming into play, Career of Evil is a great mystery with two vastly different but equally likable protagonists. Galbraith does a superb job of making multiple men seem like possible suspects, keeping the reader guessing until the very last pages. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm