It’s been more than 20 years now since Harry Potter became a household name. His author, J.K. Rowling (which, let’s just settle this once and for all, rhymes with “bowling”), not far behind. If you’ve never read the series, it’s not too late—the books attract readers of all ages; multi-generational fanclubs abound. I had a fun chat with one of my nephews recently, who is reading the series for the first time. We compared notes on our favorite book (Goblet of Fire hands down) and lamented the fact that we both have sisters who have been sorted into Slytherin:
“Or perhaps in Slytherin
You’ll make your real friends
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.”
—from the Sorting Hat’s song, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
(Yeah. But Slytherins have good qualities too, right?. . . . They’re, um, resourceful? You might like to take the test yourself and find out which House you belong to. It’s uncannily accurate.)
I had never been big into the fantasy genre before Harry Potter, but it was definitely a gateway into other enjoyable series such as Inkheart and Eragon.
It was a bittersweet day when I turned the last page on the last book in the Harry Potter saga.
Years passed.
And then I met Cormoran Strike, the burly, foul-mouthed, beer-swilling detective created by Robert Galbraith. Pseudonym of none other than . . . J.K. Rowling.
I had never been big into detective novels before Cormoran Strike . . . (are you sensing a theme here?).
It’s hard not to like Cormoran Strike. Although he wouldn’t really give a crap whether you liked him or not. When we first meet Strike, his life is on a definite downward spiral. He’s a veteran of the Special Investigation Branch of the British military, missing half of his right leg after an explosion in Afghanistan; he just broke off (again, and probably for good) from his tempestuous lover; and he’s drowning in bills that his trickle of detective clients does little to offset. But don’t go feeling sorry for him; he certainly doesn’t feel sorry for himself. (And pity infuriates him anyway.) Strike is stubborn as hell, and just as smart. He can be gruff and unapologetic, but then surprise you with his compassion. He is protective and loyal to those who have earned his trust, a short list that comes to include Robin Ellacott, the most unlikely partner Strike ever would have imagined.
Robin shows up for work at Strike’s office, sent by a temp agency to fill a receptionist spot that Strike had forgotten to cancel—and can little afford to pay. Although the beautiful, clean-cut Robin is Strike’s foil in nearly every way, she turns out to be his equal when it comes to resourcefulness, stubbornness, and integrity. Working as a receptionist is far from Robin’s dream job, but being involved in detective work . . . well, that is a lifelong dream of hers. Before long, she has somehow made herself indispensable to the agency. When Strike is hired to investigate the high profile death (murder?) of a glamorous young starlet, things get very interesting.
I don’t want to say too much about the plots. It will be much more fun for the stories to unfold as you read them. Personally, I like to go into a new book pretty much cold so that I can be surprised and delighted by the twists and turns. And there are plenty of those in the Strike novels.
Speaking of surprise and delight. . . . Strike regularly enjoys a nice pint (or two, or four), and one that he orders up throughout the first novel is a brew called Doom Bar. I had never heard of it and didn’t imagine it was a real thing. But it is a real thing, at least in the UK, because when my husband and I visited Scotland a few years back, Doom Bar was on draft at the first pub we visited! Well I had to raise a pint to Strike, didn’t I? I expected it to be a dark and heavy stout, like the man himself, but it was a lovely amber ale. Delicious.
And then I was so distracted I neglected to take a photo. Amateur hour.
There are seven novels in the series so far: The Cuckoo’s Calling, The Silkworm, Career of Evil, Lethal White, Troubled Blood, The Ink Black Heart, and The Running Grave. Several of these have been adapted for television (the show is called “C.B. Strike”) and are available on various premium platforms.
There is a lot to love about J.K. Rowling’s work. She is a master at bringing a person to life using the written word. I’m consistently awed at her imagination and skill to so perfectly capture a character’s thoughts, motivations, mannerisms, and speech.
But maybe the best thing about Rowling’s books is that they are so long! Her novels are the type that you want to race through because they’re so engaging, but that you try to read slowly because you want to make them last. I’m always grateful that I have hundreds of pages over which to fight this battle. (The Running Grave is almost 1,000 pages!)
So if you’re on the hunt for some heavy light reading, raise your glass of Doom Bar (or butterbeer, Potter fans!) to J.K. Rowling. Between Harry Potter and Cormoran Strike, she certainly has you covered.
Don't Fleece the Bees 