Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.
With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…
Career of Evil is the third in the series featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott. A mystery and also a story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives.
Comment: This is book #3 on the Cormoran Strike series by author Robert Galbraith. I have enjoyed the previous books which means I will most certainly finish the series.
In this third installment, things are going well enough for Robin, Cormoran's assistant and secretary. She feels she is learning to become an investigator and she knows she is a key piece in the office too so when a woman's severed leg is sent to her, she is obviously affected, especially because the whole thing makes her fiancé Matt react badly about her working there.
Cormoran, however, feels he is the right intended for the leg and that by using Robin's name, the author only wanted to send a message. The police starts the official investigation into the woman whose leg was sent to them but both Robin and Cormoran start their own mission trying to put the more obvious possible suspects in a likely position to have committed the crime.
In between personal and professional issues both Robin and Cormoran need to overcome, will the killer be finally caught?
I would say that the die hard fans of mystery and thrillers would think the plot of this book to be too slow in pace. Things take quite a while to happen even if the characters are always doing something.
However, for those who like crime books mixed in with good (or perhaps simply emotional) traits evidenced by the main characters, this is certainly a good example.
The author pleases both sides quite well but I must confess what makes me want to read these books is very, very simple: how Robin and Strike's relationship evolves among all the investigation.
The investigation in this book is a little different from the other two because the crime committed is closely related to Strike. This means we get to discover more things about him as the story evolves and clues about the suspects arise and how that is connected to Strike and his past.
This is clearly a clever way to slowly unravel secrets of the protagonist while keeping up the interest in a crime investigation, without it becoming too boring.
For me, the really great part was how more protagonism Robin seemed to have here. It's really an exciting part of the story to peel off layers of the characters, to understand why they are like that or why some things have not yet been shared.
I suppose what we discover here about Robin isn't such a discovery but it's quite different to assume something and to have it admitted by her. I keep hoping Robin shares more about her and the possible amazing skills she can come up with. This happened here very well: she has a few scenes that are truly amazing and showcase her immense potential.
On the other hand, the author didn't transform Robin into this super able heroine. Robin makes mistakes, has low moments and a complicated personal life. I think all readers who, like me, are more focused on the personal side of things in these books, keep getting a little frustrated by how slow and vague things still are. Even after interesting admissions by both Strike and Robin in their inner monologue moments, they both behave as humans do and just get swamped by life and other commitments, their own fears and thoughts of unworthiness. I just hope the author can start changing this soon because it would be as great to have them as real couple as it is to just wish for it.
Strike is still the main character, of course, and the investigation is finally solved by him.
There are several suspects and red herrings everywhere, some purely for distraction, other clues don't matter to the crime investigation but do offer handy knowledge on the character's lives for other reasons.
When the real killer is uncovered, of course it makes all sense, just like in any crime story and the reason why had been in open sight of the reader, but of course the why and how aren't that easy to understand until the end. This to say, the crime aspects aren't badly done, but with so much going on, it can be easy to overlook what matters or not to its solving.
So, all things considered, this was still a good story, it's a big book with a lot to focus on, which means there are a lot of pages, but it's a good feel to be immersed in the story and the character's lives. I'm hoping more things happen in the next book, which I'm eager to read next month.
Grade: 8/10
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