TITLE: The Silkworm (2014)
AUTHOR: Robert Galbraith (pseudonym of J.K. Rowling)
RATING: 3.5/4
~ “‘Someone bloody famous,’ said the hoarse voice on the end of the line, ‘better’ve died, Strike.’” ~
Whenever a series in any medium chooses to release installments which fail to acknowledge past events, especially if it features recurring lead characters. Each story might have a thrilling plot but when it misses an opportunity to chart the growth of these fictional individuals along the way, it feels a little hollow. When an author does seize the chance to do so, it creates a rare and uncommon bond between reader and protagonists, hardly different from dropping in on a group of favourite people once a year and checking up on what shenanigans they have been up to.
The Silkworm is only the second installment in this burgeoning new series created by “Robert Galbraith”— a pseudonym unmasked last year as the secret identity of J.K. Rowling— but it has already taken steps to create a universe in which there is steady progress in the lives of the main characters. The case is quite different from its predecessor, The Cuckoo’s Calling, and it doesn’t rely too heavily on drawing on past events but acknowledging them to have taken place with the right amount of back story before moving along. It might sound like an inconsequential detail, yet it helps make all the difference in creating a familiarity not dissimilar to a certain magic castle in which a bespectacled wizard once kept returning to every year.
In the new adventure of “The Cormoran Strike Novels”, we are plunged back into the world of London and nearing the end of a massive investigation conducted by former war veteran turned private investigator, Cormoran Strike. After the infamous events of the first book, Strike has gone from being homeless and clientless to the mostly highly PI in demand. Following this opening chapter which feels lifted straight out of a James Bond pre-title sequence minus the gunfights and big sequences, Strike is recruited by an elderly lady to search for her husband. The missing person in question, Owen Quine, is a writer who has disappeared shortly after submitting his latest manuscript, Bombyx Mori (translated: a type of silkworm), rumoured to be a masqueraded critiqued attack on several prominent people in Owen’s life. In a tale worthy of Sherlock Holmes, the case takes a nauseous twist when the writer is found dead, murdered in a fashion that would make Jack the Ripper proud. What happens afterwards, I’ll leave unspoken and unspoiled.
The Silkworm is a superbly written, enthralling mystery that spools out with the perfect amount of tantalising suspense and intrigue to keep feverishly turning the pages to the revelation of the killer’s identity while strongly bound together by a cast of characters that leap out of the page with distinct voices and infectious personalities that is traditional J.K. Rowling. It’s also quite witty when you least expect it. The personal lives of Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott seamlessly blend in with that of the mystery without either component outdoing the other. There are quiet moments in the story: Strike watching a match between Arsenal and Spurs, Robin’s disastrous attempts to get her fiancé, Matthew, and Strike to meet for drinks and a birthday dinner for Strike organised by his sister. Perhaps they might not add up to much but it lends charm and depth to The Silkworm oft-absent in most other novels within the genre. Anyone is in doubt over J.K. Rowling’s skill to craft a fine mystery need only take a look at the books that made her name to understand that she successfully kept an entire world on tenterhooks for a decade with many of the secrets within the Harry Potter verse.
An underlying thematic similarity runs between The Silkworm and The Cuckoo’s Calling. If the murder of Lula Landry took Strike behind the scenes into the unpleasant underbelly that lay beneath the glamour of the fashion and modeling world, then The Silkworm takes a peek behind the curtains at the machinery that is the book industry and its influence on the lives of authors, publishers and literary agencies— territory that J.K. Rowling is no doubt familiar with. In both instances, Strike discovers that fame and fortune comes at terrible prices at times, a thin veneer that barely covers the tumultuous and unpleasant toxicity that keeps it afloat. Perhaps Cormoran Strike Novel #3 might investigate the inner workings of the filming and television industry.
Either way, it is an indisputable truth: J.K. Rowling is at the top of her game and shows no signs of slowing down or running out of creative steam. It is with trepidation and unbridled excitement I look forward to the next adventure— even though the case of Owen Quine is wrapped up with the final pages, seeds of conflict and potential storylines are being sown within the lives of Strike, Robin, Matthew and co. Perhaps they won’t achieve the same level of adoration that the Boy Who Lived and his friends still receive today but it is foolish to assume that Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott won’t stick around for long. Their work has only just begun.
The Snarky Quill 