Cormoran Strikes Again

Robert Galbraith, otherwise known as JK Rowling, will be back on track next week with a substantial new novel featuring the private investigator  Cormoran Strike, the immense, hairy, one-legged, ex-army  hero of The Cuckoo’s Calling.  Fearing - though surely not - that readers perhaps need to be reminded who Galbraith is,  Kindle have released two chapters, without charge, ahead of the official publication date. 

As a Kindle (and Rowling) reader I find this not only appetite-whetting - as it is bound to be -   but also surprising. One of Kindle’s calculated little generosities has long been to let us see the opening section of all its publications before committing ourselves to buying them. But since the opening section may be an introduction, or part of an introduction, written by someone other than the author of the book, this is not always quite as generous as it may seem. What is sent to us, indeed, may sometimes consist of little more than a list of contents or of illustrations.  

But access to two chapters of the latest Rowling, albeit written once again under a now not very concealing nom de plume, seems a good way to generate enthusiasm, and unless you are one of those twitterers who are currently clamouring furiously about Rowling’s defence of everybody’s right to say no to the prospect of an independent Scotland,  it’s an opportunity worth grabbing.   I’ve read them and, as someone who greatly enjoyed the previous Cormoran Strike adventure, I shall certainly be buying the new book, entitled The Silkworm. 

14 June 2014