Troubled Blood by J.K. Rowling (Robert Galbraith) *** (of 4)

 

Fifth in the JK Rowling series of crime novels in which private detective Cormoran Strike and now-profesional-partner Robin Ellacott get paid to investigate crimes. Naturally, they receive a lot of requests to track down philandering husbands and business partners suspected of skimming the books, but also once per book they also have to cope with someone truly despicable and dangerous.

Troubled Blood is a request from the daughter of a mother that went missing decades ago. At the time of the incident the disappearance was pinned on a pathological serial killer, but the evidence was shaky and the investigating policeman was losing his mind. Rowling is a master of multiple storylines: we find ourselves tied up in more than a search for a presumed killer. We want to know whether Cormoran and Robin can keep their relationship strictly professional and how each will grow following losses in their personal lives. It matters how the two of them relate to their parents, struggling as we all do, to find the balance between adult independence and the familial relationships that influenced how we became ourselves. As she did in the Harry Potter series, Rowling's books are growing in length, but the magnetism of this nearly-1,000 page tome is Rowlings exceptional ability to reproduce people, conversations, the ebb and flow of friendships, love, self-doubt, and growth. In short, she captures life.