The Cuckoo's Calling -- Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling)

Rumor has it that this pseudonymous novel was submitted to unsuspecting publishers under the Galbraith pen name and that it was turned down by at least one of them.  Some editor might be a little bit regretful about that, now that the secret of the author's identity is out.

Cormoran Strike is a seedy London p. i. reduced to sleeping on a cot in his office after an unpleasant breakup with his fiancee.  When the temp service sends around a secretary, Strike's first impulse is to send her way because he can't afford her, but he doesn't.  Then a client shows up, claiming that his sister (not by blood but by adoption), a supermodel whose death has been declared a suicide, was murdered.  Strike's first impulse is to send the client away, too, but he doesn't.  A good thing, because as any reader knows immediately, it was indeed murder.

Strike is a meticulous note-taker and filer, and Rowling chronicles his every move through London's high society and low for over 450 pages.  I'm not a fan of long books, and I think this one could easily have lost a hundred pages or so without anybody noticing.  However, Strike is an interesting character with an interesting backstory, and his Watson (the secretary, Robin) has a way about her.  The book is full of oddball characters, and the mystery and its solution will please anyone who likes the complexity of the Golden Age.  Which I do, now and then.  The solution requires many pages of explanation, but it all hangs together. I believe that Rowling has said that the sequel is already written and ready to go.

I didn't notice any peculiarities that would give away who the writer is, though Galbraith does share Rowling's tendency to give adverbial tags to speakers' words ("she said intelligently" or "she said aggressively").  Plenty of other adverbs, too.  No one has explained about adverbs to Rowling.  Either that or she's ignored them.  Good for her.