Cormoran Strike Books in Order, A Robert Galbraith series
Under the pen name Robert Galbraith, famous British novelist J.K. Rowling ventures into the world of crime fiction with her Cormoran Strike series. The story is centered on Cormoran Strike, a former combatant who was severely wounded by an Afghan landmine explosion, both physically and psychologically. Now he’s coping with financial difficulties and the demands of life as a private investigator in the busy city of London.
That’s where he meets Robin Ellacott, who was initially recruited as his temporary secretary for just one week, during this tumultuous period. Strike had no idea that Robin’s skills and ingenuity would go beyond her temporary position and eventually forge the special alliance that serves as the series’ central conflict. Together, they set out on an exciting trip to solve challenging riddles and negotiate the complexities of modern London living.
How to read the Cormoran Strike Series in Order?
Every book in the Cormoran Strike book series works as a standalone story, but the lives of the different characters evolve from one novel to the other.
- The Cuckoo’s Calling – It is thought that a troubled model killed herself when she plunged to her death from a snow-covered Mayfair balcony. Her brother, who has reservations, hires private detective Cormoran Strike to investigate into the matter. Strike receives a financial lifeline from the case, but it comes at a personal cost: the more he explores the complicated world of the young model, the darker things become and the more in peril he finds himself.
- The Silkworm – Novelist Owen Quine goes missing, and his wife hires private investigator Cormoran Strike to find him. She first assumes that he has left home alone for a few days, as he has done in the past, and she wants Strike to locate him and bring him back. Strike’s investigation, however, reveals that there is more going on with Quine’s absence than his wife is aware of. It becomes a race against time to comprehend the purpose of a merciless killer, one unlike any he has previously seen, when Quine is discovered brutally slain in strange circumstances.
- Career of Evil – A woman’s dismembered limb is what Robin Ellacott discovers startled as she opens an unexpected package. Cormoran Strike, her supervisor and a private investigator, is less shocked but nevertheless concerned. He believes that four persons from his history may be to blame, each of whom is capable of unimaginable persistent savagery.
- Lethal White – When a troubled young man named Billy asks Cormoran Strike to help him investigate a crime he witnessed as a child, the private eye is left deeply troubled. While Billy is obviously mentally distressed and cannot remember many concrete details, there is something sincere about him and his story. Trying to get to the bottom of Billy’s story, Strike and Robin Ellacott set off on a twisting trail that leads them from the backstreets of London to a beautiful but sinister manor house deep in the countryside.
- Troubled Blood – When a lady approaches Private Detective Cormoran Strike when he is visiting his family in Cornwall, she asks for assistance in locating her mother, Margot Bamborough, who vanished under suspicious circumstances in 1974. Strike had never attempted to solve a cold case, much less one that is forty years old. Though there is little likelihood of success, he is fascinated and attempts it.
- The Ink Black Heart – Private eye Robin Ellacott is unsure of how to react when desperate, disheveled Edie Ledwell storms into her office and begs to talk to her. Edie, the co-creator of the well-known cartoon The Ink Black Heart, is being harassed online by an unknown person using the alias Anomie. Edie is driven to find out who Anomie really is. Before learning the tragic news that Edie had been tasered and then murdered at Highgate Cemetery, the setting of The Ink Black Heart, a few days later, Robin makes the decision that the agency can’t help with this.
- The Running Grave – A frightened parent whose son, Will, has joined a religious cult in the heart of the Norfolk countryside engages the service of Cormoran Strike. On the surface, the Universal Humanitarian Church appears to be a nonviolent group that works to improve the world. But Strike finds that there are very evil undercurrents and mysterious killings hidden beneath the surface. Robin Ellacott decides to enter the cult in an effort to try to rescue Will, so she leaves for Norfolk to live covertly among its members. She does this, but she is unprepared for the risks she will face or the toll it will have on her.
What should you read if you like the Cormoran Strike novels?
If you like our Cormoran Strike reading order, you may be interested in the Ruth Galloway series, Ann Cleeves’ books, the Inspector Rebus series. Don’t hesitate to follow us on Twitter or Facebook to discover more book series.