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4.48 AVERAGE
4.48 AVERAGE
This is the first book of this series where I feel the length is justified - the last two had unnecessary subplots that detracted from the story.
This one I feel gave real insight into cults and how they operate!! Very cool to see the dimensions and complexity of people at the top instead of an easy "well, they're a sociopath" as the default explanation. I definitely couldihave solved the mystery but I liked this one more because it didn't seem that was the goal, you could read it for the story and be surprised. The author is improving their mystery writing skills???
Also there was some stuff in the middle about vegetables that the supposedly very smart detective completely ignored. Why!!!!
Some things I get some characters did because they were indoctrinated into a cult but I was pulling my hair out about them!!!
And I really liked Robin's monologue to the therapist it felt very real.
One thing I don't like is that Robin always seems to be in some kind of peril. Can Strike be in peril next time?!??!
Also there was a loose end they didn't tie up........ hmm ......
This one I feel gave real insight into cults and how they operate!! Very cool to see the dimensions and complexity of people at the top instead of an easy "well, they're a sociopath" as the default explanation. I definitely couldihave solved the mystery but I liked this one more because it didn't seem that was the goal, you could read it for the story and be surprised. The author is improving their mystery writing skills???
Also there was some stuff in the middle about vegetables that the supposedly very smart detective completely ignored. Why!!!!
Some things I get some characters did because they were indoctrinated into a cult but I was pulling my hair out about them!!!
And I really liked Robin's monologue to the therapist it felt very real.
One thing I don't like is that Robin always seems to be in some kind of peril. Can Strike be in peril next time?!??!
Also there was a loose end they didn't tie up........ hmm ......
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So hard to rate, because there were aspects I really really liked, and then there were some i absolutely despised.
Actually... you know what i'm rounding this down to three.25. Because JK had a truly mind-blowing twist/resolution sitting right on a platter, so much so that she included it as a red herring at the end,Becca turning out to be Daiyu this whole time... and then she passed it up for something still horrifying, but frankly kind of more bland as a resolution. Still, the chapters of Robin undercover were harrowing and kept me on the edge of my seat. Not to mention just the whole premise of a religious cult, fascinating.
And on the other side, I hate hate hate Strike's misogyny, pettiness, bitterness, and horrible sexualized internal thoughts about robin, all while he tries subtle ways tobreak up or cause discord in her current relationship. he is the most selfish character ever and i have grown to really dislike him. he does not deserve a partner like robin, not after the way he treats the women he has dated. and I don't believe he could make robin happy the way she deserves to be. Obviously with the cliffhanger of an ending, we'll have to see if i'm left further disgruntled by this in future books.
So, overall, lots of good, fair amount of annoying. Gives you a middling 3 stars.
Actually... you know what i'm rounding this down to three.25. Because JK had a truly mind-blowing twist/resolution sitting right on a platter, so much so that she included it as a red herring at the end,
And on the other side, I hate hate hate Strike's misogyny, pettiness, bitterness, and horrible sexualized internal thoughts about robin, all while he tries subtle ways to
So, overall, lots of good, fair amount of annoying. Gives you a middling 3 stars.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love this series and can't wait for September for the next book to come out. Once again the mystery was great, I enjoyed very much the development of the recurring secondary characters, the individual development of Strike and Robin as well as the development of their relationship. I really cannot wait to get hold of the next instalment
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I always look forward to each installment of the Cormoron Strike series and the 7th edition was on par, though I’ll note, it’s not as good as most of its predecessors. As they say in London—coulda done with a bit of editing. Parts dragged, there were A LOT of characters to keep track of, and the end was a kind of out there. Not very believable to be honest. So, four stars rather than five. That being said, the end was a twist, I didn’t see it coming and the callback to a certain movie from the 90s (no blatant spoiler here) was a good one.
So let’s dive in! Strike and Robin are hired by Sir Colin Edensor to bust his brainwashed son, Will, out of the United Humanitarian Church— think Scientology but minus the aliens and plus some prophets. It’s complete with some Tom Cruise style celebrities and a load of “beliefs” designed to divest the devotees of their life savings and line the pockets of church principals Papa J and Mama Mazu.
Robin ventures undercover into the bowels of the UHC’s Chapman Farm to get close enough to Will to convince him to leave or to dig up something on the church to bring it down and disband it.
As cults go, the UHC is pretty heinous. Its entire religion is based around the prophet Daiyu, Papa J and Mama Mazu’s daughter who drowned years previously. Strike and Robin have tons of questions about Daiyu’s death… but will they be able to uncover the truth and destroy the cult?
Read on to find out!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So let’s dive in! Strike and Robin are hired by Sir Colin Edensor to bust his brainwashed son, Will, out of the United Humanitarian Church— think Scientology but minus the aliens and plus some prophets. It’s complete with some Tom Cruise style celebrities and a load of “beliefs” designed to divest the devotees of their life savings and line the pockets of church principals Papa J and Mama Mazu.
Robin ventures undercover into the bowels of the UHC’s Chapman Farm to get close enough to Will to convince him to leave or to dig up something on the church to bring it down and disband it.
As cults go, the UHC is pretty heinous. Its entire religion is based around the prophet Daiyu, Papa J and Mama Mazu’s daughter who drowned years previously. Strike and Robin have tons of questions about Daiyu’s death… but will they be able to uncover the truth and destroy the cult?
Read on to find out!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book killed me, it was torture because of how well it is written. I will recommend this series to everyone, but it is NOT for the weak.
I went into this book with pretty high expectations. This is one of the best reviewed books in the Strike series and hugely popular on the Cormoran Strike subreddit as well. For many, this is the best book in the series thus far. I really enjoyed it, but it didn't reach those heights for me and my top two in the series are still Troubled Blood and Career of Evil.
This is an intense and expansive novel and the first one in the series in which the Strike and Ellacott team are not investigating one specific murder. This volume sees them investigating a cult with over 10,000 members, and includes investigation not just of murder but of child abuse, sexual abuse, extortion, embezzlement, and nearly every other crime you can think of. We also have the usual myriad subplots involving Strike and Robin's personal lives and other, minor cases that the team is investigating at the same time.
As always, it was expertly written and engaging with a huge web of complicated characters to follow. As always, I especially loved the interview scenes (my favorite part of this series, honestly) as well as any scene in which Strike and Robin were bouncing ideas off of each other trying to work it all out. I really do love the investigation part of these books. I would say that Robin is pretty much the lead character in this book, as she goes deep undercover for a large portion of it and goes into the cult itself. I adore Robin and at this point she is pretty firmly in my top five favorite fictional characters. Seeing her strength, intelligence, resilience, and compassion in this book was just fantastic.
Why doesn't it go full five stars for me? I got a little bit bogged down at about the 300-400 page mark and actually took a long break in the middle of this book and read a bunch of other things before resuming. The portion within the cult was tense and freaky, but also not my favorite and it went on for a really long time with barely any movement. I needed a break from it while reading. Some of this may be influenced by the fact that I had a friend and colleague who joined a cult (she's still in it, unfortunately) and it was all hitting a bit close to home.
Things definitely picked up as soon as Robin escaped and I devoured the last third in a frenzy. I thought the ending/final reveal was brave (I was afraid it was going to be a cop-out). I wanted to see someone punch Jonathan Wace right in his smug face (Becca too) but we can't have everything, and it was a realistic bittersweet ending.
The personal stuff was pretty good. Poor Uncle Ted has dementia. Charlotte killed herself and I'm honestly just relieved that this plot is over because I absolutely hated Charlotte and seeing her crop up again in every book. Strike and Robin take a teeny tiny step forward in the final chapter of this book, in terms of the longest slow burn romance ever. I've been reading a lot romance lately and they seem so quaint compared to the other books I've been reading. Speak up! Tell each other what you feel!
This is an intense and expansive novel and the first one in the series in which the Strike and Ellacott team are not investigating one specific murder. This volume sees them investigating a cult with over 10,000 members, and includes investigation not just of murder but of child abuse, sexual abuse, extortion, embezzlement, and nearly every other crime you can think of. We also have the usual myriad subplots involving Strike and Robin's personal lives and other, minor cases that the team is investigating at the same time.
As always, it was expertly written and engaging with a huge web of complicated characters to follow. As always, I especially loved the interview scenes (my favorite part of this series, honestly) as well as any scene in which Strike and Robin were bouncing ideas off of each other trying to work it all out. I really do love the investigation part of these books. I would say that Robin is pretty much the lead character in this book, as she goes deep undercover for a large portion of it and goes into the cult itself. I adore Robin and at this point she is pretty firmly in my top five favorite fictional characters. Seeing her strength, intelligence, resilience, and compassion in this book was just fantastic.
Why doesn't it go full five stars for me? I got a little bit bogged down at about the 300-400 page mark and actually took a long break in the middle of this book and read a bunch of other things before resuming. The portion within the cult was tense and freaky, but also not my favorite and it went on for a really long time with barely any movement. I needed a break from it while reading. Some of this may be influenced by the fact that I had a friend and colleague who joined a cult (she's still in it, unfortunately) and it was all hitting a bit close to home.
Things definitely picked up as soon as Robin escaped and I devoured the last third in a frenzy. I thought the ending/final reveal was brave (I was afraid it was going to be a cop-out). I wanted to see someone punch Jonathan Wace right in his smug face (Becca too) but we can't have everything, and it was a realistic bittersweet ending.
The personal stuff was pretty good. Poor Uncle Ted has dementia. Charlotte killed herself and I'm honestly just relieved that this plot is over because I absolutely hated Charlotte and seeing her crop up again in every book. Strike and Robin take a teeny tiny step forward in the final chapter of this book, in terms of the longest slow burn romance ever. I've been reading a lot romance lately and they seem so quaint compared to the other books I've been reading. Speak up! Tell each other what you feel!