hank 's review for:

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

2.0

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I didn't like it (clearly). Usually by book 3, I have attached to the characters enough that I can overlook flaws but I have too many problems with this book. First is the overly done sexual tension between Strike and Robin (why one last name and one first? beats me), I somewhat enjoy that sort of thing but not constantly and in your face for 100 pages. Strike's past was mostly ho-hum as well, I liked all the mis-direction between suspects and the attempt at making all of them seem dangerous but I never cared which one it was or cared about trying to guess which is kind of what detective novels are all about, trying to be smarter than the writer. Then finally the pacing was very weird, we had a 100 page beginning of a romance novel, then a stop and go detective type of story, then a 50 page choppy thriller, a partially confusing wrap up and finally a small cliffhanger.

Everything seemed overdone in this book, the tension between Robin and Strike, the broke detective trope, the cop who hates him, the psycho killer. I very much doubt I will read another one.