9. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith

Cormoran Strike #4 (J. K. Rowling pseudonym)
listened to on audio - from TPPL
read by Robert Glenister
2018, Sphere
656 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 1/20/2019 (Ashley's 17th birthday)
Goodreads rating:  4.30 -- 43,301 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting:  In and around London, contemporary time

First line/s:  "If only the swans would swim side by side on the dark green lake, this picture might turn out to be the crowning achievement of the wedding photographer's career."

My comments:  I love listening to Robert Glenister read Cormoran Strike.  I can even tell when he uses different accents for different places in England!  This was a l-o-n-g mystery, but quite a bit of it told the story of Robyn's wedding, first anniversary, and all the turmoil and activity surrounding these events, which definitely fit really well into the telling of the story.  We have such an investment in Cormoran and Robyn, and it's always interesting to see where this goes, or might be headed, in each subsequent book.  The mystery is engaging and complicated, very complicated, but it's pretty easy to not get confused.  Every single tiny little detail is examined, discussed, and fits in like a puzzle piece.  A little too long, a few too many minute details repeated, but otherwise a very interesting, thought-provoking mystery.

Goodreads synopsis:  “I seen a kid killed…He strangled it, up by the horse.”
          When Billy, a troubled young man, comes to private eye Cormoran Strike’s office to ask for his help investigating a crime he thinks he witnessed as a child, Strike is left deeply unsettled. While Billy is obviously mentally distressed, and cannot remember many concrete details, there is something sincere about him and his story. But before Strike can question him further, Billy bolts from his office in a panic.
          Trying to get to the bottom of Billy’s story, Strike and Robin Ellacott—once his assistant, now a partner in the agency—set off on a twisting trail that leads them through the backstreets of London, into a secretive inner sanctum within Parliament, and to a beautiful but sinister manor house deep in the countryside.
          And during this labyrinthine investigation, Strike’s own life is far from straightforward: his newfound fame as a private eye means he can no longer operate behind the scenes as he once did. Plus, his relationship with his former assistant is more fraught than it ever has been—Robin is now invaluable to Strike in the business, but their personal relationship is much, much trickier than that.

MOVIE - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

PG-13 (2:12)

Wide release November 18, 2016

Viewed Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016 at Century Park Place....for the last time?

RT Critic:  78  Audience: 83
Critic's Consensus: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them draws on Harry Potter's rich mythology to deliver a spinoff that dazzles with franchise-building magic all its own.

Cag:  4/Enjoyed it very much, but it was a bit long

Directed by David Yates

Warner Brothers Picture

Written by J. K. Rowling

Eddie Redmayne, Dan Fogler (I really liked him!)

My comments:  The first few bars of music at the very, very beginning of the movie are notes from the Harry Potter theme.  After those first few notes, the music hanges.  Yes, this movie is by J. K. Rowling and yes, it is set in the world of wizards and awizardry, but other than that there's not much comparison to Harry Potter.  It's a standalone.  The setting, for one thing, is completely different - 1920s in New York City.  And for the most part, the story is about adults, not kids or even young adults.
     It's hard to compare the two movies, they are pretty much incomparable.  It was okay, entertaining, and had interesting actors.  I loved Jacob Goldstein, he was actually my favorite character in the move.  The Actor, Dan Fogler, was wonderful.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York's secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school.

42. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

#3 Comoran Strike
listened to cd while driving
2015 Mulholland Books
492 pgs.
Adult murder mystery
Finished 8/4/16
Goodreads rating:  4.2 - 73,514 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting: Contemporary London

First line/s:  "He had not managed to scrub off all her blood."

My comments:  I love the escapades that Cormoran and Robin find themselves in, and I like having to guess and figure out connections in the mystery as I read/listen.  This third-in-the=series did seem to labor on a bit too long (months of surveillance on five different people helped me stay mightily confused at times), but it certainly kept me entertained on the road - 15 cds worth of entertainment.  Most of the time I greatly enjoy the reader of this book, but sometimes I think he makes Cormoran come off more like Hagrid than a charming 30-something.  A cliffhanger-type ending makes me wonder in what direction Galbraith/Rowling is going with the Strike/Ellacort relationship.,,,

Goodreads synopsis:  Cormoran Strike is back, with his assistant Robin Ellacott, in a mystery based around soldiers returning from war.
       When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.
       Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.
       With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…
       Career of Evil is the third in the series featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott. A mystery and also a story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives.

7. The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling)

#2 Cormoran Strike 

Listened to on cd in the car AND read 

Audio read by 

14 unabridged audio discs (17.5 hours)

2014 Mulholland Books/Little Brown

456 pgs.

Adult Murder Mystery

Finished 1/17/15

Goodreads rating: 4.01

My rating:   4/ Liked it a lot

TPPL - both audio and book

Setting:  Contemporary London, England

1st sentence/s: " 'Someone bloody famous,' said the hoarse voice on the end of the line, 'better've died, Strike.'" 

My comments:  Good story, but overly long, I think.  I like the characters of Strike and Robin and I love the story that's developing between them.  I look forward to more.  (Oh, and I'm not so crazy about all the quotes at the beginning of the chapters...50 chapters, 50 quotes.....

Goodreads book summary:  Private investigator Cormoran Strike returns in a new mystery from Robert Galbraith, author of the #1 international bestsellerThe Cuckoo's Calling.
          When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days—as he has done before—and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.
          But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were to be published, it would ruin lives—meaning that there are a lot of people who might want him silenced.
          When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before...