# The Cuckoo's Calling **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cuckoos-calling/663564 "2013-07-15T14:45:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cuckoos-calling/663564/21 "2013-07-19T18:03:14Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I don’t believe the idea that this is some “huge orchestrated publicity stunt.” If they wanted publicity, they could have just released the novel under her real name, as they did for The Casual Vacancy. I believe what Rowling has said; that she wanted the book judged on its own merits. So I think the lawyer screwed up majorly, and perhaps after having had too many glasses of wine. Yeah, I don’t see that Rowling would have much to gain by cooking up a publicity stunt. She’s one of the most famous and successful novelists in the world. Anything she released under her own name was guaranteed plenty of publicity and almost certain to sell well even if it wasn’t very good. I can believe that she genuinely wanted to see how this book would do _without_ her famous name on the cover. She’s made enough money off the _Harry Potter_ series that she presumably didn’t have to worry about making big bucks off _Cuckoo’s Calling_. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cuckoos-calling/663564/22 "2013-07-20T00:00:48Z")
Plus, I don’t think that Russells Solicitors wants this kind of publicity _at all_. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cuckoos-calling/663564/23 "2013-07-20T00:16:26Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Plus, I don’t think that Russells Solicitors wants this kind of publicity _at all_. Good point. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cuckoos-calling/663564/24 "2013-08-04T03:01:07Z")
Update: On July 31, J.K. Rowling [settled a lawsuit](http://www.schillings.co.uk/private/news/jk-rowling-statement-in-open-court.html) against Chris Gossage, the indiscreet lawyer, and his wife’s (former?) friend, with the money going to charity. ([PDF](http://www.schillings.co.uk/index.php?action=PublicDownloadProcess&type=PDF&id=228) of the settlement agreement.) Note that her attorneys for this lawsuit were from the firm Schillings, so it appears that she fired Chris Gossage’s firm, Russells. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cuckoos-calling/663564/25 "2013-08-05T20:30:25Z")
Getting back to the book… I finished reading it recently. I like detective stories, mysteries, etc. and I have read a few of them. If I were to rate this, I’d give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. I didn’t find it totally absorbing. It’s definitely not a page turner. The bulk of the book seems to be Cormoran Strike going around and interrogating people. The character development of Cormoran and his new assistant, Robin, was decent. The story was complicated enough, though I found the ending to be a little far-fetched. All in all, though, I never felt excited about reading this book. It was good enough to keep me reading, but not good enough for me to look forward to reading it. J. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cuckoos-calling/663564/26 "2013-08-09T15:11:28Z")
I’m gonna resurrect this thread because I just now learned that Rowling is the author. I love mysteries, I love Harry Potter. So I’m wondering if anyone has read this in the 4 or 5 days since this thread was last used and if it was good ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cuckoos-calling/663564/27 "2013-08-09T17:04:13Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > Getting back to the book… > > I finished reading it recently. I like detective stories, mysteries, etc. and I have read a few of them. If I were to rate this, I’d give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. I didn’t find it totally absorbing. It’s definitely not a page turner. The bulk of the book seems to be Cormoran Strike going around and interrogating people. > > The character development of Cormoran and his new assistant, Robin, was decent. The story was complicated enough, though I found the ending to be a little far-fetched. > > All in all, though, I never felt excited about reading this book. It was good enough to keep me reading, but not good enough for me to look forward to reading it. > > J. Just came in to add to my brief review. After Cuckoo’s Calling, I read the book “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” by Neil Gaiman. THAT’S how a novel should be written. The story telling and emotion of Neil’s book is far above Cuckoo’s Calling. I looked forward to reading it, rather than slogging through it like I did with Cuckoo’s Calling. J. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cuckoos-calling/663564/28 "2013-08-12T20:53:55Z")
I read it on my Kindle before Rowling was revealed as the author; I thought it was really good, on the whole, and I look forward to the next installment. I thought the ending was weak, however. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cuckoos-calling/663564/29 "2013-08-12T21:26:20Z")
I agree with **Gadarene**. I really enjoyed how the story played out though. Slowly adding more and more pieces, making the layers more complex without losing the read, was done very well. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cuckoos-calling/663564/30 "2013-08-13T20:36:49Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The names are more suited for a _parody_ of a detective novel. As re quote by the above poster – set in London, it features a one-legged private detective called Cormoran Strike, who is hired to investigate the death of a supermodel called Lula Landry. Call me prejudiced – but the above would be a turn-off for me from the outset – wouldn’t care whether it was set in London, or Ouagadougou (well, if the latter, the sheer weirdness might be a draw). Such names might be acceptable for me in Harry Potter; but in the real, “Muggle” world – message to me would be, “forget it – don’t want to know”. I can be very easily put off authors and books, by perceived general posturing asshattery: I’ve never read any of Alexander McCall Smith’s Botswana-set detective novels – what little I’ve heard and read about them, tells me that if I tried to read them, the utter twee-ness would have me copiously vomiting from start to finish. I might be short-changing myself here; but, feel that I can happily live without Rowling / Galbraith and their cuckoos and their Cormoran Strike and all the rest of it. There’s lots of other stuff to read and actually enjoy… ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cuckoos-calling/663564/31 "2015-11-25T18:00:34Z")
Let me apologize in advance for reviving this zombie. I found the thread interesting. Both my wife and I just read Cuckoo’s Calling. We both enjoyed it and looked forward to reading it when we could. But it is not so much that the ending is weak as that we could not imagine what motivated the perp: A cold case, the murderer has escaped completely and the murderer himself hires a private dick to show that it wasn’t a suicide. Even if he is being blackmailed, his motive is not in any way convincing. Presumably he expects Strike to “prove” that Lula’s half brother was the murderer, but that would not let the blackmailer off his back. Can anyone give any reason the perp hired Strike? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cuckoos-calling/663564.md?page=1)