How many of you out there are Harry Potter fans?

Excellent, excellent. I could talk forever about how much I love the Harry Potter Series (my favorite novel is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; my favorite movie is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, what are yours? You can post in the comments if you’d like). I am a fan of both the books and the movies (and of course the books are better), the incredible HP fandom, and even the amusement park in Universal Studios. So, naturally, I was thrilled when I heard J. K. Rowling was writing another series (under a pen name) for adults.

This is the second book in that series. The Silkworm (and the first book, the Cuckoo’s Calling) are written by one of the best and most well-known authors out there: J. K. Rowling. She writes these books under the not-so-secret pseudonym, Robert Galbraith. Yes, that is a man’s name.

I recommend these two books to all book fans—Harry Potter lovers or not (but you should love Harry Potter, because it is amazing, don’t even let me get started on why everybody should read that series). The Silkworm is not really about silkworms, but the title is not completely random, either (it will make sense once you read the book, so go get on that if you are curious!). This pair of books is a great start to what is a promising new(ish) mystery series for adults. I was actually a bit scared to start Cuckoo’s Calling, because I was worried that I had too high of an expectation for the book, just because I love her other series so much. But don’t be worried, you should give them a try—not because they are written by J. K. Rowling, but because they are amazing books that deserve the high ratings they have.

So what is the Silkworm about? I suppose I should start with the characters.

First, you have the protagonist—private detective Cormoran Strike, an ex-army member who (unfortunately) only has half of one of his legs (not including his prosthetic). Then you have his faithful secretary (or does she do more than make phone calls?) Robin.

This novel focuses around the case of missing novelist Owen Quine (and I have no idea what the correct pronunciation for his name is), who was reported in as missing to Strike by his wife. She says that he has just gone off on his own for a while, and wants Strike to find him and take him home to his family. But there is something more to this case. It isn’t a simple disappearance. Quine has just completed a very controversial (unpublished) novel that he plans to self-publish. The controversy of this novel? It includes “poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows”, exposing many secrets and details that aren’t exactly his to tell.

When Quine turns up brutally (and bizarrely) murdered, Strike is on the case to determine who the killer is. Is it the wife, or someone else featured in his awful manuscript? Was this a single killing, or is someone else next?

Read to find out.