The Cuckoo's Calling
I wish there was a way that I could have read The Cuckoo's Calling before knowing who the author is. I only knew of its existence because of the revelation that J.K Rowling was the person behind the pseudonym, and that makes an impartial reading/review very difficult. I adore J.K Rowling. Being a 90's child, Harry Potter was a huge and important part of my growing up. When The Casual Vacancy came out, I was afraid that it would let me down but no, it was utterly brilliant. My expectation going into this latest change in genre were, of course, very high. I'm unsure how much this marred my enjoyment. Maybe if I had expected less, I would have gained more. I'm still unsure if there is anything wrong with the book. The writing isn't bad, the characters are interesting, the plot is interesting but somehow all these parts add up to... nothing much. My attention kept drifting, I kept waiting for it to get more interesting and it simply did not happen. I am aware this was never supposed to be a mad thrill ride, more of a character study with a good bit of crime and discovery thrown in, but here's the thing: this is very possible to do without the story becoming dull. Tana French is a great example of this.
I seem to be focusing on the negative a little much. This is not a bad book. It is simply adequate, and if asked to recommend something in this genre I fear it'd be far down the list, but this does not mean it is not worth reading once. I just wish I knew whether this small defence is purely due to my love of Rowling's previous works...
