Episode Three — “The Cuckoo’s Calling”
February 9, 2017
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The Real WORD Podcast, produced by Reading Opens Minds and hosted by the LA Review of Books.
Robert Galbraith’s The Cuckoo’s Calling, first published in the United Kingdom in 2013 by Sphere Books, was ranked at number 4,709 on Amazon.com before it was revealed that the author of the Harry Potter book series had actually penned the book under a pseudonym. The book shot to the top of the charts nearly overnight when Galbraith’s true identity was leaked!
This is a crime novel about a model who falls to her death from a balcony. Though it looks like suicide, her brother is not convinced and hires private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case and find the killer. Reviews were good (even before the outing of the author) with The Independent noting that it’s “a book about looking and listening […] [and] about using loss to develop emotional intelligence and about friendship.”
This group hadn’t read a crime novel yet, so we thought it would be a fun new experience with the Harry Potter author tie-in — of course, this was before we learned that many of them hadn’t actually read the Harry Potter books! We talk about the relationship between the two main characters, and the killer in the story and his motives — SPOILERS AHEAD!
In this episode, we’re talking about the book The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (a.k.a. J. K. Rowling).
Robert Galbraith’s The Cuckoo’s Calling, first published in the United Kingdom in 2013 by Sphere Books, was ranked at number 4,709 on Amazon.com before it was revealed that the author of the Harry Potter book series had actually penned the book under a pseudonym. The book shot to the top of the charts nearly overnight when Galbraith’s true identity was leaked!
This is a crime novel about a model who falls to her death from a balcony. Though it looks like suicide, her brother is not convinced and hires private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case and find the killer. Reviews were good (even before the outing of the author) with The Independent noting that it’s “a book about looking and listening […] [and] about using loss to develop emotional intelligence and about friendship.”
This group hadn’t read a crime novel yet, so we thought it would be a fun new experience with the Harry Potter author tie-in — of course, this was before we learned that many of them hadn’t actually read the Harry Potter books! We talk about the relationship between the two main characters, and the killer in the story and his motives — SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Real WORD Podcast is produced by Reading Opens Minds and edited by Saul Black.
You can find us on iTunes or the podcast app on your phone, or on the web at: LAReviewofbooks.org/the-real-word. Thank you to the LA Review of Books staff and supporters for giving this podcast a home and some tender loving care. For more information about Reading Opens Minds, go to: readingopensminds.org — there, you can subscribe to our newsletter and see what else we’re up to!
Special thanks for this episode goes to Maria Jose Vazquez and Stacy Reader for co-facilitating the book club.
Next episode we’ll be talking about the book The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.
Until then, Happy Reading!
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