The Running Grave (Cormoran Strike #7), by Robert Galbraith
The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I finished reading this novel about five minutes ago. I’m sitting at my desk to write this review but I don’t know how. I want to sing its praises because the latest instalment of the Cormoran Strike novels is by far the best one in the series.
This time, Strike and Robin deal with a religious cult, its charismatic leader and everything surrounding these. I will not mention any more plot details because it’s probably best to go into this novel without too much knowledge or ideas…
I will say, though, “The Running Grave” is without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most suspenseful novels I’ve ever read. Not in a cheap, flashy, and/or sensationalist way, but subtly and almost elegantly. The feeling of a permanent latent danger is omnipresent and mercilessly tugs at the nerves of the reader.
I felt like biting my nails (which I don’t do) and it triggered the worst of my nervous habits and yet I felt like devouring this novel. I was reluctant to put it down and there were times I actually considered calling in sick (which I didn’t) to be able to keep reading. I read it feverishly and while I usually highlight passages and take notes, I quickly found myself unable and unwilling to do so because it would have broken my immersion.
This novel is so readable and the subject matter so horrifyingly believable (cf. Scientology and similarly despicable cults) that reading “Grave” felt like entering the world of Strike and Robin. This was enhanced by the level of empathy especially Robin shows during crucial situations in the investigation.
I just wish we had gotten to know more about a certain confrontation between Robin and two principal members of the cult…
Strike, too, grows as a person during the course of the investigation. Especially when dealing with a major change and its aftermath.
Despite its length (more than 1200 pages on my Kindle), “Grave” never felt long but found a near-perfect balance between the usual personal issues between Robin and Strike, secondary cases and the main mystery.
And that ending…
Rowling created a masterpiece of a detective novel and a marvellous piece of literary art.
Rowling is also still very much openly transphobic and, thus, I encourage you not to buy her books but rather get them in a library so that at the very least she won’t profit anymore than she already has.
If you’re one of those people who don’t believe who and what she is, here’s an excellent article (permanently updated) that collects Rowling’s disgusting statements and actions:
https://www.glamour.com/story/a-compl…
Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Joanne K. Rowling – they are different kinds of monsters and yet monsters they all are. I recoil whenever I’m confronted with their depravity. And, yet, I cannot break from their art. I can keep calling them out, though.
And yet, despite this, “The Running Grave” easily garners five stars out of five and a place among my favourite books.
Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam
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