Career of Evil

Career of Evil is the third book in the Cormoran Strike crime series by J.K. Rowling (published under her Robert Galbraith pseudonym). This installment follows private detective Cormoran Strike—a former detective in the British military’s Special Investigative Branch—and his assistant-in-solving-crime, Robin Ellacott, as they try to stop a string of grisly murders that are targeting and terrorizing the private detectives. After receiving a woman’s severed leg in the mail, the pair are thrust into a three-month ordeal of delving into the Strike’s past to find anyone he might have wronged, which brings to the fore a collection of various dangerous suspects. While Rowling does another excellent job weaving a tale of the just and unjust, the story drags in places, namely in excessive descriptions of the nuances of English culture. However, it’s still an entertaining read, with clever language and engaging characters who continue to develop as the series progresses.