Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

When a troubled young man named Billy asks Cormoran Strike to help him investigate a crime he witnessed as a child, the private eye is left deeply troubled. While Billy is obviously mentally distressed and cannot remember many concrete details, there is something sincere about him and his story. But before Strike can question him further, Billy bolts from his office in a panic.

Trying to get to the bottom of Billy’s story, Strike and Robin Ellacott — once his assistant, now a partner in the agency — set off on a twisting trail that leads them through the backstreets of London, into a secretive inner sanctum within Parliament, and to a beautiful but sinister manor house deep in the countryside. And during this labyrinthine investigation, Strike’s own life is far from straightforward. His newfound fame as a private eye means he can no longer operate behind the scenes as he once did. Plus, his relationship with his former assistant is more fraught than it ever has been; Robin is now invaluable to Strike in the business, but their personal relationship is much, much trickier than that.

It’s a year after Cormoran Strike and his detective partner Robin were splashed all over the papers having successfully captured a famous serial killer. Life has settled somewhat into a routine for them both, though the delicate balance they each hold is smashed when Billy, a troubled young man, crashes into Cormoran’s office, insisting the detective help him solve the puzzle of his having witnessed the strangling murder of a young child many years ago. Both Cormoran and Robin are drawn into the investigation – even while they query whether Billy really witnessed what he insists he did. And neither of them could have guessed where their investigation would lead.

This enormous book (very nearly 800 pages in paperback) is a really good read and well worth the investment. While it can be read by itself, I would strongly recommend at least reading the third in the series (the book directly before this one) as the opening few chapters here carry on mere minutes after the conclusion of Career Of Evil. While it is all very clear and well explained – these opening chapters will mean a lot more to readers who are desperate for a better conclusion to the previous book. After these opening scenes though, the book jumps forward a year in time and while Cormoran and Robin still have quite the history in the previous books, I feel any reader could pick the book up from this time jump and be quite comfortable.

I also mainly enjoyed the fact the very long length of the book meant there were quite a few plots all circling around. While I do admit the book could have been more harshly edited and quite a bit of the 800 odd pages could have been cut, I didn’t feel the book really was as bloated as I was expecting. The author spent a good amount of time raising and knitting together a number of plots and threads. For much of the book I really couldn’t grasp what was red herrings and what was actually relevant. This annoyed me to a degree, but then I realised the fact I was questioning this and genuinely unsure what was relevant and what was smoke and mirrors meant the author had blended everything together very successfully.

I do feel that my patience for the will they/won’t they between Cormoran and Robin is wearing thin. I understand many readers demand conflict and tension in their stories, that chemistry and suspense is critical – but after four books and having both characters still frequently miscommunicate and just assume stuff about each other is starting to grate on me. So too is the fact both flatly refuse to acknowledge – or even try to attempt to do anything – about their feelings or try for some sort of resolution or discussion. After four books it’s beginning to get old for me and I’m feeling like they’re both being a bit immature about the whole situation. I’m not ready to give up but I can definitely see my interest with the non-professional side to Cormoran and Robin’s relationship is turning to annoyance, not enjoyment.

Readers looking for an interesting and many layered mystery should find this a good – albeit very long – book. I feel that readers wanting something action orientated or with a romantic resolution won’t find that here, but I did really enjoy the mystery and I found the story very well woven together and kept my interest all the way to the end. I will definitely be reading the next book – but I will admit to hoping a few things might progress or change.