The author Owen Quine has gone missing and Cormoran Strike has been hired by his wife to find out what has happened. 

We are led into the world of publishers, editors and agents who all have some part to play in the recent book Owen was about to produce. In it, it would seem, were graphic scenes involving barely disguised character descriptions of many of those involved in Owen’s writing and personal life. Everyone has a part to play and many are upset by the descriptions.

This is a novel way of constructing a crime fiction and I think quite unique. We are given glimpses of the novel through the eyes of others and this is sufficient and proportionate to give a view of what might be in the background and feed clues to the reader as to the identity of the person at the centre of the plot. 

Robert Galbraith is clearly quite capable of creating a proper plot and given that this is their second book, I would think there is more to come. 

Did I like it? I think it is worth about 7/10. The plot and construct are excellent. The characters are well drawn, if a little predictable. There are passages of dialogue which could probably have been reduced in length as some conversations got a little, well, boring. Some side information about his ex girlfriend and his home life was rather over elaborate. In all, it could probably have done with being about 2/3 the length as… words; just words for words sake.