Mystery Monday! Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling)

Title: Career of Evil
Author: Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling)
Page Count: 492
Rating: A
Keywords: Private Investigator, Amputation, Serial Killer
Genre: Mystery
Younger Readers: Stalking, murder, sexual assault, and language all present

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Cormoran Strike is back, with his assistant Robin Ellacott, in a mystery based around soldiers returning from war.

When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.

Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.

With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…

Career of Evil is the third in the series featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott. A mystery and also a story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives.

My Review:

Oh goodness gracious I loved this book! We get to see so much more of Robin in this book and, no surprise really, but she is a complete and total bad ass.

Sometimes mysteries are clear cut from the beginning. As you read along it is possible to pick out whatever the answers are before the big reveal at the end. These can be satisfying at times, or just plain boring at others. Boy oh boy this book was the polar opposite. In the nearly 500 pages I thought I had figured out who had sent the severed leg at least half a dozen times, only for my theory to be completely destroyed several paragraphs later.

Along with playing with your own personal sleuthing skills, this book is great at messing with your own emotions and perceptions. Any time I would think I knew exactly how I felt about a certain topic, then something would be written that just left me completely confused. 

While The Cuckoo's Calling and The Silkworm both possessed darker elements that verged on creepy, this book is on a whole other level.

If you are looking for a truly engaging read that will consume your life, give this one a go.