# The Cuckoo's Calling by...



## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

*The Cuckoo's Calling* came out in April, supposedly a debut novel from first-time author Robert Galbraith. Now it's been revealed that the author is really J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame. The book got good reviews even before anyone knew who the real author was. Has anyone here read it? I had no interest in her first non-HP book (*The Casual Vacancy*) but this one sounds like it might actually be good and entertaining.



http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/14/entertainment-us-britain-rowling-idUSBRE96D03420130714

L


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## KindleGirl (Nov 11, 2008)

I haven't read it, but like you, think it sounds like it could be very good. I had no interest in The Casual Vacancy either...sounded too dark. I sent a sample of the Cuckoo one to my kindle so we'll see if it grabs me. I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has read it also.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I just saw this on the news.  Very interesting move by her and smart.  "Casual Vacancy" was getting so much attention and pressure because of who she is.  This one was judged on its own merits, without any baggage attached.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

I'm wondering, did the publisher know it was her when she submitted it? Did her agent submit it? I'm wondering how she went about it and managed to keep it quiet.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

When I first looked at the book (when the news came out) the Kindle edition was $11.04 and there wasn't an Audible version. Now the Kindle edition is down to $9.99, there is an Audible version which whispersyncs with the Kindle version and costs $12.99 if you buy both together.

I am beginning to think this wasn't just a happenstance event.

And The Cuckoo's Calling is the number 1 bestseller everywhere. Up until this weekend, it had sold 500 copies in the US.

L


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I'd wishlisted it when it first came out. . .I get the Amazon "new thrillers" email . . .don't much care whether it's a new author or not -- but it was more than I wanted to pay at the time so I figured I'd wait until the price came down.  I'll keep waiting.  That JKR is really the author doesn't factor into my decision at all.

I will say, I tend to be pretty willing to accept things at face value and not assume everything is some vast conspiracy -- but even I think there was some consideration given before publication about the conditions under which they'd release her name with a view to increasing sales.  Whatever.


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

I read the sample and it was not something I'd be interested in buying, although it seemed quite skillfully written. Most likely, the publisher knew - and the timing of "unveiling the truth" was carefully planned in advance. But I tend to be suspicious whenever a large profit is involved.


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## Mandy (Dec 27, 2009)

I suspect the publisher knew who they were dealing with. I still think it's an interesting experiment to see how a book will be judged by its own merits compared to having a very famous name attached.


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## JenniferHarlow (Jun 8, 2013)

From what I've heard, and who hasn't heard about this in the book world, she sent it out to other publishing houses, who for sure at least one rejected it. (The rest is all conjecture on my part.) If I had to guess, she decided just to give it to her current publisher with the express desire not to let people know she was the writer just like Stephen King did with Richard Bachman. She doesn't need the money and just wanted to write what she wanted without the whole world judging her and comparing these to her last books. All the fun, none of the spotlight. But when it wasn't selling, the publisher knew they were sitting on a goldmine and leaked the info. Bang! Instant best-seller. I don't think she really wanted the info out, she really had nothing to gain otherwise she would have published it under her real name in the first place. But if the publisher did leak it and I was JK Rowling, I'd be super-mad and Little Brown should be quaking in their boots. She's the Oprah of the book world. She has all the power, you do not make her angry.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

JenniferHarlow said:


> But when it wasn't selling, the publisher knew they were sitting on a goldmine and leaked the info. Bang! Instant best-seller. I don't think she really wanted the info out, she really had nothing to gain otherwise she would have published it under her real name in the first place.


I think you might be right. Makes sense.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

The publisher knew because the agent for Galbraith was also Rowling's agent.  In fact that one of the ways the newspaper used to track it down to Rowling.  The story is that some writer for a British newspaper (was it the Guardian?) commented on twitter after reading the book that it seemed too confidently written to be from a first time writer.  Somebody responded back that they knew why that was the case - the author was an alias for Rowling.  When the journalist tried to get more info from this person the posts from this anonymous individual were quickly deleted.  So the journalist started doing research.  First they noticed that the publisher and the agent were also Rowling's publisher and agent, and thought it odd that a brand new author would have Rowling's agent.  Then they sent samples of the book to some linguists to compare it to the last Harry Potter novel, and these linguists found a lot of similarities in the writing.  So the journalist then contacted the publisher and said (I'm paraphrasing): "I think Galbraith is Rowling.  Can you give me a straightforward answer: yes or no." The publisher said they were coming clean.  The anonymous leaker of the info remains unknown.  But the leak did come from an independent journalist tweeting about the book.  I'm sure the publisher was prepared for the eventual unmasking of Galbraith, no way that info would remain hidden forever.  If Richard Bachman was unmasked long before the age of social media - they would have been foolish not to expect a fairly rapid unmasking of Rowling in the age of twitter.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

Thank you, DYB. That's interesting to know. I'm even more interested in checking out the book now.


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## Linda Barlow (Jul 5, 2013)

I'm reading the book now and enjoying it. I like the main character (a private investigator, former military police who got one of his legs blown off in Afghanistan). I'm interested in the mystery (who, if anyone, shoved the dead girl out her window?). So far, I have no clue who did it...or how.

It's well-written, too.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Well, the leaker's identity has been revealed.  A partner at a law firm that knew the pseudonym told his wife's best friend.  She tweeted about it when she saw a journalist remark that the book was very confidently written.  That friend must now be in some serious dog house.


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## Patrick Skelton (Jan 7, 2011)

Sounds interesting!


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## KindleGirl (Nov 11, 2008)

Our library just added 2 e-book copies yesterday and I am #6 on the list, so I should be reading it fairly soon.


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## daleibitz (Jun 13, 2012)

I have to admit, I was suspicious that the publisher  had leaked the information when the book wasn't selling, but maybe I was too hasty to judge! The fact that it is JK as the author isn't pushing me to buy the book, however.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

My library has 5 paperbooks and now has a waitlist of 269  . They now put 46 more copies on order. They don't have the ebook.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Lots of paper books in the Arlington County system.  eBook not available.

EBook is available through the Navy Library System, but not for immediate check out -- there's a wait list.  Which is actually unusual for that Library. I put it on hold, for now.


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## 1131 (Dec 18, 2008)

I read the sample when it was 1st released and liked it. I wasn't willing to pay that much for an author I hadn't read before. I was surprised Rowling was the author. I've read 2 HP books and didn't care for them. 
One of my library only has 2 paper copies with 111 holds and 8 more on order. They just got 8 ebooks yesterday and there are already 28 holds.  The other has 2 copies over 500 requests (they stop holds at 50) and 22 on order. They only have 2 ebooks. I've been on the wait list for over a month and I'm now up to 4. There is no one else on the wait list for this book. Glad I'm on that list instead of the other one.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Did you read the first 2 HP books? Because if yes, those are not typical of HP universe.

Here's a more detailed breakdown of how things went down. One almost (almost!) feels sorry for Rowling and the betrayal.  I do think this friend of a friend who outed her is either really stupid or just really mean. And frankly, the lawyer's career might be ruined because of this. I mean, lawyer/client confidentiality is pretty big, especially when you're rich and famous. This lawyer and his firm have had a very huge dent made in their reputation by this "friend" he thought he could trust "implicitly."

http://www.businessinsider.com/jk-rowling-was-actually-outed-by-a-wifes-tweet-2013-7


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I really do love the fact that Rowling submitted this novel to several publishers and they all rejected it.  Only one has come clean about it though.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

I'm about a third of the way into this book, and I'm really liking it so far. Rowling uses a lot of description, and there's some head-hopping between characters I find a bit distracting, but I'm enjoying the story and the mystery of the whodunit theme. She has a gift for drawing the reader into the world. I'm glad I decided to get it.


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## Robena (Jan 19, 2013)

I'm a sucker for a good detective book, and I have to say I really enjoyed TCC. I loved the descriptions and felt I was once again in London. I adored Strike! The weave of the everyday occurences with the past, and the present desire to solve the whodunit, was excellent. Some of the reviews have been negative. The only thing that I was aware of every once in a while was the head hopping as it momentarily took me out of the story, but all in all a good read.


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## KindleGirl (Nov 11, 2008)

I just finished it the other day and I thought it was an ok book, nothing great. I did like Strike and seeing his past come up and tie in with the present, but other than he and his temp, I didn't really care much for any of the characters. I didn't really find myself caring if or why "the Cuckoo" committed suicide. There really wasn't any suspense built into it and I guess when I read a mystery I am looking for the suspense to build and keep me reading. It wasn't a bad book, but I am glad I got it from the library.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

I ended up giving it four stars. I liked the story, and I was definitely sucked into the protagonist's world, but there were some long descriptive paragraphs I skipped over, and I thought it went on a bit long. But I'll definitely read more in the series.


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## 1131 (Dec 18, 2008)

I'm reading this book right now. I'm about 1/3 of the way through. I didn't start getting into it until about 20%. It picked up after that for me. I'm not sure if I like it. There seems to be an obvious murderer. I do like Strike. His story if interesting. I'm not too interested in the other characters right now but at 30% they still have time to get interesting. I'm holding out hope because I really want to like this book.


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