Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott dodge Freemasons and MI6 as they work to uncover the identity of a mutilated body in a vault. When a desperate woman with connections to high society contacts Strike with the rather odd request that he prove that a body found in a silver shop is that of her boyfriend, private investigator Strike and business partner Ellacott are drawn into a complex labyrinth of missing men, Masonic lore, illegal dog fights, and a variety of sex crimes. During the investigation, Strike is increasingly distracted by a journalist’s vendetta, and Robin, still dating a policeman and experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, by personal drama. London is cold and gritty; politicians are smarmy and corrupt; the upper crust is beautifully nasty; and Robin and Strike are madly in love with each other. Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling), who never neglects an opportunity to drop an epigraph, leaves no stone unturned and no detail unexamined, but let’s be honest—by now, eight books and nearly 7,000 pages into the series, the mystery takes a backseat to the TV show–worthy stretch of “will-they-or-won’t-they” that has underpinned Strike and Robin’s relationship since the beginning. The solution to the crime is so complicated that it becomes nearly comical; instead, readers must wait, with bated breath, for the criminal to be revealed—hoping against hope all along that the detectives will find themselves, at last, alone, and will finally express their feelings at the same. damn. time. Robin is a strong and capable woman who has evolved in fascinating ways over the course of the series, and who is understandably suffering from the previous novel’s trauma, but here she is worn down by twin burdens of guilt and responsibility for the men in her life; even as she consistently stands up to blatantly awful male behavior from both suspects and witnesses, this feels like a frustrating step back. One of the weaker mysteries, but romantic tension and familiar characters—plus the promise of book 9—will offer fans enough. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.