5 Reasons We’re Excited for the New Robert Galbraith Thriller Career of Evil

Famous writers choose to publish under pseudonyms for many reasons. Sometimes it’s simply to get more material out the door, as was the case with Stephen King’s alter-ego Richard Bachman. Sometimes it’s because their new work is shockingly different than the genre they’re known for (Nora Roberts, meet J.D. Robb).
We’re not sure why J.K. Rowling chose to write under pseudonym for her series of gritty detective novels. Possibly the writer so famous for Harry Potter wanted to see if she could be successful in a new genre, without her built-in audience. Whatever her reasons, we’re certainly glad that the fictional Mr. Galbraith continues to exist, and that his third Cormoran Strike novel, Career of Evil, is hitting the shelves on October 20. Here are five reasons you should get your hands on it ASAP.
The first two rocked
When Rowling’s use of a pseudonym was revealed, most people focused on the impact the news had on sales of Galbraith’s “debut”; it famously went from moving a few hundred copies to shooting up the bestseller lists. But let’s not forget that before the revelation, the book had received more than solid reviews—because it is a well-written, well-plotted mystery with great characters, lots of action, and a wealth of evocative detail. The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm are tight reads that stand up to any other thriller out there, and in addition to their genuinely surprising solutions, they sport Rowling’s warm, energetic creative voice, which brings the characters and settings to life.

Rowling is still underrated
Speaking of that creative magic, Rowling is a talented and accomplished writer who still doesn’t get her due. Rowling’s not flashy, but she’s insightful and pithy, as in these lines from The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm: “Seven-and-a-half million hearts were beating in close proximity in this heaving old city, and many, after all, would be aching far worse than his”; “One mellows almost without realizing it’s a compensation of age, because anger is exhausting.”
Cormoran Strike is a great character
In many ways, Rowling’s love of the mystery genre is embodied by her main character: Cormoran Strike is the ultimate down-on-his-luck detective. After losing a limb in the war, he’s packed on weight—and he was never particularly handsome or neat in appearance. People continually mispronounce his name, and his personal relationships are messy. But he is sharp and funny, rarely misses an important detail, and relies on his first-class brain to save his bacon more than once. Although his fortunes improve slightly over the course of the books, he’s still your classic underdog. Which makes perfect sense, because …

Rowling is still standing up for the underdog
One of the most charming aspects of Rowling’s imagination is her fierce defense of the oppressed, the unlucky, and the disadvantaged. Seemingly inspired by her own early struggles, Rowling’s universes are filled with characters who don’t fit in, and who struggle to rise above the casual cruelty of the world around them. This quality, so apparent in the Harry Potter novels, persists in Galbraith’s books, in which Strike—overweight and missing a limb—is always the smartest man in the room. Rowling’s stories are interesting precisely because she doesn’t imagine a world dominated by the effortlessly cool and beautiful, but rather, because she sees the power of intelligence and character.
The premise is a knockout
Great mysteries demand great characters and great writing, of course, but they also have to serve up a fantastic mystery, and Career of Evil sounds like a doozy: Strike’s partner, Robin Ellacott, receives a package containing a woman’s severed leg—and Strike can immediately think of no fewer than four people who could have sent it. While the police focus on the one suspect Strike is quickly certain didn’t do it, more horrifying acts occur, pressuring the detective and his partner to figure out what’s going on, and fast. Now, that’s a premise—one made even more powerful now that we’ve gotten to know Strike and Ellacott over the course of two earlier novels.