”How could the death of someone you had never met affect you so?”

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith is a crime novel. We follow a private detective and his new assistant through the process of finding an escaped murderer.

Young, beautiful model Lula Landry falls to her death and the police quickly dismisses it as suicide, but Lula’s brother hires private detective Comoran Strike to investigate further. And so the journey begins.

We follow Strike and his assistant Robin through a world so different from the one most of us live in. It is fascinating and terrifying at the same time.

“You ought to give up detecting and try fantasy writing, Strike.”  

Things are not always as they appear – this is an important lesson from the novel. We must always pay attention to the details in order to fully understand the bigger picture.

Once you are aware it is not hard to compare the style of writing with J.K. Rowling’s former work. Her immaculate way of describing and creating characters, so they stand before you clear as day and very much real, is present also in this book.

From the very first page this book was hard to put down – one of the few very important qualities a book must have.

Read this book if you love a good crime, fancy a good book or wish to enjoy a cup of tea in good company.

4/5

“I want to believe there is a somebody out there for me. I want to believe that I exist to be there for that somebody.”

We are in New York City. It is the most beautiful time of the year. In a book store in the big city young Dash wanders around and suddenly he finds a notebook.
This is the beginning of a modern Christmas miracle.

In the story we witness how Lily and Dash fall for the idea of each other and we experience how expectations meet reality. It is a wonderful adventure of love, friendship, hope and honesty.

“I’m told there’s no going back. So I’m choosing forward.”

It is a beautiful story of young love. But not much more than that. It is carefree and will not prevent its reader from living in the real world – like the best books surely will. It will, however, warm your heart and maybe help to keep the hope of true love, soul mates and a happy ever after in check. You never really know.

Read this book if you are looking for a break. Do not read this book if unimportant blah annoys young. Because even though Dash and Lily often manages to comment on important details they do just as often end up being to teenagers playing a game of truth or dare.

3/5

“This inhuman place makes human monsters”

It took me far longer than I care to admit, but I finally finished this world famous book. It took awhile partially because I was too lazy to read during the day and too scared to read at night.

“During our first winter I hired a family instead of a single man. There was a tragedy. A horrible tragedy.”

The story itself is not too frightening until the very last chapters, but this novel is much more than the words on its pages. It is a state of mind. It is a feeling. It is the scary stories from when you were little. It is the idea that someone is watching your every move. Someone is standing outside your window at night – a monster is hiding under your bed.

“Children have to grow into their imaginations like a pair of oversized shoes.”

Going all the way up in the quiet and lonely mountains with the Torrance family was quite the adventure. At first you sort of wish everything will work out but as the story progresses you feel the need to see where this ends; how bad it will get. This is in fact more terrifying than the story itself.
It is more nerve-racking than witnessing Jack Torrance come apart in front of your eyes – so vivid you do not even need to see the film to visualize it.
It is more shocking than watching Wendy Torrance accept her miserable life and fail to change it.
It is just a tad more chilling than going along Danny Torrance on his occasional trips outside this world.
It is breathtaking and horrible all at once.

“Dear God, he could use a drink. Or a thousand of them.”

Stephen King is a gifted author – no one could ever doubt that. As a reader you may not notice just how tangled you get in the story before you are in so deep there is no way out. ‘The Shining’ is definitely worth a read – no matter how much you hate scary stories. It is a telling so magnificent one would presume anyone owes it to themselves to experience it. Experience it, because it is not just a book – it is an intensity.

4/5