The Cuckoo’s Calling was published in 2013 as the debut crime novel of Robert Galbraith. The release was soon overcome by a media frenzy after it was leaked to The Sunday Times that the pseudonym was, in fact, the first foray of Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling into detective fiction. Under the shield of Galbraith, Rowling had hoped to produce work detached from the expectation and comparison of her previous books. Alas, viewers and media pounced on the fact that The Cuckoo’s Calling displayed the rather darker recesses of Rowling’s mind. It seemed she was capable of writing about ritual disembowelment and sado-masochism as well as boy wizards, magic spells and sentient sorting hats. The book was picked up by the BBC in 2014 with Rowling acting as executive producer. The Cuckoo’s Calling was revamped into Strike, named after the lead detective of the series Cormoran Strike, to be played by Tom Burke (The Musketeers, War & Peace).
The first three episodes of the series revolve around the suspicious death of supermodel Lula Landry, which has been framed as suicide but is unveiled to be murder. When we first encounter the army-veteran-turned-sleuth, Strike is living out of his dishevelled office in central London, his relationships and private investigation practice on the brink of collapse. As his perpetually remote ex-girlfriend Charlotte (Natasha O’Keefe) runs away from him, a new sidekick, aptly named Robin (Holliday Grainger) hurtles toward him, all set to clean his desk and make him tea. Where Burke is just the right touch of rough, he manages to maintain a certain charm; Grainger, despite being set in opposition to this gruff demeanor, takes it too far toward the doe-eyed angel. She is predominantly just efficient filing and quick thinking; at one point in the second installment she drives a rented Fiat off road through forests and fields in a thinly veiled attempt to make her appear “badass.” This is unfortunately an attempt to make her appear as something other than what she is, which is frankly, superfluous.
However, Strike is not weakened by her presence. If anything it allows us to appreciate Cormoran’s charm and he is a decidedly interesting character. The one legged amputee and estranged son of a rockstar and a model with incomplete Oxbridge degree (everyone in the show apparently “nearly went to Oxbridge” before pursuing modelling or private investigation, as if there was no other way of denoting intelligence…). He maintains his cool without ever trying too hard. Although there are elements of Sherlock, he is admirably intelligent while still being relatable. London also shines as a third character, both an aid and an enemy to Cormoran and Robin. The expensive, flashy world of Lula Landry contrasts with Strike’s grimy pubs and ill-lit passageways as trendy Dalston nightclubs awash with supermodels are wryly followed up by greasy diners. Overall the atmosphere is dark and if it weren’t for Robin’s permanently pouted lips and bleach blonde hair, it would be foreboding too.
