Career of Evil
I feel like Career of Evil needs to be reviewed two separate books. The first is the mystery, which is very good and had me guessing until the end (mostly because I missed something pretty obvious). The second is the interpersonal drama Robin and Cormoran are dealing with, which was a mixed bag.
The mystery centers on someone who is out to get Cormoran. He starts by mailing the leg of a dead girl to the office. Cormoran immediately comes up with four suspects, because that's the line of work he's in, and most of the book is devoted to eliminating them, one by one, until the last one left is the guilty party.
I became convinced early on that the true culprit was none of the men Cormoran identified. Somehow I landed on the theory that it was the son of one of them, even though the text really doesn't support this. Regardless, I got so wrapped up in it that I didn't even come close to actually solving the mystery. But that's okay. I liked that we got a bunch of scene's from the criminal's point of view. Although the fact that his plan was largely failing made him seem like a bit less of a threat, even as he was stalking Robin.
But what could have been a great book was dragged down a bit by the personal lives of Robin and Cormoran. Rowling is pretty clearly laying groundwork for the two of them to end up as an item by the end of the series, and I couldn't care less. I would love for Robin to actually leave her unsupportive jerk of a fiance and strike out on her own for a bit. And for most of the book, when it seemed like she was going to do just that, I was cheering her on. While at the same time hoping that she didn't just run straight into Cormoran's arms.
So I ended the book disappointed on all counts. Cormoran is on the verge of realizing he's in love with Robin. Robin almost got there but returned to her fiance at the last minute and went through with the wedding after all. And her fiance/husband attempted to undermine her career once again. It's all so boring and predictable, and I wish Rowling would just drop this whole thread.
We'll see how the next book is received. The nice part about waiting for the paperbacks is that I'm not setting myself up for disappointment. If everyone ends up hating the next book (or if it comes out that my fears are proven correct, which will be the same thing based on the reviews I read) I can just skip it and move on to something else. Or maybe the mystery will make it worth it again.
The mystery centers on someone who is out to get Cormoran. He starts by mailing the leg of a dead girl to the office. Cormoran immediately comes up with four suspects, because that's the line of work he's in, and most of the book is devoted to eliminating them, one by one, until the last one left is the guilty party.
I became convinced early on that the true culprit was none of the men Cormoran identified. Somehow I landed on the theory that it was the son of one of them, even though the text really doesn't support this. Regardless, I got so wrapped up in it that I didn't even come close to actually solving the mystery. But that's okay. I liked that we got a bunch of scene's from the criminal's point of view. Although the fact that his plan was largely failing made him seem like a bit less of a threat, even as he was stalking Robin.
But what could have been a great book was dragged down a bit by the personal lives of Robin and Cormoran. Rowling is pretty clearly laying groundwork for the two of them to end up as an item by the end of the series, and I couldn't care less. I would love for Robin to actually leave her unsupportive jerk of a fiance and strike out on her own for a bit. And for most of the book, when it seemed like she was going to do just that, I was cheering her on. While at the same time hoping that she didn't just run straight into Cormoran's arms.
So I ended the book disappointed on all counts. Cormoran is on the verge of realizing he's in love with Robin. Robin almost got there but returned to her fiance at the last minute and went through with the wedding after all. And her fiance/husband attempted to undermine her career once again. It's all so boring and predictable, and I wish Rowling would just drop this whole thread.
We'll see how the next book is received. The nice part about waiting for the paperbacks is that I'm not setting myself up for disappointment. If everyone ends up hating the next book (or if it comes out that my fears are proven correct, which will be the same thing based on the reviews I read) I can just skip it and move on to something else. Or maybe the mystery will make it worth it again.
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