Lethal White by Robert Galbraith

I finished the audiobook yesterday and have been thinking about it since. I was also trying to decide if this would be the shortest review ever or the longest. I decided to go for a happy medium.


WOW.

I just picture J.K. Rowling as either 1) meticulous with a whiteboard and many colored markers, plotting out the twists and turns and character developments of Cormoran and Robin or 2) Writing furiously in a haze of magic smoke and delivering a unicorn of a mystery.

The audiobook was over 22 hours long and, because it was an audiobook, I couldn't go back and pinpoint the areas I knew I needed to go back over. Once I got to the end and all was revealed, I wanted to run back and re-read. But really, I didn't need to go back. I just sat there with a mug of tea and let my mind trace back. The 22+ hours seemed like it zipped by and didn't seem like it had a plan. But once I looked back at the path Rowling led me on, it was damn well laid out. I was just rushing along, asking "And then what happened???" without seeing where I was going.

And that, my friends, is why I love this series so much.

I'm going to be somewhat vague because I want others to race along the path and be surprised as well. I would feel terrible if I gave anything away.

Parts of this book made me heartsick. The women in the abusive relationships, our dear Robin and Flick, were all too real. Emotional and manipulative abuse is still abuse. I wanted nothing more than for Robin to kick Matthew in the balls and walk out. I also wanted nothing more than for Cormoran to quit being in his head and reach out to Robin as a friend. His brain made excuses and Robin's brain made excuses and, OH MY GOD YOU TWO, talk to each other!

There was one phrase that, at first, made me indignant. We all see how capable Robin is, how quick and clever, how physically able she is to take care of herself. Besides Matthew's horrid comments about her, we already know Robin. So when Cormoran said that (paraphrasing) because Robin was a woman, she was the most vulnerable of the two of them. I was starting to get all righteous that Cormoran thought this.....

then I realized he's right. We are still in the age where, no matter the woman's capabilities, we are thought of as weaker and more vulnerable. And it's proven in the end. The villain of the book didn't go after Strike. The villain went after Robin. Dammit.

I'm very curious where we go from here. We've brought Charlotte back into the mix. Robin and Strike have shown they are willing to break the law and lean a bit towards the unethical side to get the information they need. Matthew surely can't be going into the night quietly because he's a full-of-pride-asshole who needs the last word.

Ready for the next one, Ms. Rowling!