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497. Troubled Blood

Rating:  ☆☆☆☆

Recommended by:  Joni Renee Zalk

Author:   Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)

Genre:   Fiction, Crime, Suspense, Thriller, Mystery

944 pages, published  September 15, 2020

Reading Format:   Audiobook on Overdrive

Summary

Troubled Blood is the fifth book in J.K. Rowling’s Cormoran Strike detective series.  Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott are hired by a woman whose mother, Margot Bamborough, disappeared forty years ago in 1974 without a trace.  As they investigate this cold case, Strike and Robin encounter tarot cards, a psychopathic serial killer and witnesses who cannot be trusted, along with their own long simmering feelings for each other.

Quotes 

“We aren’t our mistakes. It’s what we do about the mistake that shows who we are.”

 

“Every married person he knew seemed desperate to chivvy others into matrimony, no matter how poor an advertisement they themselves were for the institution.”

 

“Then he closed his eyes, and like millions of his fellow humans, wondered why troubles could never come singly, but in avalanches, so that you became increasingly destabilized with every blow that hit you.”

 

 “. . . she’d seen a flicker of something in his face that wasn’t mere friendship, and they’d hugged, and she’d felt . . . Best not to dwell on that hug, on how like home it had felt, on how a kind of insanity had gripped her at that moment, and she’d imagined him saying ‘come with me’ and known she’d have gone if he had.”

 

“But he was her best friend. This admission, held at bay for so long, caused an almost painful twist in Robin’s heart, not least because she knew it would be impossible ever to tell Strike so.”

 

“But people who fundamentally change are rare, in my experience, because it’s bloody hard work compared to going on a march or waving a flag. Have we met a single person on this case who’s radically different to the person they were forty years ago?”  “I don’t know . . . I think I’ve changed,” said Robin, then felt embarrassed to have said it out loud.  Strike looked at her without smiling for the space it took him to chew and swallow a chip, then said, “Yeah. But you’re exceptional, aren’t you?”

 

 “How could he say, look, I’ve tried not to fancy you since you first took your coat off in this office. I try not to give names to what I feel for you, because I already know it’s too much, and I want peace from the shit that love brings in its wake. I want to be alone, and unburdened, and free.  But I don’t want you to be with anyone else. I don’t want some other bastard to persuade you into a second marriage. I like knowing the possibility’s there, for us to, maybe . . .  Except, it’ll go wrong, of course, because it always goes wrong, because if I were the type for permanence, I’d already be married. And when it goes wrong, I’ll lose you for good, and this thing we’ve built together, which is literally the only good part of my life, my vocation, my pride, my greatest achievement, will be forever fucked, because I won’t find anyone I enjoy running things with, the way I enjoy running them with you, and everything afterward will be tainted by the memory of you.

 

 “If I’ve taken you for granted,” said Strike, “I’m sorry. You’re the best I’ve got.”

 

“I think there are a lot of nutters in the world, and the less we reward them for their nuttery, the better for all of us.”

 

“He was well aware that he hadn’t told Polworth the whole truth about his relationship with Robin Ellacott, which, after all, was nobody else’s business. The truth was that his feelings contained nuances and complications that he preferred not to examine. For instance, he had a tendency, when alone, bored, or low-spirited, to want to hear her voice.”

 

“And there was something more, something highly unusual. Strike had never once made her feel physically uncomfortable. Two of them in the office, for a long time the only workers at the agency, and while Robin was a tall woman, he was far bigger, and he’d never made her feel it, as so many men did . . .”

 

“The roses, which were for Joan, were also for him: they said, you won’t be alone, you have something you’ve built, and all right, it might not be a family, but there are still people who care about you waiting in London. Strike told himself ‘people,’ because there were five names on the card, but he turned away thinking only of Robin.”

 

“. . . Strike explained about his failed attempt to buy Robin perfume, the previous December.

‘ . . . so I asked the assistant, but he kept showing me things with names like . . . I dunno . . . “Shaggable You” . . . ‘  The laugh Robin failed to repress was so loud that people turned to look at her . . .  and I panicked,’ Strike admitted . . .”

 

“Robin was thinking, is this where single people end up, people without children to look out for them, without double incomes? In small boxes, living vicariously through reality stars?”

 

“She’s lived with it for forty years . . . People who live with something that massive stop being able to see it. It’s the backdrop of their lives. It’s only glaringly obvious to everyone else.”

 

My Take

Having read the four previous Cormoran Strike novels ( The Cuckoo’s Calling, The Silkworm, Career of Evil and Lethal White) I was really looking forward to Troubled Blood.  I was not disappointed.  While J.K. Rowling is adept at spinning an engrossing mystery, this series really shines when it focuses on the protagonists Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacot.  The two are fascinating characters and the “will they, won’t they” dynamic really works.  At 944 pages, Troubled Blood is a commitment to read, but it is well worth the time.

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494. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Rating:  ☆☆☆☆1/2

Recommended by:

Author:   J.K. Rowling

Genre:   Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy

759 pages, published  July 21, 2007

Reading Format:   Audiobook

Summary

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the final book in the classic series by JK Rowling.  The book, and the series, build to a final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort.  Only one can survive.

Quotes 

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

 

“It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.”

 

“Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love.”

 

“Death’s got an Invisibility Cloak?” Harry interrupted again.

“So he can sneak up on people,” said Ron. “Sometimes he gets bored of running at them, flapping his arms and shrieking…”

 

“Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.

“After all this time?”

“Always,” said Snape.”

 

“He can run faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo.”

“Cinderella? Snow White? What’s that? An illness?”

 “Albus Severus,” Harry said quietly, so that nobody but Ginny could hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to Rose, who was now on the train, “you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.”

 

 “There was a clatter as the basilisk fangs cascaded out of Hermione’s arms. Running at Ron, she flung them around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron threw away the fangs and broomstick he was holding and responded with such enthusiasm that he lifted Hermione off her feet.  “Is this the moment?” Harry asked weakly, and when nothing happened except that Ron and Hermione gripped each other still more firmly and swayed on the spot, he raised his voice. “OI! There’s a war going on here!”  Ron and Hermione broke apart, their arms still around each other.  “I know, mate,” said Ron, who looked as though he had recently been hit on the back of the head with a Bludger, “so it’s now or never, isn’t it?”

“Never mind that, what about the Horcrux?” Harry shouted. “D’you think you could just — just hold it in, until we’ve got the diadem?”  “Yeah — right — sorry —” said Ron, and he and Hermione set about gathering up fangs, both pink in the face.”

 

 “I’m going to keep going until I succeed — or die. Don’t think I don’t know how this might end. I’ve known it for years.”

 

 “Does it hurt?” The childish question had escaped Harry’s lips before he could stop it.

“Dying? Not at all,” said Sirius. “Quicker and easier than falling asleep.”

 

“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.”

 

 “Every second he breathed, the smell of the grass, the cool air on his face, was so precious: To think that people had years and years, time to waste, so much time it dragged, and he was clinging to each second.”

 

 “Here lies Dobby, a free elf.”

 

“Snape’s patronus was a doe,’ said Harry, ‘the same as my mother’s because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from when they were children.”

 

“The last words Albus Dumbledore spoke to the pair of us?’

Harry is the best hope we have. Trust him.”

 

My Take

I read through the entire Harry Potter set with my son Nick while he was in elementary school.  It was a pleasure then and at least an equal pleasure to listen to the audio version of the books during my reading quest.  Narrator Jim Dale is masterful, creating unique and fitting voices for all of the characters.  Author J.K. Rowling finishes the series strong with rising tension, compelling character arcs and a perfect ending.  Even if you have previously read the series, I highly recommend trying out the audio version (especially if you can do so with young kids).  You will not be disappointed.

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475. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Rating:  ☆☆☆☆

Recommended by:

Author:   J.K. Rowling

Genre:   Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy

652 pages, published September 16, 2006

Reading Format:  Audiobook on Overdrive

Summary

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the sixth book in J.K. Rowling’s epic saga and follows Harry, Ron and Hermione in their sixth year at Hogwarts.  Ron and Hermione are prefects, Harry is captain of Griffindor’s quiditch team and all are struggling with teenage hormones and angst.  While Voldemort is regrouping with the death eaters in support, Dumbledore is preparing Harry for the battle that lays ahead.

Quotes 

“Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?”

“Yes,” said Harry stiffly.  “Yes, sir.”  “There’s no need to call me “sir” Professor.”  The words had escaped him before he knew what he was saying.”

“It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.”

 

“He accused me of being Dumbledore’s man through and through.”

“How very rude of him.”

“I told him I was.”

Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Fawkes the phoenix let out a low, soft, musical cry. To Harry’s intense embarrassment, he suddenly realized that Dumbledore’s bright blue eyes looked rather watery, and stared hastily at his own knee. When Dumbledore spoke, however, his voice was quite steady.

“I am very touched, Harry.”

 

“Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”

 

“Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right.”

 

“It was, he thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but Dumbledore knew – and so do I, thought Harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents – that there was all the difference in the world.”

 

“You’d think people had better things to gossip about,” said Ginny as she sat on the common room floor, leaning against Harry’s legs and reading the Daily Prophet. “Three Dementor attacks in a week, and all Romilda Vane does is ask me if it’s true you’ve got a Hippogriff tattooed across your chest.”

Ron and Hermione both roared with laughter. Harry ignored them.

What did you tell her?”

I told her it’s a Hungarian Horntail,” said Ginny, turning a page of the newspaper idly. “Much more macho.”

Thanks,” said Harry, grinning. “And what did you tell her Ron’s got?”

A Pygmy Puff, but I didn’t say where.”

 

“Why are you worrying about YOU-KNOW-WHO, when you should be worrying about YOU-NO-POO? The constipation sensation that’s gripping the nation!”

 

“Harry looked around; there was Ginny running toward him; she had a hard blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her. After several long moments, or it might have been half an hour-or possibly several sunlit days- they broke apart.”

 

“And Harry saw very clearly as he sat there under the hot sun how people who cared about him had stood in front of him one by one, his mother, his father, his godfather, and finally Dumbledore, all determined to protect him; but now that was over. He could not let anybody else stand between him and Voldemort; he must abandon forever the illusion he ought to have lost at the age of one, that the shelter of a parent’s arms meant that nothing could hurt him. There was no waking from this nightmare, no comforting whisper in the dark that he was safe really, that it was all in his imagination; the last and greatest of his protectors had died, and he was more alone than he had ever been.”

 

My Take

It was a pleasure to read the sixth Harry Potter book as I continue to work my way through the audio versions of this classic series.  As with all of the installments, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince did not disappoint.  J.K. Rowling is truly such a talented and creative writer and listening to the excellent and exuberant voice work of actor Jim Dale is a rare treat.

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431. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Rating:  ☆☆☆☆

Recommended by:

Author:    J.K. Rowling

Genre:   Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult

870 pages, published September 1, 2004

Reading Format:  Audio Book

Summary

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is book number five in the classic Harry Potter series.  Harry is growing up and as an emerging young adult/wizard is facing greater and more fearsome challenges.  Other than the dark lord Voldemort who continues to gain power, Harry’s chief adversary is the head in the sand approach of the Ministry of Magic, personified by the new Hogwart’s Headmaster Dolores Umbridge.  However, Harry is not alone in his battle, but is joined by the Order of the Phoenix which includes Professor Lupin, Sirius Black, Mad Eye Moody and the Weasley’s.

Quotes 

“Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure.”

 

“Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.”

 

“Is it true that you shouted at Professor Umbridge?”

“Yes.”

“You called her a liar?”

“Yes.”

“You told her He Who Must Not Be Named is back?”

“Yes.”

“Have a biscuit, Potter.”

 

“You’re a prefect? Oh Ronnie! That’s everyone in the family!”

“What are Fred and I? Next door neighbors?”

 

“Why were you lurking under our window?”

“Yes – yes, good point, Petunia! What were you doing under our windows, boy?”

“Listening to the news,” said Harry in a resigned voice.

His aunt and uncle exchanged looks of outrage.

“Listening to the news! Again?”

“Well, it changes every day, you see,” said Harry.”

 

“From now on, I don’t care if my tea leaves spell ‘Die, Ron, Die,’ I’m chucking them in the bin where they belong.”

 

“The world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters.”

 

“You should write a book,” Ron told Hermione as he cut up his potatoes, “translating mad things girls do so boys can understand them.”

 

“Harry, don’t go picking a row with Malfoy, don’t forget, he’s a prefect now, he could make life difficult for you…”

“Wow, I wonder what it’d be like to have a difficult life?” said Harry sarcastically.”

 

“Well?” Ron said finally, looking up at Harry. “How was it?”

Harry considered it for a moment. “Wet,” he said truthfully.

Ron made a noise that might have indicated jubilation or disgust, it was hard to tell.

“Because she was crying,” Harry continued heavily.

“Oh,” said Ron, his smile faded slightly. “Are you that bad at kissing?”

“Dunno,” said Harry, who hadn’t considered this, and immediately felt rather worried. “Maybe I am.”

 

“By all means continue destroying my possessions. I daresay I have too many.”

 

“Well, we were always going to fail that one,” said Ron gloomily as they ascended the marble staircase. He had just made Harry feel rather better by telling him how he told the examiner in detail about the ugly man with a wart on his nose in the crystal ball, only to look up and realize he had been describing the examiner’s reflection.”

 

My Take

I am thoroughly enjoying my re-read of the Harry Potter series, this time by listening to the excellent audio versions narrated by the incomparable Jim Dale.  He really brings the story to life with spot on voices for each character.  Although clocking in at a lengthy 870 pages, The Order of the Phoenix moves swiftly along.  It also benefits from Rowling’s clever analogy to the pre-World War II mindset in which most of the world underestimated the looming danger of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler.  The execrable Dolores Umbridge is the perfect character to illustrate this concept.

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397. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Rating:  ☆☆☆☆

Recommended by:

Author:    J.K. Rowling

Genre:    Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult

734 pages, published September 28, 2002

Reading Format:  Audio Book

Summary

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire takes place during Harry’s fifth year at Hogwart’s.  The book begins with a trip to the International Quidditch Cup where Harry and the Weasly family cheer on favorite player Victor Krum.  Krum then shows up at Hogwarts as part of the Durmstrang school (from Northern Europe) who, along with Beauxbatons (from France) are there to compete in the Tri-Wizard Cup.   Harry is also mysteriously entered as a contestant in the cup which will challenge Harry and the other entrants as they have never before been challenged.

Quotes 

“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

 

“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”

 

“I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind.”

 

“Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it.”

 

“Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.”

 

“Who’re you going with, then?” said Ron.

“Angelina,” said Fred promptly, without a trace of embarrassment.

“What?” said Ron, taken aback. “You’ve already asked her?”

“Good point,” said Fred. He turned his head and called across the common room, “Oi! Angelina!”

Angelina, who had been chatting with Alicia Spinnet near the fire, looked over at him.

“What?” She called back.

“Want to come to the ball with me?”

Angelina gave Fred a sort of appraising look.

“All right, then,” she said, and she turned back to Alicia and carried on chatting with a bit of a grin on her face.

“There you go,” said Fred to Harry and Ron, “piece of cake.”

 

“Anyone can speak Troll. All you have to do is point and grunt.”

 

“I’m never wearing them,” Ron was saying stubbornly. “Never.”  “Fine,” snapped Mrs. Weasley. “Go naked. And, Harry, make sure you get a picture of him. Goodness knows I could do with a laugh.”

 

My Take

Another creative and captivating Harry Potter book.  I was intrigued by the different schools (Durmstrang and Beauxbatons) that spend a year at Hogwarts participating in the Tri-Wizard tournament and their unique approach to magic.  I also appreciated the inclusion of the Cedric Diggory character (a real class act).  JK Rowling is a treasure.

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384. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Rating:  ☆☆☆☆

Recommended by:

Author:   J.K. Rowling

Genre:  Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult

435 pages, published May 1, 2004

Reading Format:  Audio Book

Summary

Harry Potter is a third year student at Hogwarts and faces a new round of danger.  Chief among his worries is the escape of Sirius Black from Azkaban prison.  Black, who was convicted of murderering Harry’s parents, now seems to be after Harry.  To protect Hogwarts, the dementors, the Azkaban guards who are hunting Sirius, are called in and they seem to also be after Harry.  To combat the dementors, Harry learns how to summon his own patronus from Professor Lupin, the new Defense of the Dark Arts teacher, who was a childhood friend of his father.  With the help of the Mauraders Map and the invisibility cloak, Harry, Ron and Hermione set to make things right again at Hogwarts.

Quotes 

“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

 

“Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people’s business.

Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.

Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor.

Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball.”

 

“What’s that?” he snarled, staring at the envelope Harry was still clutching in his hand. “If it’s another form for me to sign, you’ve got another -“

“It’s not,” said Harry cheerfully. “It’s a letter from my godfather.”

“Godfather?” sputtered Uncle Vernon. “You haven’t got a godfather!”

“Yes, I have,” said Harry brightly. “He was my mum and dad’s best friend. He’s a convicted murderer, but he’s broken out of wizard prison and he’s on the run. He likes to keep in touch with me, though…keep up with my news…check if I’m happy….”

 

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

 

“You think the dead we loved truly ever leave us? You think that we don’t recall them more clearly in times of great trouble?”

 

“I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for.”

 

“Why, dear boy, we don’t send wizards to Azkaban just for blowing up their aunts.”

 

“If you made a better rat than a human, it’s not much to boast about, Peter.”

 

“Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs.”

 

“I’ll fix it up with Mum and Dad, then I’ll call you. I know how to use a fellytone now—”

“A telephone, Ron,” said Hermione. “Honestly, you should take Muggle Studies next year…”

 

“The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed.”

 

“Don’t let the muggles get you down.”

 

“How’re we getting to King’s Cross tomorrow, Dad?” asked Fred as they dug into a sumptuous pudding. “The Ministry’s providing a couple of cars,” said Mr. Weasley.  Everyone looked up at him.  “Why?” said Percy curiously.  “It’s because of you, Perce,” said George seriously. “And there’ll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them-”  “-for Humongous Bighead,” said Fred.”

 

My Take

I am thoroughly enjoying my repeat romp through all of the Harry Potter books, especially the amazing voice work of narrator Jim Dale who seamlessly transitions between characters and brings The Prisoner of Azkaban to life.  J.K. Rowling again delivers a compelling, intricate, creative and fun tour de force in this book and it is a pleasure to re-read it.

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374. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Rating:  ☆☆☆☆

Recommended by:

Author:   J.K. Rowling

Genre:  Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult

341 pages, published July 2, 1999

Reading Format:  Audio Book

Summary

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is book two in the classic Harry Potter series.  Once again escaping his mean muggle relatives, Harry is delighted to be back at Hogwarts with besties Ron and Hermione.  However, his happiness is soon interrupted when students begin turning to stone and the school is ominously put on notice that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened.

Quotes 

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

 

“When in doubt, go to the library.”

 

“Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward.”

 

“Ginny!” said Mr. Weasley, flabbergasted. “Haven’t I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain?”

 

“Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won’t they?” said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward the enchanted barrier. “When they hear what you did this year?”  “Proud?” said Harry. “Are you crazy? All those times I could’ve died, and I didn’t manage it? They’ll be furious…”

 

“Do I look stupid?” snarled Uncle Vernon, a bit of fried egg dangling from his bushy mustache.”

 

“Hang on . . .” Harry muttered to Ron. “There’s an empty chair at the staff table. . . . Where’s Snape?”

“Maybe he’s ill!” said Ron hopefully.

“Maybe he’s left,” said Harry, “because he missed out on the Defense Against the Dark Arts job again!”

“Or he might have been sacked!” said Ron enthusiastically. “I mean, everyone hates him —”

“Or maybe,” said a very cold voice right behind them, “he’s waiting to hear why you two didn’t arrive on the school train.”

Harry spun around. There, his black robes rippling in a cold breeze, stood Severus Snape.”

 

“Gotta bone ter pick with yeh. I’ve heard you’ve bin givin’ out signed photos. How come I haven’t got one?”

 

“Ron: Why spiders? Why couldn’t it be “follow the butterflies?”

 

“Voldemort,” said Riddle softly, “is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter. . . .”

He pulled Harry’s wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words:

TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE

Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves:

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT” 

My Take

I am having so much fun re-reading the Harry Potter series.  Or, rather, listening to them with the delightful audio version narrated by the incomparable Jim Dale who brings the story to life with his imaginative voice work.  J.K. Rowling is a marvel, crafting a richly drawn fantasy world replete with an incredible level of detail while still managing to create completely relatable characters.  A pleasure for readers of any age!

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367. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Rating:  ☆☆☆☆1/2

Recommended by:

Author:   J.K. Rowling

Genre:  Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy

357 pages, published June 26, 1997

Reading Format:  Audio Book

Summary

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the first book in the classic Harry Potter series.  The book opens with orphaned Harry living a miserable life with his uncaring Aunt and Uncle.  Harry sleeps in a closet under the stairs while they spoil Dudley, their only child who is the same age as Harry.   Things soon change when Harry discovers that he is a Wizard and is sent off to the Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn about magic.  There he meets new friends, discovers his own magical powers, has many adventures and confronts the evil Voldemort.

Quotes 

“A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours’ time by Mrs. Dursley’s scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley…He couldn’t know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: “To Harry Potter – the boy who lived!”

 

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”

 

“The truth.” Dumbledore sighed. “It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.”

 

“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our

 

“Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. Love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves it’s own mark. To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.”

 

“Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”

 

“There is no good and evil, there is only power and those too weak to seek it.”

 

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”

 

“As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all – the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them.”

 

“Now, you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you’ve – you’ve blown up a toilet or –”

“Blown up a toilet? We’ve never blown up a toilet.”

“Great idea though, thanks, Mum.”

 

“So light a fire!” Harry choked. “Yes…of course…but there’s no wood!” …

“HAVE YOU GONE MAD!” Ron bellowed. “ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT!”

 

“Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.” 

My Take

When my oldest child Nick was in grade school, we started reading the Harry Potter series together and I was completely enchanted.  While recently checking out Lethal White (Book 4 in J.K. Rowling’s Cormoran Strike Detective series), I asked the Librarian for a good audio book recommendation.  She suggested the Harry Potter series.  Well, as Gretchen Rubin says, “the best reading is re-reading” and she was never more right.  Although this time around, I am going to listen to the audio version.  The voice work of actor Jim Dale is an impressive delight and brings these creative and ingenious stories to magical life.

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194. The Silkworm

Rating:  ☆☆☆1/2

Recommended by:

Author:   Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)

Genre:  Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Thriller

455 pages, published June 24, 2014

Reading Format:  Audio Book

 

Summary

The second in J.K. Rowling’s Cormoran Strike’s detective series (the first was The Cuckoo’s Calling which I really enjoyed), The Silkworm picks up where the first book left off.  We rejoin Strike and his talented assistant Robin Ellacott in a new mystery.  Strike is hired by Leonora Quine to find her missing husband, novelist Owen Quine.  As Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine’s disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist had just completed a poisonous book portraying many of his friends and acquaintances in a harsh light which means that there are plenty of motives for murder and a web of deceit and avarice for Strike to untangle and solve.

 

Quotes 

“The whole world’s writing novels, but nobody’s reading them.”                       

 

“We don’t love each other; we love the idea we have of each other. Very few humans understand this or can bear to contemplate it. They have blind faith in their own powers of creation. All love, ultimately, is self-love.”

 

“Though they spent so much time trying to make themselves beautiful, you were not supposed to admit to women that beauty mattered.”

 

“…writers are a savage breed, Mr. Strike. If you want life-long friendship and selfless camaraderie, join the army and learn to kill.  If you want a lifetime of temporary alliances with peers who will glory in your every failure, write novels.”

 

“Strike had always marvelled at the strange sanctity conferred upon celebrities by the public, even while the newspapers denigrated, hunted or hounded them. No matter how many famous people were convicted of rape or murder, still the belief persisted, almost pagan in its intensity: not him. It couldn’t be him. He’s famous.”

 

“In the depths of his tiredness, surrounded by these blank, sheep-like visages, he found himself pondering the accidents that had brought all of them into being. Every birth was, viewed properly, mere chance. With a hundred million sperm swimming blindly through the darkness, the odds against a person becoming themselves were staggering.”

 

“Keeping busy was the only answer: action had always been his drug of choice.”

 

“She emanated that aura of grandeur that replaces sexual allure in the successful older woman.”

 

“I said that the greatest female writers, with almost no exceptions, have been childless. A fact. And I have said that women generally, by virtue of their desire to mother, are incapable of the necessarily single-minded focus anyone must bring to the creation of literature, true literature. I don’t retract a word. That is a fact.”

 

My Take

The Silkworm provides a new murder mystery for Private Detective Cormoran Strike and his Assistant/Partner Robin Ellacott to solve.  After thoroughly enjoying the fantastically creative world created by J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter series, I was happy to see that her writing talent translates to Detective/Crime Thriller genre.  While the details of the mystery are not the most gripping, her two lead characters of Cormoran and Robin are so richly drawn, nuanced, and compelling that I loved spending time with them in the gritty world of modern day London.  The solution to the book’s central mystery was almost beside the point.

 

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