Good Morning Everyone,

Happy Friday! I cannot tell you how happy I am to see Friday this week. It’s been a bit of a slog and I really need to take the time to relax and chill out this weekend. I have mentioned it before but I live in Wales in the UK and we’re entering a two week circuit breaker lockdown this evening meaning all non-essential businesses will close again, no travel, stay home. I’ve decided to focus on this positively and use the time to focus on doing things for myself that I enjoy (all within the rules of course). I started a little early by listening to this audio book as I haven’t listened to an audio book in a while and I’m so happy that I did.

Book 📖

I have read all of the Cormoran Strike books and loved every one. I had no idea that another one was coming out until a week before it’s release, so I had to get my hands on Troubled Blood as soon as possible.

Description 🔖

Cormoran Strike is a private detective who has gained notoriety from solving some highly public cases in the past. This notoriety lead to Strike being approached by a woman whilst at home in Cornwall who asks him to take on the case of her missing mother; Margot Bamborough. The catch being that Margot went missing forty years prior.

Strike’s agency has never taken on a cold case before so confidence levels in a success story are low, but they take on the case regardless. Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott throw themselves into a case that gives them few witnesses, including unreliable ones, a police investigator who had gone through a mental breakdown whilst working on the case and a psychopathic serial killer. Another complex and somewhat dangerous case for the Strike agency.

General Thoughts 🤔

Being the fifth book in the Strike series, you would think I’d have lost a tiny bit of interest in these books by now, but that hasn’t happened. I love the series and this book didn’t disappoint me in the slightest. In fact the only disappointment I felt was when it was over.

I found this book to be a little more of a slow burner in comparison to the previous book. There wasn’t as much explosive drama but I was fine with that. I think it actually made me follow the investigation and it’s developments a little closer.

Characters 👫👭👬

I have such a soft spot for Strike and Robin. I really enjoy their working relationship as well as their private relationship. The romantic in me is routing for them to get out of their own ways and see that they’re perfect for each other.

I felt like I saw a softer side to Strike in this book. His vulnerability came through the story thread with his family in Cornwall which I personally thought made him more human and less cold. Robin on the other hand seemed stronger and more confident in this book. Although her private life may not be where she probably wants it to be, her professional life was in tip top shape.

Writing Style ✍️

As this was the first cold case in the series, the “vibe” of the book did feel a little bit different and I really enjoyed it. The ratio of dramatic action to investigation shifted more towards investigation and I enjoyed trying to piece the puzzle together before the conclusion of the case.

I listened to the audio book and the narration was fantastic. The accents, voices etc really helped to bring the story to life and make it feel more three dimensional.

Conclusion & Scoring 🏅

I’m disappointed to see a lot of negative reviews surrounding this book. It’s not because they are negative towards the book, a lot of them appear to be negative about the author. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and if you do not agree with or do not like an author, you are not forced to read their work. I personally didn’t pick up on any political or social controversy hidden in the depths of this book, therefore my review reflects my experience of reading it. If you like the Strike series, then continue to enjoy it with Troubled Blood. I for one certainly hope that there are more to come.

😍😍😍😍😫