LETHAL WHITE, by Robert Galbraith

Mystery/Thriller -- 2 stars



Cormoran Strike - Book 4
A young man shows up at Mr. Strike's detective agency claiming to have seen a young girl strangled and buried "up by the horse."  Before any details can be recorded, he disappears.  A young group of activists are making a fuss about the upcoming Olympics.  A member of Parliament hires Strike and his partner, Robin Ellacott, to find out who is blackmailing him.  All of them are connected, and all have family problems, including Strike and Ellacott.  Then the parliamentarian commits suicide.  Every good mystery needs a red herring or two, but when the herrings become an entire fish market, you've got a problem and that's what happened here.  The main story is actually not bad, but you have to wade through so much extraneous material that it falls flat.  And when the ending finally comes, it is forced and totally unrealistic.  This book could have used a good editor.  There is only so much about girlfriend problems (Strike) and husband problems (Ellacott) that a reader can take, especially when they have nothing to do with the story--and very especially when the family intrigues of the other characters are so much more interesting.  I know Robert Galbraith is J.K. Rowling's alter ego, but it seems there was too much hero worship and not enough cutting room floor in this case.  Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had read any of the earlier three books first, but after Lethal White, I have no desire to enter Cormoran Strike's world again.