Death of the Reader
Join Flex and Herds as they take you on a Murder Mystery World Tour in Death of the Reader. From classic British puzzles in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction to the weirdest of foreign detective fiction, explore everything in the grizzly world of the 'locked room'. Each week we'll feature academics, authors and more as we trace the influences of the genre around the world.
June 22, 2020 • 30 min
We discuss Parts 1-2 of The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith AKA J.K. Rowling. Our hero, a crippled yet undeniable lady-killer Cormoran Strike is tasked by a local businessman John Bristow with solving the death of his adoptive sister, Lula Landry. Fallen from her own apartment block at the height of her celebrity fame, public opinion has ruled the death as a suicide. With Cormoran’s paycheck and Bristow’s mental wellbeing on the line, we set off on a tour of modern day London with impromptu ‘Watson archetype’ Robin Ellacott bringing her acting skills to the team. Rowling’s attempt at a standalone narrative as removed from her own fame as can be was flawed, but we read on to see its unique merit in the library of great detective fiction.
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