Hello, Mystery Fans – Today I decided to talk about Robert Galbraith. It is probably the worst kept of all modern literary secrets: Robert Galbraith is in fact J.K. Rowling of the Harry Potter fame. It is interesting to learn that her nom-de-plume was uncovered by an indiscreet tweet sent from a family friend of Rowling’s solicitor. Rowling was disappointed as she wanted to write without the expectations that the Potter books placed on her. The first title in the series is The Cuckoo’s Calling. When the book came out it was number 4,709th position in the Amazon sales charts. When her identity was revealed, it shot to number one. The rest of the titles are The Silkworm, Career of Evil, Lethal White, and the newest title, Troubled Blood (which has 944 pages and came out September 15,2020.) Some of the series have been made into television shows on BBC One. Her hero in the Galbraith books is one-legged private investigator Cormoran Strike. Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott are not exactly Skully and Mulder, but they are very different in many ways. Strike was the son of a famous rock star while Ellacott had a close loving home life growing up. Strike is perpetually short of money. This more or less forces him to take jobs that other investigators might want to avoid. The plots are interesting, and the characters are very well drawn. Rowling may not write great literature, but she certainly knows how to keep her readers on the edge of their chairs. Happy Reading! Jeanne Lombaer .