Career of Evil – first thoughts (no spoilers)

I read "Career of Evil." WOW, it's good.

Don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll just say yes, it's dark, it's really dark, but in a way that seems...right? Or real? She's talking about the real, devasting effect of violence and abuse, the real effect on real people, rather than the snazzy, quick-cutting montage of a dead body with exciting music playing over it, the way so many police procedurals seem to open. This is not "violence porn," as JKR herself pointed out. It's an exploration of the impact of violence – and of those victimized by violence finding agency in their lives despite it.

Maybe I should wait a bit to let it all settle in, but my first impression is to say this is absolutely the best of the Cormoran Strike novels so far (and that after the other two were really good!) Write fast, "Robert," we want that fourth book!!

There's a great interview with JKR on NPR, though you shouldn't listen to it until you've read at least partway through the book, since there are one or two spoilers. But it is so fascinating to hear JKR talk about her work. She is so eloquent and compassionate and smart.

I got the book from the library Saturday evening, finished it Tuesday night, and am returning it today so the next person on the hold list can read it as soon as possible!

Which HP book is not like the others, revisited!

Oh, right, and I meant to say in the last post: I finally got an answer to the question of "which of the 7 Harry Potter books does JKR think of as not like the others?" In this post a while back (about "The Silkworm," in fact) I mentioned that I'd come across something where JKR pointed out it's no surprise she's now writing mysteries, given that the HP books, too, were structured as mysteries – though more specifically, she said they were "six whodunits and one why dun it."

I've been trying out ever since to figure out which book she meant when she said one of them was about the "why" rather than the "who." HBP, because it's so much more about backstory than the present day? Or DH, because it's more about the quest than the mystery? Nope, all wrong! On her Robert Galbraith website, she says:

"Most of the Harry Potter stories are whodunits at heart (Order of the Phoenix is more of a why-did-he), but I’ve wanted to try the real thing for a long time. I wanted to have a go at writing a contemporary whodunit, with a credible back story."

Ah! That's the one she meant! I'm still not sure exactly what the "why dun it" of OotP is – Why Voldemort wants the Prophecy so badly? Or why he attacked baby Harry in the first place? But I guess she's right that it's less about the "who," because we know exactly who: Voldemort is trying desperately to get Harry into the Hall of Prophecy – but why? Okay, yeah, I guess that does make sense now!

(Still not sure what the "who" of DH is supposed to be, though...?)