THE RUNNING GRAVE (2024) ****
by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
This paperback edition published by Sphere, 2024, 1,184pp
ISBN: 978-1-4087-3097-3
Blurb: Private Detective Cormoran Strike is contacted by a worried father whose son, Will, has gone to join a religious cult in the depths of the Norfolk countryside. The Universal Humanitarian Church is, on the surface, a peaceable organisation that campaigns for a better world. Yet Strike discovers that beneath the surface there are deeply sinister undertones, and unexplained deaths. In order to try to rescue Will, Strike’s business partner Robin Ellacott decides to infiltrate the cult and she travels to Norfolk to live incognito amongst them. But in doing so, she is unprepared for the dangers that await her there or for the toll it will take on her . . .
Comment: Rowling’s previous Cormoran Strike book, The Ink Black Heart, set a new record as the longest crime novel I have ever read. The Running Grave comes in a very close second at 1,184 pages, falling short by just over 40 pages. At least we can take some crumb of comfort from the fact that Rowling no longer seems to think she has to outdo the page count of her previous book, which may mean future novels can start to shorten in length. There is certainly a hefty time investment required to read one of her books, considering most other crime series novels range between 300 and 500 pages in length. With all that said, there is no denying the quality of the writing here and Rowling’s ability to keep the reader coming back for more. The plot of The Running Grave is exceedingly intricate, with a large cast of characters centering around a religious cult community and its charismatic leader, Jonathan Wace. Strike’s partner, Robin, joins the community under cover, and the bulk of the book revolves around her stay, the atrocities she sees there, and the impact this has on her state of mind. Rowling goes into significant detail about the church’s philosophy and practices, resulting in a convincing environmental set-up. The mystery elements are all there and satisfyingly resolved in the book’s final chapters. The characters are very well drawn and the story is absorbing, managing to defy the odds and maintain the tension through its huge page count. Patient readers will be rewarded with a highly entertaining and thought-provoking read, which is possibly the very best of the series.
