MixedBooklistCoben is excellent, as always, at showing the perils of the everyday and the bit-by-bit escalations of cruelty. But the mystery seems hastily constructed, and the ending comes out of nowhere. Not up to Coben’s usual level; this Natty Bumppo should return to the forest.
Robert Galbraith
PositiveThe New York Times Sunday Book ReviewAs written by Rowling, The Silkworm takes ‘write what you know’ and raises it to the 10th power. Is this crime fiction, a celebrity tell-all, juicy satire or all of the above? The blessing/curse here is that you turn the pages for the whodunit, but you never lose sight that these observations on the publishing world come from the very top. This makes complete escape, something mandatory for a crime novel, almost impossible — but then again, who cares? If you want a more complete escape, pick up another book. Reading Rowling on writing is delicious fun … The Silkworm is a very well-written, wonderfully entertaining take on the traditional British crime novel.
