A Career of Evil almost ricochets between Jane Austen and Stephen King
A Career of Evil almost ricochets between Jane Austen and Stephen King
Robert Galbraith has finally finished the third installment of the Cormoran Strike series. The series that started with the The Cuckoo’s Calling, followed by The Silkworm, is now struggling to keep the mystery alive with A Career of Evil.
The book starts off with lyrics from the 1970s rock band Blue Oyster Cult, and stays pretty much fixated on it throughout.
Detective Cormoran Strike and his secretary-cum-partner Robin Ellacott embark on an enthralling journey to track down a serial-killer who parcels a woman’s severed leg to Robin (in the middle of one of her romantic dilemmas). Unlike classic mystery novels, Galbraith reveals the characteristics of his villain from the very beginning. He is, off course, a psychopath who likes to observe and enjoy his victim’s lifestyles; and in this particular case he is almost smitten by his “would-be” victim.
Career of Evil, unlike its predecessors, brings out in much more detail the private lives of its characters. We learn about Strike’s childhood, his mother’s hippie and hence drug-tinged past, and her innumerable love affairs that are an important hint at one of Strike’s suspects. We learn why Robin dropped out of college and why she refuses to give up on her fiancé Matthew.
Strike, by now, has lost one of his legs during a war in Afghanistan, and fortunately for the plot, he has earned quite a few enemies through his stints at the army and with the police. On seeing the severed leg accompanied by the lyrics from a Blue Oyster Cult song, which were also tattooed along the private parts of Strike’s mother for some incredulous reason, Strike is immediately struck with four distinct names as probable suspects.
The atypical serial killer Terence “Digger” Malley, a gangster who is known for his body-severing skills (given that he cuts off the penis of his enemies); sociopath Donald Laing who is also a war veteran and blames Strike for all his misfortune; Noel Brockbank, who has a history of paedophilia; and finally Strike’s mother’s rock star junkie ex-husband Jeff Whittaker.
Strike struggles to come to terms with his past as well as his popularity, while Robin is trying hard to keep the newly acquired ring on her finger intact. Both are losing cases and Robin is also grappling with a frustrating engagement —Matthew, who has always been vocal about his dislike for the “kind of work she does”. She is sensitive, troubled and confused more than ever about her relationship with her boss Strike.
For Robin, horrific memories of sexual violence resurface — she comes forth about her history of rape at the university. And unlike the last two novels, Strike has developed a considerable and perhaps visible affinity towards Robin. Their relationship is elaborated upon to the utmost depths of the author’s heart.
The novel almost ricochets between a Jane Austen-like romantic epic and a Stephen King-like horror story. The author also takes us on a journey through the morbid mentality of serial killers. The plot thickens regarding each suspect and the mystery is more or less maintained till the end of the 486 pages of nostalgia, romance, and violence.
Galbraith (or otherwise J.K. Rowling), in her book, flirts with numerous concepts; such as “body integrity identity disorder” and the growing sexual nature of violence. However, the overall picture can only be termed as “pop-fiction”. The incessant, unflinching romantic undertone defining the relationship between the lead characters, the obsessive reference to Blue Oyster Cult and the extensively tiring language demerits the entire murder mystery.
If I were only 16, looking to hook on to popular authors, with a slight inclination towards mystery, I might not have been as cynical as I am now. Incidentally, I belong to the class of people (if there are any) who grew up reading Sherlock Holmes instead of the famous Harry Potter series. And Rowling’s stint at murder mystery is making me throw off my night-lamp and beg for some substantial writing.
I, personally, started off the book with great enthusiasm and quite enjoyed the initial introduction to the story and the characters. But half way through, the writing became exhaustive, the language and the tone unnecessarily localised. Its as if the author picked up the pen, wrote down the entire plot in a couple of pages, and then spilled ink onto the rest of the book. I found the entire romantic dilemma and moral strife between Strike and Robin unnerving, unsubstantial and unnecessary; used in a soap-opera like fashion to extend the viewing time.
