Career of Evil

Career of Evil

(and a note on The Silkworm)

Since the last time I reviewed one of Robert Galbraith's novels, a couple of things have happened. I've now been working in publishing for a year, so I've had an insight into the other perspective, how books get made. Also, I started following J K Rowling on Twitter...  https://twitter.com/jk_rowling
Some of what follows may relate to that. By the way you can read my review of The Cuckoo's Calling here: http://murderwithatwist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/the-cuckoos-calling-j-k-rowling-strikes.html  By the way, the 'twist' in this one is probably the way that the writer outlines who the suspects are very clearly at the beginning, and another 'twist' is the way the novel uses the perspective of the murderer (see below).

It amazes me how few people have read them

Each of these books have arrived just in time for various reasons. The first book arrived  in the middle of a strange and emotionally tough time in my life, when I was just about to finish my PhD thesis and need a distraction. The second arrived just in time for me to take on the first holiday I'd had for 4 years, a trip to Moscow in summer 2014. Unfortunately, this meant that as it was such a heavy book I actually left it in the flat in Moscow I was staying in. This makes me feel a bit guilty, since I ended up lending my copy of The Cuckoo's Calling to lots of people. I was happy to spread the love of this book (it amazes me how few people read the novel when it came out, especially Harry Potter fans, who I've had to win over to the detective genre) and also made me feel less guilty about buying it since I rarely buy new books these days. The third one arrived as the nights were drawing in and I'd been feeling rather glum and stressed out.

The Silk Worm 

I apologise profusely for not reviewing The Silk Worm, the previous offering in this series. It was a brilliant read. Ghoulish in places. For me the most interesting thing was how the writing was more confident than the first series, and the setting of the book (again in London) struck me, as I have been to so many of the places mentioned, including Smithfield's (the London meat market pictured on the cover).

(By the way, the idea of a butcher is by no means irrelevant to the storyline). The other thing I enjoyed was the fact it was set in the literary/publishing world, which must be one the author is familiar with.

A real masterpiece with some serious themes

This third volume, Career of Evil, is, in many ways, a real masterpiece, cleverly interweaving the relationships of the main characters and their character development (in some ways the main plot of the book) with the story of the hunt for a terrible criminal, and the narrative partially written from his point of view. For me, J K Rowling was always best as when her books were adventures and thrillers. Readers of the Harry Potter series will recognise parts of the narrative arc of this book quite well, whilst admitting that the use of the murderer's point of view is very different than any of her previous series.

Rowling said both on Twitter and in interviews that researching/writing this book gave her nightmares.  I found it very chilling. The author has has really delved into the psyche of not one, but several criminals in order to write this, and respect is owing for the amount of hard graft she must have done to achieve this.
She also said that this was the book she enjoyed writing the most in her whole career. I can't say for certain if this was the book I've most enjoyed reading (It has been some time since I read the Harry Potter series) but it is an incredibly good book. My only tiny complaint is that she's a bit over obsessed with epigraphs, but I suppose she can get away with that!

There's a lot I could add here about the role of women and in her writing - which has really come out strongly in these novels in a way it doesn't in the Harry Potter series, but I'll leave that to other critics. I also don't want to spoil the novel for those who haven't yet read it, but there's a lot in it about violence and abusive behaviour towards women and vulnerable people which I think she handles with incredible tact.

Some points of interest

On a note more related to the theme of detective fiction, Rowling noted in an interview in 2014 how much she liked the work of Margery Allingham (who inspired the name of this blog and the pseudonym I write under), it seems likely that The Tiger in the Smoke (also a crime thriller partially written from the murderer's point of view) may have influenced Career of Evil. It's also worth noting that Allingham's Hide My Eyes also features this perspective. (If you haven't read these books, do!) For more of this interview, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-28381658

From the point of view of J K Rowling's biographer, its worth noting that this book is the first time she describes her beloved Edinburgh in fictional writing, and very beautifully, I might add. One wonders if she considered setting the novels in Scotland. J K Rowling's Twitter appearances, apart from addressing the subject of Harry Potter spin-offs and rugby, relate to the question of Scotland's independence. There's no doubt from reading this novel that she is very fond of Scotland.

Having said that, I love the use of London settings, of the use of small details which remind me of familiar places, like Denmark Street, or Sloane Square.


One thing that puzzles me (and I haven't found any explanation in any interviews she has done), is why Career of Evil is set in 2011, which I presume can't be the year it was written. I'd love to know the answer if anyone knows! One of the attacks by the murderer is set to the backdrop of the Royal Wedding, which is rather cleverly done.

PS. 3 is a lucky number? 

Another thing that struck me was that perhaps for her, 3 is a lucky number. I consider Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to be one of her best novels. The cover for that is also purple I might add!

There's a lot more I could say but I hope you all read them and that she writes another one soon!

And good news! As stated in the edition I bought, there is going to be a television series made soon.

Interviews/reviews

• Radio 2 Book Club - Simon May interviews J K Rowling.

"2002 was the last time we met I think - how's it been in the last fifteen years?"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p036z28f

• Interview with NPR (quoted elsewhere).

"To be honest, it's the guitar hook. I'm a real sucker for guitars," laughs Galbraith — otherwise known as J.K Rowling. "I've had a crush on many, many a guitarist."

http://www.npr.org/2015/11/02/452916567/j-k-rowling-explores-the-perils-of-fame-in-career-of-evil

• Review of Career of Evil in the Guardian. I don't entirely agree but it is more of a traditional review than mine... 

'If Georges Simenon is a simple, perfect kitchen stool and Agatha Christie a sensible wingbacked chair, then Robert Galbraith is a vast, overstuffed sofa, complete with dog hair and something unmentionable behind the cushions.'

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/21/career-of-evil-by-robert-galbraith-review

Sherlock Holmes Prom

Yesterday I went to the enjoyable Sherlock Holmes Prom. As usual I queued for a gallery Promming ticket, which is just £5. I have to say that this is a wonderful way to hear music, since you can stand, wander around, sit or even lie down as you wish, and many people choose to read, draw, or knit. (In previous years I've taken knitting and patchwork).

You can listen to the whole thing on iPlayer here:

Part I:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b065wxfg

Part II:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0663l7z

Mark Gatiss did a lovely job of voicing Conan Doyle and some of his characters. Excerpts were carefully chosen by the organisers, who attempted to provide context and explanations for the pieces chosen. For a Prom, there was quite a bit of talking. A bit more of Gatiss' own ideas might have been interesting, but I suppose they wanted to keep to the music rather than treating it like a convention.

Courtesy of the Telegraph.

Music from Hans Zimmer's soundtracks was used, although I think not to their full effect, as they had been re-arranged. I love Hans Zimmer's soundtrack to both of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes films. However, the pieces from the Jeremy Brett series were great. Quite a bit was also made of the fact that Holmes was a violinist, and the Paganini piece was wonderful! The violinist was in an appropriately Victorian costume, as well.

They also made quite a lot of the Irene Adler/opera connection, something passed over in the Sherlock series. The pieces chosen were very beautiful. 

Of course, most of the audience were there to hear pieces from Sherlock, which were a fitting close. David Arnold and Michael Price have done a great job of bringing the new series to life with their themes and soundtrack. When I heard it live, I realised that it has a fairground ride quality, which is quite interesting.

During the performance there were some wonderful archive pictures including stills and film posters. This was interesting because it showed you Sherlock's many incarnations. I'd somehow missed this one:

Overall I'd give this 5* although I wish I'd gone for the arena tickets as it wasn't as busy as I'd thought, as then it would have been easier to hear the talking bits. Either that, or maybe the Proms team could prepare subtitles...

I haven't blogged for ages, and am hugely apologetic for this. I've fallen behind with reading and with watching television. However, I'm hoping to do a blog on the new Robert Galbraith book in November and may well get round to a blog before that. I'm currently reading Boris Akunin so might do a little blog on that.