One morning, a mentally disturbed young man stumbles into Cormoran Strike’s office. He tells a wild story about seeing a kid strangled when he was a little boy, but before Strike can get details, the man bolts away.

This is the fourth book in the Cormoran Strike series. I’ve been anticipating this book for so long! I began to listen to the audiobook the day it released.

First, let me begin by saying that I only read the first book because Galbraith was revealed as the pseudonym of JK Rowling. I doubt I would have heard of the series in the first place otherwise, as they aren’t my normal kind of books. I enjoyed the first two books, though I had some issues with both of them. Then Career of Evil released a few years ago. Because of the long hold line at the library, I decided to give the audiobook a try. I couldn’t stop listening. The book was so engaging, and the issues that I had with the first two books were completely absent from this one. I went back and listened to the first two books again, and while not all the issues disappeared completely, they were definitely more engaging in audio format. So of course, I went straight into this one by audio.

Robert Glenister (the narrator) didn’t disappoint, though I will admit that Lethal White was not nearly as gripping, fast-paced, and engaging as Career of Evil. I listened to the book leisurely over a week, rather than charging though it in a day. Honestly, I was glad to have this more leisurely pace, as the book released while I was on vacation! At the same time, I felt that it was missing a little from earlier volumes. The writing/language was a bit stilted and kept coming to little halts in the pacing. I have no idea what the writing process was like, but it felt as if the author might have struggled a bit throughout. It didn’t flow nearly as well as any of the previous books in the series, and like in The Cuckoo’s Calling, there was a bit too much exposition in explaining the mystery’s solution at the end. Nothing felt as natural or organic.

Now, despite all this, I still really enjoyed the book. I won’t say it’s my favorite in the series, but I loved reading through both mystery and the character development throughout. It’s the relationships and personal touches that really make these books worth reading for me. With each volume, you get to know people better, and there are subtle – and sometimes abrupt – shifts in life circumstances that change the various interactions between characters. This helps keep the series interesting and not just a two-dimensional crime procedural.

I know I’ll reread this. I’ve already bought the physical book to join my library, and this is a series I’ve revisited several times. It might even be better on second read, when vacation isn’t distracting me!