Cormoran Strike lost his leg in Afghanistan, and loses almost everything else back in London after opening a detective agency, until he takes on Robin Ellacott as his partner. When The Cuckoo's Calling appeared in 2013, few people knew that the real author was J.K. Rowling, turning her hand to one of her favorite genres. Her thrillers are the basis for the BBC/HBO Cinemax series C.B. Strike.

When a troubled young man named Billy asks Cormoran Strike to investigate a crime he witnessed as a child, the private eye is deeply troubled yet willing to help. But in this fourth case (after Career of Evil), Billy suddenly bolts from his office in a panic. Now Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott must follow their meager leads from backstreets London to a secretive inner sanctum within Parliament, and finally to sinister manor house deep in the countryside. In over his head, Strike is grappling with unintended fame, his feelings for Robin, and—last but not least—a killer.