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This series timeline was as follows:

1. Cuckoo's Calling (Book One) - April 4, 2013
2. The Silkworm (Book Two) - June 19, 2014
3. Career of Evil (Book Three) - October 20, 2015
4. Lethal White (Book Four) - September 18, 2018

Do you see the gap here!?

So J.K. Rowling has been busy writing a play and two screenplays (Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter & The Cursed Child).  For that reason, Lethal White was later than usual to release.

It's okay, it's okay. It just made me want it that much more. I stayed strong and I waited.

And, you may be asking yourself, "What does this have to do with the review?", and I'm glad you asked, actually.

This is how long I waited and continued to wait and wait and wait in anticipation and still waited and got there on day one to purchase and read it as if it was a Harry Potter book release!

But what about Lethal White's specific mystery?

Oh, right...that.

It was just as amazing as the character development. Actually, it blew me away.

At the end of the novel Rowling actually mentions that this was one of the hardest novels she has had to write thus far in her career.

All I can really say is that she did it again.  I read a lot of mystery series and sometimes I think they can get repetitive and the thrill factor can kind of lose it's power, but J.K. Rowling definitely isn't at that point yet (and hopefully ever).  She surprised me and I had no idea what was coming.

Plus, she was able to do this while also taking the current storyline (Strike's and Robin's individual stories, and their story together) and throwing us for an emotional rollercoaster there as well.

The Complaints You May Have

Okay, but just in case this is your first dive into approaching the series and you're considering getting it started, I will discuss some things that you might not like (but didn't bother me).

I recommended Cuckoo's Calling (Book One) to my mother after first diving into the world of Strike, an overweight former boxer with one leg amputated below the knee, ex-military police officer turned private detective.  

The issues she had with the first novel seem to be relevant in this one as well.  The major dilemma takes a while to get to (in this one specifically), and there's a lot of character building that for some people can make it feel slow.

For example, the major/main crime that Strike is looking to solve doesn't actually take place until about 300 pages in. But, I personally didn't even realize this or see it as a fault.  This is just something I'd definitely be aware of if you're looking to get into the series.  You're going to be taken into a world of the characters and it will not be as heavily focused on ONLY the main murder or crime.

If you liked the first three (which if you read them, you did), you're going to love this one as well.

If you don't already know: next and current read (at the time of writing this) is Vicious (V.E. Schwab's Villain Series, AKA a Superhero take on Magneto and Professor X) if you'd like to keep up with what I'm reading.

Please share your thoughts on Lethal White below!

Review Conclusion

This is literally the series I wait at the door of Barnes and Noble to open for.  I'm obsessed with the characters, the genre, and the way J.K. Rowling is able to build her worlds.  This one is not a fictional, magical world, but she still finds a way to bring you in, as if you're in this mini world with her characters and their lives.  MUST READ SERIES!

Purchase Lethal White: Amazon Link

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