Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Silkworm
    Unavailable
    The Silkworm
    Unavailable
    The Silkworm
    Audiobook17 hours

    The Silkworm

    Written by Robert Galbraith

    Narrated by Robert Glenister

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, she just thinks he has gone off by himself for a few days - as he has done before - and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.

    But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realises. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were published it would ruin lives - so there are a lot of people who might want to silence him.

    And when Quine is found brutally murdered in bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any he has encountered before . . .

    A compulsively readable crime novel with twists at every turn, The Silkworm is the second in the highly acclaimed series featuring Cormoran Strike and his determined young assistant Robin Ellacott.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLittle, Brown (Hachette UK) Audio
    Release dateJun 19, 2014
    ISBN9781405515573
    Unavailable
    The Silkworm

    Related to The Silkworm

    Related audiobooks

    Mystery For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Le Carré's Dirty Linen

      Oct 18, 2023

      The Secret Life of John le Carré By Adam Sisman Profile Books £16.99 Halfway through Adam Sisman's 2015 biography of John le Carré, something odd occurs. The book simply shuts up shop. You can all but hear the rattle of the roller shutter as if it's

      3 min read

    • Article

      Spilling The Beans On The Great Spymasters

      Nov 30, 2023

      STOOD SIDE BY SIDE THESE TWO BOOKS look like a comedy double act. At 820-plus pages long, Nicholas Shakespeare’s Ian Fleming is an Oliver Hardy-sized volume. Adam Sisman’s The Secret Life of John le Carré, on the other hand, is thinner than Stan Laur

      4 min read

    • Article

      Hoarder Disorder

      Nov 15, 2023

      Do you suffer from Plyushkin's disorder? Statistics suggest that five per cent of us do, but my guess is it's more. Stepan Plyushkin is a character in Gogol's novel Dead Souls, who saves everything he finds. He is, in other words, a hoarder, who inve

      3 min read

    • Article

      Books That Hook

      Jul 3, 2020

      Books That Hook
      3 min read

    • Article

      Killer Jokes

      Jul 17, 2022

      Killer Jokes
      3 min read

    • Article

      Retreading The City

      Nov 2, 2023

      It’s hard to pinpoint when and how inspiration strikes for a novel, but I know exactly when it did for The Detective. The Waiter and The Cook were the first two books in my Kamil Rahman thriller series about a disgraced policeman from Kolkata who co

      6 min read

    • Article

      March’s BOOK CLUB

      Feb 1, 2024

      The Painter’s Daughters by Emily Howes (£20, HB, Orion) It’s 1759 and the painter Thomas Gainsborough lives in Suffolk with his wife and daughters, Peggy and Molly. Best of friends, the sisters do everything together and Peggy keeps a close eye on Mo

      4 min read

    • Article

      Frances Wilson

      Jan 12, 2022

      Frances Wilson
      3 min read

    • Article

      Review: 'Magpie Murders' Has Everything You Want In A British Mystery

      Oct 17, 2022

      Before the streaming warriors mined the world for content, British television made its way into the American living room almost exclusively by way of PBS and its affiliates. "Masterpiece Theater" was the network's home for literary adaptations and cl

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Horror Of An Un-lost Love

      Aug 20, 2018

      ZOMBIES, AN ISLAND LOCALE AND AN elusive spouse—Laura van den Berg’s new novel The Third Hotel contains all of the ingredients for a classic work of horror. But van den Berg is up to so much more than that, so she has no trouble pointing a big neon s

      2 min read

    • Article

      Epic Read

      Feb 9, 2024

      BY KRISTIN HANNAH Macmillan South African readers love KRISTIN HANNAH and the American author’s latest offering, which hits the shelves this month, looks set to be another memorable, epic read. It’s set during the Vietnam war and revolves around Fra

      2 min read

    • Article

      On The Dark Side

      Nov 15, 2020

      On The Dark Side
      2 min read

    • Article

      Thrilling & inspiring

      Oct 30, 2020

      Charlie Parker arrives in Car-gill, Arkansas. He has been drawn there by the deaths of three young girls who seem to have been killed in the same way that his wife and daughter were murdered. The local police reluctantly ask him to help them find the

      1 min read

    • Article

      Books Of The Month

      Jan 26, 2024

      By Kate Brody Rabbit Hole is a poignant tale about society’s voyeuristic obsession with true crime. When Teddy Angstrom, a high school teacher in Maine, clears out her father’s belongings after his dramatic suicide, she discovers his obsession with R

      2 min read

    • Article

      FAST & FURIOUS

      Sep 16, 2022

      BY ANTHONY HOROWITZ VINTAGE In The Man with the Golden Gun, the last James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming, Bond returns to London after he’s fallen into the hands of the KGB and been brainwashed by them. He’s been programmed to kill M, but the at

      3 min read

    Reviews for The Silkworm

    4/5

    2,072 ratings180 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      In spite of having a particularly gruesome death at the heart of this mystery, this was one of those stories I couldn't wait to get back to whenever I had a spare minute. Characters are unique and memorable, and the plot will keep you guessing 'til the end. I hope this series will continue for at least several more books.
    • 4/5
      When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days--as he has done before--and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home. But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were to be published, it would ruin lives--meaning that there are a lot of people who might want him silenced. When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before.(summary from ISBN 0316206873)Galbraith is a pseudonym for J. K. Rowling. This is the second book in her Cormoran Strike series. Strike is a damaged man, physically and emotionally. Partly because of his wartime experiences, he is an outstanding investigator, often interfering with investigations of local law enforcement. Galbraith writes in great detail about the investigation and resolution. The book is not a fast-read, but a suspenseful one and hard to put down!
    • 4/5
      Oh man, oh man that was engrossing. Once you get used to the pace (which took me some time, I'll admit), the story is full of fresh, inventive characters and that sharp, winsome style that is so characteristic of Jo. Love the burgeoning romance, too, especially because it is slow and authentic to the characters. A heady, enticing read.
    • 3/5
      A well written book, not quite as gripping as the first in the series but all the same the characters are engaging, the plot interesting and the setting well evoked. Recommended (and once again Robert Glenister's performance reading it was superb).
    • 2/5
      I didn't enjoy this as much as the first one. The relationship between Cormoran and Robin develops rather predictably and the murder was convoluted and grotesque but not that intriguing. It was ok, another quick read.
    • 4/5
      This is the 2nd Cormoran Strike novel.He is hired by Leonora Quine to find her missing husband Owen he is a controversial writer not very successful he has a manuscript that has slated a lot of his literary peers.Owen is found murdered it is Strike that finds his body.There are several people who are likely suspects Leonora for one. Strike and his assistant Robin are determined to uncover the truth. This is a good old fashioned whodunit it keeps you guessing to the last chapter.Good book but I found this about 100 pages to long. I am going to watch this on BBC now to compare. Spoiler alert It was his agent Elizabeth Tassel who killed him.
    • 5/5
      Novelist Owen Quine's wife wants to hire private detective Cormoran Strike to find her missing husband. At first she just assumes he's gone off by himself once again but now she's run out of money and wants him to come home. It's not long before Strike realizes there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. Quine had just completed a manuscript called Bombyx Mori, a vicious satire based on real people including his wife, lover, agent, editor and publisher and has only thinly disguised some of their very darkest secrets. Before long Cormoran finds the horribly mutilated body of Owen Quine and becomes involved in the murder investigation and the numerous suspects. The murder itself is very grotesque and twisted.

      Cormoran Strike is the illegitimate son of a rock star he's met twice and an Afghanistan war veteran who lost most of his leg in an IED explosion. He is a man of decency and compassion. I love his relationship with his assistant, Robin, who is desperate to learn investigative techniques. She really wants Cormoran to make her his detective partner but her fiance Matthew is jealous and hostile towards him. I love these two characters and they kept me reading on during some of the time I found the plot to be a little bizarre.

      The storyline is both complex and highly literary, so it may lose some people along the way. There are also a lot of characters with odd sounding names but once I slowed down and got them straight I found the story enjoyable and it kept me guessing right up until the end. The last quarter of the book, where everything falls into place for Strike is fantastic and I enthusiastically enjoyed every minute of it. I was entertained, intrigued and kept on reading. I'm going to miss Cormoran and can't wait for the next one.
    • 4/5
      A crime fiction novel by Robert Galbraith (pseudonym of J. K. Rowling) and the second in the Cormoran Strike series. Cormoran is engaged by the wife of a missing author to track him down and return him home to her and their intellectually disabled adult daughter. The further Cormoran delves into the case, the more complicated it becomes, and when he finds the author, Owen Quine, brutally and ritualistically murdered in the same manner as the protagonist in his unpublished novel, things become dangerous. For Owen's book, Bombyx Mori, is a series of horrible characters and events that are metaphors for his literary peers. When the Police arrest Owen's wife for the murder, Cormoran and his assistant Robin must probe the egotistical world of writers, editors and publishers, to try and unmask the killer. Well written, enjoyed.
    • 3/5
      3.5
      There is no doubt about it, Rowling has mad writing skills, her descriptions of characters, settings and situations are second to none.
      Having said that I have to acknowledge the fact that this second Strike mystery is lacking the snap, crackle, pop that usually go hand in hand with her stories. I found myself bored reading this book, and struggling to finish it. The repetitive scenes involving Strike's leg pain, the "slippery" roads and sidewalks, and his assistant Robin's namby pamby way of never being able to speak her mind to her whiny fiancé Matthew were bogging down the main plot and mystery. I wanted to shout at the author, "get on with it already". The concentration on the recurrent characters at the expense of the plot is great but only if there is some kind of major progression in their story lines which there was not.
    • 4/5
      The second Cormoran Strike book - Strike and his offsider Robin Ellacott investigate the disappearance of a writer that no one liked, and find themselves amidst literary jealousies, perversions and tracking down a particularly sadistic killer. We learn more about both their histories and watch as Robin struggles between her love of the job and the fiance who would rather she worked in safely in human resources. This is a very enjoyable series!
    • 4/5
      Once you get past the relentless winter weather, the filler, and the dull protagonist, this is a solid novel. Nothing spectacular or mind-blowing – even the ostentatiously gruesome murder somehow loses its luster by the novel's end – but still a decent read.

      Cormoran Strike, our one-legged protagonist, has been hired to find the missing Owen Quine, a self-centered, irresponsible writer of overblown, offensive fiction. Quine turns up dead, and horribly so, and Strike's task is now to find out who pulled off such a convoluted killing.

      His questioning and searching brings him in contact with all of Quine's acquaintances and peers, and a revolting lot they are: petty, egotistic, venal, repressed, or ignorant, they make a depressing literary scene. Some of the characters are so exaggerated, they're basically satires. Still, I enjoyed the long-running feuds and the buried secrets that are slowly unearthed.

      I thought the scene-setting and dialogue were robust. Galbraith has a good eye for detail, and makes sure we're always well situated as the characters whine, explain, or bloviate. This London feels authentic, even though the characters, as I've mentioned, can be a bit much. I read Harry Potter ages ago and wasn't impressed with Rowling's prose, but this novel is very well written.

      However, this isn't a page turner. There is filler. You could easily slice a hundred pages, at least, from the novel and not lose much of consequence. The weather is always snowy and icy, and Galbraith has to establish in every scene that, yes – it's still snowy and icy. Strike does this and that with several other cases, and none of it's memorable. The Strike/Robin/Matthew drama is somewhat interesting, but it too could be compressed.

      Strike himself is the standard private eye character. Burly and ruggedly handsome. Former military. Serious about his life and work. A loner, but still adept at handling people. Not one for theatrics. (Except at the end of the novel. More on that later.) Content as a bachelor, though he can find a willing partner if he feels like it. Has a problematic relationship with the police. And so on. His missing leg adds some depth to his character, but not enough; he still comes across as rock-like.

      Robin is slightly better, but her mixture of pluck and innocence can sometimes be overbearing. Most of her problems come from Strike being oblivious and Matthew being a doofus, and she just soldiers on, the determined and loyal assistant and fiance. And how many times did she gasp in the novel? Seriously, one or two gasps is fine, but more and she sounds like someone who's always about to have a fainting spell.

      The ending was a strange detour into theatricality. For the entire book, Strike has been thorough and competent, usually level-headed, although he does have his moments where he storms and curses. Then for some reason he concocts a ridiculous plan to capture the killer, which leads to predictable results. Makes no sense.

      This novel could've been an easy five stars with a tighter focus and better character development. The writing ability is there, but the issues described above drag down the novel. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      Solid Second Entry in the Strike SeriesReview of the Audiobook Edition narrated by Robert GlenisterAfter my initial reluctance, I am now a solid convert to the Cormoran Strike series in both its TV adaptations and the original novels, especially the audiobook editions as narrated by actor Robert Glenister. This 2nd in the series is just as well done as the initial outing "The Cuckoo's Calling" and Glenister's voice acting is outstanding in all of the different roles.
    • 3/5
      Funny how after Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling keeps writing about miserable and/or horrible people.
    • 4/5
      The inner-monologues were great pieces in “Cuckoo’s Calling”. Here Galbraith/Rowling ups the game.

      I was never much of a Potter fan when the books came out (I was living in the “wrong age” at the time…). Once again Galbraith/Rowling was able to show me why I love reading. We live in a media culture, where the image is stronger and more omniscient than the written word. In my opinion books do a better job of “transporting” me to Yonderland than any other medium, to get me to empathize, to make me think.

      You can read the rest of this review on my blog.
    • 4/5
      Second outing for Cormoran Strike, Galbraith's (a.k.a. J. K. Rowling) private investigator, and Robin, his feisty female assistant. Strike ends up taking on the case of a missing husband, an obnoxious second-rate author who had made many enemies in the the publishing world. When the author is found murdered in the same way as in his unpublished manuscript, the police jump to all the wrong conclusions, and Strike has to save the day. While the plot was perhaps far-fetched, in this 2nd instalment the 2 main protagonists of this series, Cormoran and Robin, are very well developed and we begin to get ideas about what drives both of them in what seems to be a mis-matched pairing. J.K. Rowling is a consummate story teller and kept me glued.
    • 5/5
      I recently read and reviewed The Cuckoos Calling and really enjoyed the lead character Cormoran Strike. I was looking forward to getting the next book and lo and behold, someone gave it to me after reading the blog. Ahhhhhhh, book lovers.Just like the first book, it started a little slow but quite suddenly I was involved and had a difficult time putting it down. This time, Cormoran has actually moved into an apartment above his office but is living as austerely as ever. His business has taken an upturn due to his first case and he is considering getting another detective.Robin, his girl Friday is back. Her boyfriend is less than enthused about her staying on as a permanent and is also very pissy about Cormoran because he has failed to meet Matthew and Robin for dinner on multiple occasions.Robin grows more in this book. She is given greater investigative responsibilities and is able to earn Strike’s trust and admiration by showing off some of her skill set that Strike does not realize she has. Her story is also fleshed out a bit more.This time, the crime is gruesome. A writer is murdered by being disemboweled and having acid poured on him. There are plenty of candidates who may have done the deed as the writer in question was both obnoxious and had written a book that skewered almost everyone he knew in a scathing way.Just like the last book, the twists and turns are not broadcast and just when you think you have it solved, you don’t. Now I am bummed because Rowling aka Galbraith is busy publicizing the new Harry Potter novel and that will take her away from writing the next Strike novel.I believe Galbraith/Rowling is a more complex Agatha Christie. The characters are well drawn and appeal to both male and female readers. Great book!!
    • 4/5
      It's not Harry Potter fantastic, but I enjoyed it.

      I enjoyed the attempt at including real literature; however, I doubt this strange work by Owen Quine would ever be important. I wonder if the book's events reflect the world of publishing. This is the second work of Galbraith's I've read. I never can figure out who did what, not like Cormoran can. I never have any clue who's done what by the end until Cormoran tells me.

      I guess my childhood dream of being a super detective would never pan out for me. :)
    • 4/5
      I normally don't read gritty, contemporary mysteries, but Rowling's writing is so good, I can't resist reading onward in this series. She has an incredible knack for characterization. This is not a cozy mystery by any means: it features profanity, sex, some serious sexual weirdness on the part of a character, and vivid descriptions of a nasty murder. Again, not the kinds of things I generally read, but good writing and strong characters carry the book along and made me eager to confirm whodunnit (and I guessed correctly, ha ha!). I will read the next book soon, I hope.
    • 5/5
      I love JK Rowling. Her Potter series is an amazing journey through childhood in the world of wizards. And writing as Robert Galbraith, the Cormoran Strike series is no less amazing. I positively LOVED this book.Rowling/Galbraith has such an uncanny way of developing characters that are genuine and human and her writing draws the reader in like nobody I have ever read. (more later)
    • 3/5
      Plus half a star because she manages a large cast of suspects successfully, all with their own characters and set a good pace. The plot got a bit ragged towards the end when lunches and suppers were happening all over the place and she lost me a bit - but while I was still completely in the dark two thirds the way through, by the time she wrapped it up (nice and fast) it all felt logical and not contrived.
    • 4/5
      It was with curiosity, fondness and indeed excitement that I commenced reading The Silkworm by JK Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Cormoran Strike is not the conventional detective. He is a man not only shaped by his unusual upbringing (son of famous rock star Jonny Rokeby) but deeply affected by his experience in war torn Afghanistan which resulted in him not only saving the life of a close friend but also the loss of his leg. That injury serves as a constant and painful reminder of the futility of war and the source of all his nightmares. Strike is best described as an antihero and with his disability he does not conform to the public's perception of a Private Investigator. His drab office with a central metal staircase pays homage to the fictional Philip Marlowe and certain passages only add to that illusion...."The geometrically perfect steel-grey bob, a black suit of severe cut and a slash of crimson lipstick gave her a certain dash. She emanated that aura of grandeur that replaces sexual allure in the successful older woman"......His young assistant Robin adds perception and glamour under the watchful eye of jealous boyfriend Matthew.The novelist Owen Quine has been missing for 10 days and his wife Leonora has employed the services of Strike to find him. Quine has written a soon to be published bitter and twisted novel that depicts his acquaintances as grotesque caricatures. If such a novel was brought to the attention of an adoring public the lives of many would be sullied and ruined. So when the badly decomposed body of the author, minus his intestines, is discovered the list of potential perpetrators would be the envy of an Agatha Christie novel!Although the story at its best is a good police procedural the attention and sympathy of the reader is directed towards the flawed character of Cormoran Strike. Here is a PI who must hobble around the snowy, wintry streets of London on an ill fitting prosthetic. You can almost feel the pain and frustration of a driven individual (fuelled by copious amounts of his favourite tipple Doom Bar) hampered by his own inadequacies and relying totally on his glamorous, intelligent assistant Robin who will undoubtedly play a more important role as the later stories develop... An accomplished second book in the series with some astute observations...."We are mammals who need sex, need companionship, who seek the protective enclave of the family for reasons of survival and reproduction. We select a so-called loved one for the most primitive of reasons"...I look forward to reading the rest in the series.
    • 4/5
      Too much mention of Charlotte (Strike's batty ex girlfriend) and his hurt knee (please see a doctor, Cormoran) but otherwise very entertaining.
    • 3/5
      I liked Cuckoo Calling better....but am looking forward to next one in the series.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed Robert Galbraith’s (J.K. Rowling) second Cormoran Strike novel as much as the first. The Silkworm is a multi-faceted detective novel with excellent character development and descriptions. I would definitely have to say that this book is much darker than The Cuckoo’s Calling. I began to empathize with and enjoy Strike and Robin a lot more in this second book in the Cormoran Strike series. I was happy to read that Rowling is planning to write seven Cormoran Strike novels. I have never seemed to be able to jump on board in the beginning of a series’ release and read the first novels as they are released. I am a big Sherlock Holmes fan for a lot of reasons but I would not begin to similarly compare Strike with Holmes. Cormoran Strike is a big, gruff, unshaven detective who relies more on intuition than pure science, as does Sherlock Holmes. Of course, they both rely on their strong powers of deductive reasoning but Strike seems to ‘feel’ his way around his cases more than Holmes. Strike understands people and their dark sides while Sherlock Holmes admittedly despises people and cannot understand their reasoning behind their actions.The murder in The Silkworm is both grotesque and artistic at the same time. I kept trying to unravel some kind of metaphor behind the removal of Quine’s intestines. In fact, the whole murder seemed to be some kind of deliberate work of art by the perpetrator, meant to both puzzle and dazzle those affected. So there is obvious underlying sexual tension between Strike and Robin. Robin and Matthew have set a date for their wedding but they do not act like a couple who is ready for marriage. In fact, the manner in which Robin refers to Matthew, is seems that she is almost embarrassed by him. She lies to him all the time about work-related stuff and seems to always be totally 100% honest with Strike. I am interested to see how this will play out in the future books.Anyway, anyone who is looking for a great read and will keep you entertained all the way through, The Silkworm is for you. I would recommend you start with The Cuckoo’s Calling first just because the character development is crucial.
    • 4/5
      The first book in this series was a bit of a struggle to get through but happily this one was vastly different. I love Cormoran! I love the growing attraction between him and his assistant Robin. This story had me listening well past bedtime. It was intriguing and kept me guessing right up until the big reveal. Terrific story and interesting cast of characters.
    • 4/5
      I just love this new series, looks like J.K still has some good ideas, characters and stories left in her! Definitely recommended!
    • 3/5
      Similar to the first Cormorant Strike book...that is, if you liked Cuckoo's Calling you should like this one; the genre style is consistent. Drags a bit in the middle, but don't most books? Authors, publishers, a crazy set-up murder, wrongly arrested suspects, it's all there.
      (Took me a while to read this one because the cold weather stopped my auto CD player too often on frigid mornings.)
    • 4/5
      A good solid crime thriller. For my taste a bit too bloodthirsty and morbid. I got to know Cormoran and his coworker better. I have to say, they are developing into a dreamteam.
    • 4/5
      Reread November 2015. Still excellent. Oh, Cormoran and Robin.

      Love these books. The third one can't come soon enough. Team #CormoRobin 4 life.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this mystery! It was so intriguing and kept you guessing from the start. I loved how the plot weaved in and out and slowly unravelled what happened.

      The writing was great and I just wanted to keep reading. It kept me interested the whole time and I really liked how it created an atmosphere of tension, and unromanticised the publishing world. It was so petty and just so good.

      I liked the character development we got for Cormoran and Robin. You get to see the human side of them outside their jobs.

      I really liked this and can't wait to get my hands on the next mystery!