Lethal White is the fourth in the Cormoran Strike detective series by J K Rowling under her nom de plume of Robert Galbraith.

It picks up where the last book in the series, Career of Evil, finished – at the wedding of Strike’s partner and should be love interest, Robyn.  The complexity of the relationship between Strike, Robyn and her new husband Matthew is the continuity between the stories.  The mystery is a fresh plot line which can be read as a stand alone story.  However, you have not read the previous books, I do recommend you read them in order because the subtlety of the relationship and character development is Rowling/Galbraith’s great strength.

Strike’s new case begins when he tries to investigate a murder reported to him by an obviously troubled man who stumbles into his office.  After some preliminary investigations lead him to anti-Olympics rallies, he instead finds himself engaged in a counter-blackmail effort by a Tory Cabinet Minister.

As with the Potter books, it seems to be the curse of the fourth book to lose some of disciplined editing.  This book was slow to start which was disappointing given how easy the earlier Strike novels were to read.  Nonetheless, there was never any question that I would finish it.  I definitely wanted to know the answer to the first mystery and, as it morphed into fresh but related mysteries, the pace improved and the ending was satisfying and unpredictable.

The main characters of the series, particularly Strike, are likable and believable.  One thing that I have consistently appreciated about Strike is the way in which the novels portray his disability.  He is a Veteran from Afghanistan and an amputee.  The significance of his disability is not understated – it severely curtails his ability to work and places him at a disadvantage when attempting to pursue people he has under surveillance.  It causes him pain and inconvenience but often no more than many other aspects of his life including his financial difficulties, dysfunctional family and romantic entanglements.  While the experience of every person with a permanent impairment is different, Strike’s experience matched with the way in which many of my clients have described their adaptation to injury.

If you are looking for some fun holiday reading – the Strike novels are a great choice.