Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (2014)

I really like Cormoron Strike and his secretary/helper Robin, so I thought I would try one more of these books and was not disappointed. The murder is utterly bizzare and gross - I could have used less details on that, but it fit into the strange character - a writer himself - that was murdered, and seemingly described his own death in his last manuscript. Strike systematically goes around meeting the people that were a part of the writer's life, and it seems that most of them would have some reason for offing him, as he was an unpleasant man. With the help of Robin, Strike again solves the case, but it is more than just a private investigator finding the real murderer. All the characters are richly drawn, including Strike himself - with his constantly sore leg stub, where he lost a leg in the Gulf War, and his gruff manner, which somehow still elicits loyalty from Robin, though she too is struggling with a fiance who does not understand her and her enjoyment of detective work. There are some misunderstandings between her and Strike too, and I keep hoping the two of them end up together, but we need that tension to keep going for a while, ala Castle and Beckett or Bones and Booth. Looking forward to the next one.