The Running Grave is an investigation/detective crime novel, the 7th book in the C.B. Strike series by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling).   This has been a very good series with strong characters and varied plots.    All of the books feature Cormoran Strike, an amputee war veteran now turned detective and his new-to-investigation partner, Robin Ellacott.    Strike’s agency is asked to find a way to extricate a peer’s son from a pseudo-church/cult called the Universal Humanitarian Church.   Robin goes undercover to find proof of wrongdoing beyond the various rumblings and rumours that can be heard.   The weeks at the Church prove to be a harrowing experience for Robin and she has to be rescued.

As the case develops, there are victims and the threat of violence.     Many leads and interviews enlarge the novel to over 1000 pages.    The final part of the book is a torrent of exposures as the police descend on the Church’s home, Chapman Farm.

The personal lives of the main characters is wound into the plots of all of the books, a slow-burn of both tension and romance.   At the end of each book is a hint of things to come.    I will continue to read any new books by Robert Galbraith.

Recommended – 4.6 out of 5.0 stars4.6