J. K. Rowling wrote her first mystery novel under the pen name of Robert Galbraith. That book, The Cuckoo's Calling, will be discussed at the March 5th meeting of the Mystery Book Club, Sonoma Valley Branch.  The Cuckoo's Calling is a 2013 crime fiction novel. It is the first novel in the Cormoran Strike series of detective novels and was followed by The Silkworm in 2014.

Kirkus reviews said of the book: “A quick, fun read. Rowling delivers a set of characters every bit as durable as her Potter people and a story that, though no more complex than an Inspector Lewis episode, works well on every level”.

The book will be available at the library to be checked out starting February 5th.

The Mystery Book club has lively discussions of books with members free to express likes and dislikes.

The meetings begin at 4 PM on the first Thursday of each month and are held in the Forum room of the library.

Here is a list of the books and their discussion dates for 2015.

February 5:  Murder and Mendelssohn by Kerry Greenwood.

March 5:  The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith.

April 2: The Day She Died  by  Catriona McPherson.

May 7: Outsider in Amsterdam by Janwillem van de Wetering

June 4: The Dead of Summer by Mari Jungstedt

July 2:  Plaster City by Johnny Shaw

 August 6: Night Rounds by Helene Tursten

September 3: When the Devil Drives 

 October 1:  Phantom 

November 5:  In the Morning I'll be Gone by Adrian McKinty

December 3:  To Be Announced

While most members of the Mystery Book Club were already fans of the genre when they began to attend the meetings, the club has some converts. One of the comments from members is that while they might not have been crazy about chosen book, they really enjoyed the discussion.

This past year we read and discussed an iconic Travis McGee book by John D. MacDonald: One Fearful Yellow Eye.

Several of the new authors we discovered inspired members to read other books in the series. In February we read His Majesty’s Hope by Susan Macneal. This is book three in the Molly Hope series. Several members liked it so much they got the first two books from the Library to read and have subsequently enjoyed books in the series after His Majesty’s Hope.

The meetings always begin with a presentation about the author. In our August meeting the information tied in to a lively discussion about who really wrote the books. The book we had read and were discussing was The Second Rule of Ten by two authors: Gay Hendricks and Tinker Lindsay. One of our members had decided to read the First Rule of Ten and once she learned that there were two authors and the background of one of them was as a ghost writer and editor she talked about how the “voice” of First Rule of Ten was different than the “voice” of Second Rule of Ten. Another member has subsequently read The Third Rule of Ten and gave some credence to the discussion that the three books may have had one author but that the second author “Tinker” was possibly more involved in re-write than actual original authorship.

So if you are looking for lively discussions, or to reacquaint yourself with old friends or find new authors, the Mystery Book Club might be for you. It meets the first Thursday of each month at the Library at 4PM. Books are free. All you need is a library card to check one out.

For more information contact Kassandra Miller: Kassandra4@comcast.net. Please put Mystery Book Club in the subject line.