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A review by deathcabforkatey
Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
5.0
Wow. First of all this book should have a huge TRIGGER WARNING on the cover because there is detailed description of sexual assault, child abuse, and domestic abuse throughout the whole novel. Oh and body dismemberment and disturbing sexual deviance. But neither of those is as scary as her detailed and serious look at violence against women throughout the novel. May as well be a horror book for females.
Robin clearly takes center stage in this book - not just as the object of the killer’s fantasy (this is not a spoiler) but as the narrator to revealing truths that women face every day. I identified with her character so much in this book. In contrast to Strike, her having to face sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse throughout the investigation is viscerally was personal. And like her, and I would say most women, I felt the desire to shield all the women in the book from what was occurring. JK is not afraid to shy from reality and faces such issues as who is more likely to rape a woman (someone she knows like a father brother or significant others) and also the trapped nature of abusive relationships.
Furthermore, her writing of the villain fits perfectly into this mold she sets in the novel. His misogynistic objectification of women shows the extreme end of how men think about women. Without revealing too much, while he is written as an extreme, you see snippets of him in many of the random men throughout the novel she places in front of Robin. Her objectification comes not only from the villain but from many men around her.
Without revealing spoilers, all I will say is that I still despise Matthew, 3 books later.
This book was the best of the 3 so far and shows how important it is (in my mind) that feminists write not only feminist novels that blatantly discuss misogyny, but also novels that can reveal truths through storytelling.
JK you’ve done it again you wonderful soul. I’m forever indebted to you for your constant probing of my imagination and mind.
Read if you like: murder mystery, strong female leads, just the right amount of romantic backstory, feminist undertones, really really sick murderers.
Robin clearly takes center stage in this book - not just as the object of the killer’s fantasy (this is not a spoiler) but as the narrator to revealing truths that women face every day. I identified with her character so much in this book. In contrast to Strike, her having to face sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse throughout the investigation is viscerally was personal. And like her, and I would say most women, I felt the desire to shield all the women in the book from what was occurring. JK is not afraid to shy from reality and faces such issues as who is more likely to rape a woman (someone she knows like a father brother or significant others) and also the trapped nature of abusive relationships.
Furthermore, her writing of the villain fits perfectly into this mold she sets in the novel. His misogynistic objectification of women shows the extreme end of how men think about women. Without revealing too much, while he is written as an extreme, you see snippets of him in many of the random men throughout the novel she places in front of Robin. Her objectification comes not only from the villain but from many men around her.
Without revealing spoilers, all I will say is that I still despise Matthew, 3 books later.
This book was the best of the 3 so far and shows how important it is (in my mind) that feminists write not only feminist novels that blatantly discuss misogyny, but also novels that can reveal truths through storytelling.
JK you’ve done it again you wonderful soul. I’m forever indebted to you for your constant probing of my imagination and mind.
Read if you like: murder mystery, strong female leads, just the right amount of romantic backstory, feminist undertones, really really sick murderers.