I love the Cormoran Strike series, and the fifth installment was no exception. As before, I simply could not put this book down—even at over 900 pages, I was flipping consistently and frantically trying to find out what was going on and what would happen.

I think the strongest part of the series, of course, is the characterization of Strike and Robin and the crafting of their complicated will-they, won't-they relationship. Things felt the most ~possible~ between them in this book, and I loved the different kind of tension that their respective relationship statuses brought. My very small 0.5 star issue is that the plot was actually a little too busy at times; the focus on the agency's other cases, Strike's and Robin's pretty major and numerous personal issues, AND the central mystery got a bit overwhelming. It doesn't irk me too much, though, as it made the book longer which I completely support.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'll read this series as long as it's being written, while I'm rereading it in the meantime. 4.5/5