“The
third of the hit series Strike is
every bit as compelling as the first two,
about the dour war veteran turned
private investigator who works out of
an office over a guitar shop in Denmark
Street; a hero whose military past has
left him scarred psychologically as well
as physically and is now being framed
by a person bearing a grudge for the
murder of a young woman in Strike:
Career of Evil...”
NOW VERY MUCH A TEAM, former soldier turned civilian private detective Cormoran
Strike (Tom Burke: BBC's epic War & Peace; The Musketeers) and his PA
turned business partner Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger: Lady Chatterley's
Lover) have proved themselves to be capable of solving difficult cases in
the hit series of Strike.
However, they are about to be tested by someone from Cormoran's past who wants
revenge and has cleverly turned the tables on the private eye; framing him for
murder in Strike: Career of Evil.
“Thrilling
and compelling…
with a
well constructed
and intriguing
storyline...”
A
distraught Robin makes a grisly discovery when she opens a package addressed
to her, delivered by a motorcycle courier who does not remove his helmet. Horrifically,
it contains the severed and scarred leg of a woman and Cormoran realises it
is a message for him. But why, and who was the poor young woman who lost her
life?
The scarring on the leg reminds Cormoran of a case he investigated while in
the Special Investigations Bureau. Teenager Brittany Brockbank (Mollie Peacock)
had accused her father, Major Niall Brockbank (Andrew Brooke: Children of
Men; Jack, The Giant Slayer) of abusing her.
Brittany had withdrawn her allegation when her mother refused to support her
and her father threatened to cut her legs off if anybody found out. Cormoran
had tried to support her, but Brockbank had cut her legs as a warning to keep
quiet, causing scarring.
Cormoran was also involved with the investigation of a Scottish squaddie, Donald
Laing (Neil Maskell), who had been accused of raping a local waitress in Cyprus
and had been cleared; but Laing had also assaulted his wife and imprisoned her
and neglected their baby. Laing had sent Cormoran threatening letters in the
past.
Or could it be retribution from Cormoran's stepfather Jeff Whittaker (Matt King:
Bronson; RocknRolla), a musician whom Cormoran holds responsible for
the drug-related death of his glamorous mother, Leda Strike (Kierston Wareing:
Fish Tank; Bonded By Blood)?
DS Ekwensi (Ann Akin) finds a note under the leg in the box; lyrics to a song
from Leda's favourite band. She tells Cormoran that the leg belonged to young
Kelsey Platt (Fern Deacon), whose body was found in a short-term let office
in Whitechapel.
Cormoran cannot recall ever knowing Kelsey, but the Police have footage of him
entering the same building and Kelsey kept newspaper cuttings of the investigator's
successes as she hero-worshipped him.
Believing she was meeting Strike, Kelsey had gone alone to the deserted office
block. Whoever set him up did a good job and the Press know that Cormoran is
a suspect. Most of his clients have dropped him but Cormoran's contact in the
Police, DI Eric Wardle (Killian Scott: '71; Damnation) seems to believe
he didn't do it.
Robin's wedding day is approaching and fiancé Matthew Cunliffe (Kerr Logan:
Alias Grace; Game of Thrones) is still not happy with her working with
Cormoran even though it is a job she clearly loves. However, she discovers something
about Matthew and calls off the engagement.
Using his unique insight and his background as an SIB Investigator, Cormoran
seeks out the three men who have something against him, with Robin in danger
as she is determined to prove his innocence, helped by his friend Shanker (Ben
Crompton: Kill List; Game of Thrones).
As thrilling and compelling as we have come to expect from the Strike
Series, Strike: Career of Evil delves even deeper into both Cormoran
and also Robin's traumatic past with a well constructed and intriguing storyline.
Strike: Career of Evil also features: Suzanne Burden as Linda Ellacott;
Emmanuella Cole (Eastenders; Thorne; Sleepyhead) as Alyssa; Jessica Gunning
(Trollied; Pride) as Holly Brockbank; Archie Wrightman as Young Strike;
Megan Parkinson as Brittany; Ellie James as Stephanie, Whittaker's Girlfriend;
Nicholas Agnew as Tom; Luke Booys as Young Whittaker; Caitlin Innes Edwards
as Ilsa; and Ian Attard as Nick.
Music is by Adrian Johnston; Director of Photography is Maja Zamojda; Script
by Tom Edge from an original story by Robert Galbraith (J K Rowling); Produced
by Jackie Larkin (Stella Days; Kings); Executive Producers are: Tom Edge
(The Crown; Lovesick), Neil Blair (Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find
Them; The Casual Vacancy), Ruth Kenley-Letts (The Casual Vacancy; The
Hour) and J K Rowling (Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them; The Casual
Vacancy) and Elizabeth Kilgarriff for the BBC; Directed by Charles Sturridge
(Scapegoat; Aria).
I Walk Beside You is by Adrian Johnston and Crispin Letts and is Performed
by Beth Rowley; (Don't Fear) The Reaper is Performed by Blue Öyster Cult.
*Strike:
Career of Evil is the third instalment of the critically acclaimed television
Detective Series based on J K Rowling's crime novels written under the pseudonym
Robert Galbraith and is released on DVD in the UK, courtesy of Warner Bros Home
Entertainment, on 16 April 2018.
Also available for the first time in the UK on DVD is the complete Strike
series (so far!) as a box set on 16 April 2018: The Cuckoo's Calling; The
Silkworm; and Career of Evil.
"Strike: Career of Evil: Thrilling and compelling… with a well constructed
and intriguing storyline" — Maggie Woods, MotorBar
*Global bestseller Strike: The Cuckoo's Calling was published
to critical acclaim in 2013; followed by The Silkworm in 2014 and Career
of Evil in 2015. All three books were number one Sunday Times bestsellers
in hardback and paperback. Little, Brown has sold in total over four million
copies worldwide across all editions.
Cormoran Strike is one of the most memorable and distinctive detectives in crime
fiction today and Robert Galbraith is among the genre's most celebrated writers,
short-listed for the prestigious CWA Gold Daggers in 2015 and the Theakston
Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2016.
“The
third of the hit series Strike is