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Strike — The Cuckoo’s Calling
Strike - The Cuckoo's Calling “A supermodel is found dead and her
  brother, unsatisfied with the Police
  investigation that points to suicide,
  hires a down-at-heel detective to take
  on the case in the hit series based
  on the Strike crime novels of J. K.
  Rowling, writing as Robert Galbraith —
  The Cuckoo’s Calling...”

WORKING IN A TINY OFFICE above a guitar shop in London's Denmark Street, Afghanistan war veteran turned private detective Cormoran Strike (Tom Burke: BBC's epic War & Peace as Fedor Dolokhov; The Three Musketeers as Athos) is in the closing minutes of a volatile relationship with Charlotte Campbell (Natasha O'Keefe) when temporary secretary Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger: BBC's Lady Chatterley's Lover) walks in.

Newly engaged, the efficient and well-organised Robin soon sorts out much of Cormoran's chaotic office and makes herself invaluable, dealing with clients in a professional way and throwing herself into his work enthusiastically as she becomes very involved in the cases.

“The Cuckoo’s Calling
is highly addictive
and well-paced with
a talented cast creating
remarkable characters,
proving that
J. K. Rowling’s gift
for storytelling is
far-reaching...”
Haunted by his time in the army in Afghanistan, where Cormoran lost his lower leg in an ambush, he bears deeper psychological scars that he deals with by spending far too much time at his local and, since his falling-out with Charlotte, he moves into his office amid mounting debts.

John Bristow (Leo Bill), the brother of one of Cormoran's childhood friends, approaches Cormoran when his adopted sister, international supermodel Lula Landry (Elarica Johnson) is found dead in front of her home in a respectable part of London, apparently having committed suicide by jumping from the balcony.

Although Lula had been troubled and had been involved with drugs, John believes his sister was murdered, and he invites the private detective to reacquaint himself with John's mother, Lady Yvette Bristow (Sian Phillips: Television's Midsomer Murders; Under Milk Wood), who has difficulty with her memory.

During his investigations, Cormoran questions concierge Derrick Wilson (Brian Bovell) at the period building that houses Lula's penthouse, where her neighbours Tansy (Tara Fitzgerald: Death In Paradise; In The Club) and Freddie Bestigui (Kevin Fuller) may know more than they are saying.

Using his unique insight and drawing on his background as an SIB Investigator, Coromoran delves into the mystery of Lula's death. His contact in the Police, DI Anstis (Sargon Yelds), puts him onto the officer on the case, DI Eric Wardle (Killian Scott), a young and enthusiastic detective who seems suspicious of Cormoran's motives.

Lula's best friend, fellow supermodel Ciara Porter (Amber Anderson: The Riot Club; Black Mirror) and her driver Nico Kolovas-Jones (David Avery) were the last people to see Lula alive; and Lula was very attached to her "little rock", Rochelle Onifade (Tezlynn Senior-Sakutu), who is heavily involved with drugs and appears terrified of speaking to Cormoran.

Cormoran also falls foul of Lula and John's high profile lawyer uncle Tony Landry (Martin Shaw: Inspector George Gently) and also fashion designer Guy Somé (Kadiff Kirwan), who just seems keen to get on with his work. Evan Duffield (Bronson Webb), who was also very close to Lula, is defensive and aggressive.

With Robin's help, Cormoran tracks down those who were involved with Lula and begins to realise that there is more to Lula's death than at first he thought. The Cuckoo's Calling is highly addictive and well-paced with a talented cast creating remarkable characters, proving that J. K. Rowling's gift for storytelling is far-reaching.

The Cuckoo's Calling also features: Kerr Logan as Matthew Cunliffe, Jazz Cartier as Deeby Macc; and Sarah Sweeney as Lucy, Cormoran Strike's sister.

The title song, I Walk Beside You is by Adrian Johnston and Crispin Letts and is Performed by Beth Rowley; Director of Photography is Hubert Taczanowski; Written by Ben Richards (The Tunnel: Sabotage, Spooks), based on the Strike novels by Robert Galbraith (aka J. K. Rowling (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Casual Vacancy), who is also an Executive Producer); Executive Producers are: Neil Blair (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Casual Vacancy), Ruth Kenley-Letts (The Casual Vacancy, The Hour) and Elizabeth Kilgarriff (for the BBC); Produced by Jackie Larkin (Stella Days; Kings); and Directed by Michael Keillor (Line of Duty; Critical).

* The acclaimed major new BBC One television series Strike — The Cuckoo's Calling will be released on DVD on 27th November by Warner Bros Home Entertainment. RRP: £10.00 | Run time: 180 minutes | DVD Extras: Behind The Scenes Featurette.

"Strike — The Cuckoo's Calling is highly addictive and well-paced with a talented cast creating remarkable characters, proving that J. K. Rowling's gift for storytelling is far-reaching" — Maggie Woods, MotorBar

THE CUCKOO'S CALLING was published to critical acclaim in 2013 and went on to be a global bestseller, followed in 2014 by The Silkworm and Career of Evil in 2015. All three books were Number One Sunday Times bestsellers in both hardback and paperback and Little, Brown has sold 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 Dagger in 2015 and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2016.
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