What is the real name of J.K. Rowling’s detective Cormoran Strike?

The real name of J.K. Rowling’s detective is Cormoran Strike.

Cormoran Strike is the central investigator in the crime novels Rowling published under the name Robert Galbraith. He is a former military police investigator who opens a private detective agency in London after leaving the army, where he lost part of a leg in Afghanistan.

The character first appears in The Cuckoo’s Calling, which introduces his partnership with Robin Ellacott. Strike’s cases involve conventional detective work, interviews, evidence, and personal relationships rather than magic or supernatural powers.

Readers sometimes confuse Cormoran Strike with characters from Rowling’s Harry Potter universe because both series are written by Rowling and feature detailed recurring casts. Strike, however, belongs entirely to the Galbraith crime-fiction series and is not a wizarding-world character.