The Silkworm is J.K. Rowling’s 2014 adult novel published under the name Robert Galbraith.
The Silkworm is the second novel in the Cormoran Strike crime series. It follows private investigator Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott as they investigate the disappearance and murder of novelist Owen Quine. Quine has written a controversial manuscript portraying people from his literary circle, giving the mystery a publishing-world setting.
The book was published in the United Kingdom by Sphere in June 2014. Like The Cuckoo’s Calling, it initially appeared under Rowling’s pseudonym, Robert Galbraith. The author’s identity had already been publicly revealed by then, but later editions continued to credit Galbraith.
Readers sometimes confuse the title with Career of Evil, the third Strike novel, or with The Ink Black Heart, a later installment. The Silkworm is specifically the second book and the one published in 2014.