Which fictional detective is the protagonist of J.K. Rowling’s crime series?

Cormoran Strike is the protagonist of J.K. Rowling’s crime series.

Strike is a private investigator and former military police investigator who operates in London. He first appears in The Cuckoo’s Calling, published in 2013 under Rowling’s pseudonym Robert Galbraith. His investigations typically combine traditional detective work with interviews, surveillance, and careful reconstruction of events.

Robin Ellacott becomes his secretary and later an essential investigative partner. Their professional relationship is one of the continuing threads across the novels. The series is separate from Harry Potter: it is set in the contemporary real world and deals with murders, missing people, media pressure, and personal relationships.

Strike’s background includes service in Afghanistan, where he lost part of one leg. That detail influences both his physical experience and the practical challenges of his detective work. The books are crime novels rather than fantasy stories, despite their author’s association with magic.