Who is the detective at the center of J.K. Rowling’s Galbraith novels?

Cormoran Strike is the detective at the center of J.K. Rowling’s novels published under the name Robert Galbraith.

Strike first appears in The Cuckoo’s Calling, published in 2013. He is a private investigator based in London and a former member of the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Military Police. The character works with Robin Ellacott, whose temporary secretarial job develops into a long-term professional partnership.

The series is a contemporary crime story rather than a fantasy adventure. Its investigations involve suspects, evidence, professional rivalries, and the social worlds surrounding each case. Rowling’s use of the Robert Galbraith name initially kept her identity separate from the books’ marketing.

Cormoran Strike should not be confused with detectives created by Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, or Kate Atkinson. Those detectives belong to different fictional series, while Strike is Rowling’s principal crime-fiction protagonist.