3.5 Stars 
 I have to say that I'm quite a fan of the crime genre - I like the thinking and hypothesizing that you do with them and I think there's also a lightness to most of them. A predictable order that's easy to read and enjoyable. This book is exactly what I wanted to read. It's a classic whodunit. 
 The characters are usually what makes these books enjoyable or not and these characters are superbly written. Our main guy, Cormoran Strike, is a private detective with an interesting and crumbling private life. His trusty side-kick/assistant Robin is an asset as apposed to a liability (which most assistants seem to be). I do sense there will be a romance element at some stage, but I don't mind because this book is about an easy, enjoyable read and romance juices things up sometimes. 
 The best thing of all - the mystery of the crime was well written. Plenty of clues that were well hidden. I had a number of theories and was surprised when the real killer was revealed. 
 I like Rowling's style of writing for this. I did not enjoy or finish The Casual Vacancy - mainly because although beautifully described the characters were boring for me. The characters in this one are much more compelling. I think that even the secondary and transient characters, like the suspects and victims etc were portrayed very well which often doesn't happen in these classic crime books. 
 Overall, an interesting, compelling and surprising crime novel. I wanted nothing more from it! 
 P.S. The only thing that I didn't like about this book is that I hate it when authors use pseudonyms and then come out as who they really are. Why bother?