This was the book written by JK Rowling under the pen name Robert Gilbraith. I can see why readers were astonished to think it would be a debut novel, and why they went looking for the real author! 
 This book is a good, proper detective mystery. It's everything a mystery book should be, a real mystery, with real clues, and a real investigation. There's a whole world built for us in the novel: we get to visualize everything and painstakingly navigate the characters and the evidence and reach our own conclusions. I love mysteries that include red herrings, and yet still put out the clues and don't hide them, and let the reader puzzle along throughout the novel, ones that keep you guessing until the end. 
 But what really elevates this book is the skill involved in creating its cast of characters, who are unflinchingly laid out with their idiosyncrasies, shortcomings, motivations, and actions, and you see them as frail and flawed human beings, flesh and blood-- they become real to the reader. They are stupendously well done and Rowling avoids the typical cliche story arcs of the cast. I was beyond thrilled that there was no romantic subplot squishing together the two main protagonists, Robin and Strike, that would have distracted from the true plot and character development. I often feel that in this genre, romantic aspirations for the main protagonists are substituted FOR character development. There's nothing that says the writer doesn't know how to write believable characters than a clumsily-executed romance that takes up a good part of the novel, simply 'cause. 
 The writing itself is fantastic. Cliches are avoided here, just as with the characters, and you can visualize everything. It was a pleasure to read for that alone-- when writing for adults, Rowling really shines when it comes to descriptions. 
 I hope Rowling will write another novel under this penname, or like it, because this was the absolute best mystery I've read in awhile, and a wonderful book to follow up the dreck that I just finished. She has a gift for mysteries and this makes me want to give the Casual Vacancy another go.