More like 3.5 stars. There's something vaguely...dislikeable about Strike that keeps me from rating it higher. He says (thinks) things occasionally that make me think he's kind of a...well, a woman hater. Maybe not a full out misogynist, but he definitely harbors some pretty archaic opinions about women. The reason I have a problem with it is that I have a hard time distinguishing his voice from that of the author's. My own problem, I suppose, but it does hold me back from enjoying these books without reservation. I simply don't understand why a book with a male protagonist set in contemporary times has to be so...irritatingly stereotypical.