For years I've looked forward to listening to each Cormoran Strike (private detective) thriller, but J.K. Rowling let me down with this one and the one before it (The Ink Black Heart). Excruciatingly long, The Running Grave is dragged down by the inclusion of unnecessary lesser cases, probably meant to mimic the busyness of a real detective agency, but that only distract from the main plot. I skipped over most of these parts. There is also a wrap up discussion among the key characters at the end that goes on, and on, and on...The plot, which involves Strike's assignment to extricate a wealthy man's son from a cultish church that is a chamber of horrors, is overly complicated with too many characters to keep track of.

Then there's Strike and his assistant Robin flirting yet again with a relationship that never quite materializes. I suppose it gives a reason to produce one more novel and keep the series going, but I'm not sure I'm up for another 34 hour audio book.

It's too bad, because the outline of the basic plot is a good one and the actor Robert Glenister is an excellent reader. A religious cult can make fascinating fiction, but this piece totally lost its appeal long before it ended.