Career of Evil is the 3rd in the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith AKA JK Rowling.  This series is amazingly getting better and better.  I enjoyed the first two but this even better than either of them.  Strike and Robin are being threatened by someone from Strike’s past, but he is not sure who.  Robin is the target of this madman’s threats and she and Strike dance around their professional relationship as he strives to keep her safe and she wants to continue working above all else.

Strike and Robin, particularly Robin, also have issues in their personal lives that weave in and out of the cases that they are working on.  The relationship between them is so well-developed and has real sense of tension in the push-pull between them.  The villain has no redeeming qualities and reading his thoughts as he goes about the business of stalking women and brutally killing (and dismembering) some of them is chilling.  Great read, I can’t wait to read more in the series.

The Body in the Dales introduced me to the potholes of Yorkshire caving and the lifestyle of the men and women who explore them for both a hobby and to work on the cave rescue teams.  A new DS arrives fresh from London to take up his post in Yorkshire.  DS Carter finds himself  a fish out of water serving under DCI Oldroyd, who fancies himself somewhat of a Yorkshire Sherlock Holmes, and alongside, Steph, who is also a romantic interest.  Oldroyd is really the star here as he works on the clues, sometimes withholding information to teach his staff how to think and approach crime solving.

The atmosphere and scenery of Yorkshire is well done here creating a good sense of place. The caving information is presented in a way that is not overdone or doesn’t feel like  a lecture.  As the first in a series I quite enjoyed this and will probably read another.