Career of Evil

Career of Evil (2015) is the third novel in the Cormoran Strike detective series by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling’s pseudonym). The story begins when Strike’s assistant, Robin Ellacott, receives a package containing a woman’s severed leg. The gruesome delivery sparks the investigative duo’s pursuit of a sadistic killer of women. As Strike and Robin investigate suspects from Strike’s troubled past, the story delves into themes of trauma, misogyny, and the lasting effects of violence. A BBC television series, based on the Strike novels, aired in 2017.

This guide is based on the 2015 e-book edition published by Little, Brown & Company.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of mental illness, substance use, graphic violence, emotional abuse, sexual violence, rape, death, and child abuse.

Language Note: The source text uses terms that are considered offensive to describe people with mental illness. This study guide reproduces this language only in quotations.

Plot Summary

An unidentified killer plans to take revenge on private detective Cormoran Strike. The killer, who has already murdered three young women, is stalking Strike’s assistant Robin Ellacott. At the detective agency’s office, Robin takes delivery of a package addressed to her. Inside is a young woman’s severed right leg. Strike lost his right leg in an explosion while serving in Afghanistan; he notes the woman’s limb has been severed in the same place as his. The accompanying note is a line from the song “Mistress of the Salmon Salt” by Blue Öyster Cult, the favorite band of Strike’s late mother Leda.

Strike calls in DI Eric Wardle, sharing his belief that the leg was sent as a personal threat. Wardle focuses on Terrence “Digger” Malley as the prime suspect. A gangster whom Strike testified against, Malley is notorious for sending a severed penis to an enemy. However, Strike believes there are three more likely suspects: Jeff Whittaker, Noel Brockbank, and Donald Laing. Strike has always thought that Whittaker, his former stepfather, was responsible for his mother’s fatal heroin overdose, although Whittaker was acquitted of the crime. Meanwhile, Strike encountered Brockbank and Laing (both military men) while working in the Special Investigative Branch of the army. After Strike arrested Laing for the sadistic torture of his wife, Laing served a 16-year prison sentence. Brockbank had pedophilia, and Strike arrested him for abusing his 12-year-old stepdaughter, Brittany. Brockbank was acquitted of the crime when Brittany retracted her testimony; he later claimed that Strike gave him brain damage by punching him. Strike fears that the severed leg may belong to Brittany Brockbank.

During the investigation, Strike confronts past trauma as he recalls Whittaker’s abusive behavior and his chaotic childhood living in a series of squats with his mother. Meanwhile, Robin clashes with her fiancé, Matthew, who resents her work and is suspicious of her relationship with Strike. Robin breaks off the engagement when she discovers that Matthew was unfaithful, years earlier, with his university friend Sarah Shadlock. The revelation brings back unwelcome memories of being attacked and raped by a stranger—the reason Robin dropped out of her psychology program before graduating. The incident ended Robin’s lifelong dream of becoming a criminal profiler for the police.

Strike’s business suffers as prospective new clients are put off by the detective’s association with an unidentified severed leg. Conflict also arises between Strike and Robin as his desire to protect her from harm conflicts with Robin’s determination not to let another violent offender stand in the way of her career.

Strike and Robin divide their time between investigating Whittaker, Laing, and Brockbank. They locate Whittaker, who has substance use disorder and lives off his vulnerable girlfriend’s earnings as a sex worker. However, Laing and Brockbank are harder to find. Strike and Robin resort to questioning relatives and former partners of the men. Posing as Venetia Hall, a personal injury lawyer, Robin speaks to Brockbank’s sister, Holly. She learns that Brockbank was fired from a succession of security jobs after sexually assaulting young girls. Robin is concerned to discover that Brockbank lives with a woman who has two young daughters.

The police identify the owner of the severed leg as Kelsey Platt, a 16-year-old girl who wrote to Strike, conveying her desire to remove her leg. Kelsey had body integrity identity disorder (BIID), a condition where an individual craves the removal of a healthy body part. Kelsey believed that Strike also had the disorder and that he had removed his own leg. The police find letters to Kelsey purportedly from Strike, but they are clearly forgeries. Strike visits Kelsey’s half-sister, Hazel Furley. Hazel indignantly tells Strike that the police aggressively questioned her partner, Ray, until they saw photographic evidence that he was on a stag weekend at the time of Kelsey’s murder. She proudly tells Strike that Ray is a former firefighter.

Robin receives a package containing a severed toe from Kelsey’s body. Meanwhile, frustrated by the lack of opportunity to kill Robin, the killer instead attacks two other women. The first victim survives, but the killer takes several of her fingers. The second young woman is found dead with her ears missing. The press refers to the killer as “the Shackleton Ripper.”

Strike insists that Robin must work from home, leading to her reconciliation with Matthew. Dismayed, Strike secretly hopes Robin will change her mind before the wedding. He reluctantly gives in to Robin’s demand to return to active duty, sending her to the job he considers the safest—talking to Whittaker’s girlfriend, Stephanie. Whittaker is violent toward Stephanie, but he has an alibi for at least one of the murders. Immediately after the interview, the real killer attacks Robin, stabbing her in the arm. Using her self-defense skills, Robin escapes but does not see the man’s face.

Strike feels responsible for the attack on Robin and says they must now leave the case to the police. However, he has privately deduced the killer’s identity and plans to act without Robin. Ignoring Strike’s instructions, Robin visits Brockbank’s girlfriend, Alyssa, warning her that her partner has pedophilia. Consequently, Brockbank goes on the run, angering the chief investigating officer, Carver, who believes Brockbank is the killer. Furious at the damage to the agency’s reputation, Strike fires Robin. He later tries to contact her to apologize, but Matthew deletes the evidence of his call from Robin’s phone.

Strike realizes that Donald Laing is Hazel Furley’s partner. Laing has stolen the identity of dead firefighter, Ray Williams. The photographic evidence of his alibi was faked. Strike breaks into the empty flat where Laing occasionally stays and discovers women’s body parts in the fridge. Laing surprises and attacks him, but Strike captures the killer, turning him over to the police. Strike also learns that Brockbank has been arrested.

Strike rushes to Robin’s wedding, arriving just as she and Matthew exchange vows. When Robin turns from the altar and sees Strike, she smiles.