J.K Rowling has been unmasked as the “former military police officer, with a wife and two children” by the name of Robert Galbraith. The supposed ‘debut’ novel of crime fiction, The Cuckoo’s Calling has been described as “perfectly decent, but quiet,” with editors unable to determine a unique selling point for an already over crowded market. However, as soon as JK was revealed as the true author of the novel, the book was at the top of Amazon’s bestseller list overnight.
After the phenomenon that was the Harry Potter series, and the mixed reviews of JK’s novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy, it’s no wonder that the bestselling author decided to opt for anonymity. However, a likeness between the first-time novelist Galbraith’s work and Rowling’s was noted and suspicions grew stronger when it was discovered that the two authors shared the same editor and publisher. Rowling has described the move to a pseudonym as [quote]a liberating experience… It has been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation, and pure pleasure to get feedback under a different name.”[/quote]