Book cover of The Running Grave

Book description

'The work of a master storyteller'
Daily Telegraph

'One of crime's most engaging duos'
Guardian
________

Private Detective Cormoran Strike is contacted by a worried father whose son, Will, has gone to join a religious cult in the depths of the Norfolk countryside.

The Universal Humanitarian Church is, on the…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

4 authors picked The Running Grave as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This is the best in the Cormoran Strike series by far. I like series because you can really get to know the characters, but they have to move forward, and they do in these books. I do enjoy crime novels but JK Rowling also does manage to really make them much more interesting than some of the run-of-the-mill books.

I like this series because it is well written and the author – J.K. Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith – always features clever plot twists.

The Cormoran Strike series features an on again, off again romance between private investigator Cormoran Strike and his partner, Robin Ellacott. In the latest installment, The Running Grave, Cormoran and Robin are hired by a wealthy man whose son has joined a cult.

Robin joins the cult and moves into its rural Norfolk headquarters. The chapters devoted to her cult experience are well-written and creepy. Too bad there’s not more sex.

This book kept me up past my bedtime! It was so gripping and also so readable.

The characters are well-rounded and believable, and the interplay between them is as intriguing as the actual mystery they are trying to solve.

Because it’s a series, I already "knew" and cared about Robin, the female lead, so when she spends half the book in real and growing peril, there is an inescapable sense of dread.

The final reveal was satisfying (if horrific), and I didn’t see it coming, but it was the ride that I enjoyed as much as the destination.

If you love The Running Grave...

Ad

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Regardless of one's feelings towards J.K. Rowling, her prowess as an author is undeniable. Under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, she brings us The Running Grave, another masterstroke in the Cormoran Strike series.

Strike and Robin Ellacott stand out as two of the most brilliantly crafted modern detectives. Yet, amidst their sleuthing brilliance, they remain palpably human, prone to relatable errors that only enrich their depth. This time, they're plunged into the dark world of a cult, weaving a narrative that's nothing short of captivating.

I’m the kind of mystery reader that when I think I know what's going to happen…

If you love The Running Grave...

Ad

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Want books like The Running Grave?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 43 books like The Running Grave.

Browse books like The Running Grave

Book cover of Silent in the Grave
Book cover of A Tempest at Sea
Book cover of The Last Remains

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,210

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The Running Grave, you might also like...

Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of Lane and the Inventor

Lane and the Inventor by Amy Q. Barker,

A grumpy-sunshine, slow-burn, sweet-and-steamy romance set in wild and beautiful small-town Colorado. Lane Gravers is a wanderer, adventurer, yoga instructor, and social butterfly when she meets reserved, quiet, pensive Logan Hickory, a loner inventor with a painful past.

Dive into this small-town, steamy romance between two opposites who find love…

5 book lists we think you will like!