| Cormoran Strike | |
| Also known as: | *Corm (by Leda and Lucy),
|
| Age: | 36 |
| Fate: | Alive |
| Gender: | Male |
| Occupation: | Private Detective |
| Friends/Family: | Jonny Rokeby (father)
|
| Home: | Third floor above his office |
Cormoran Blue Strike (born 23 November, c. 1975) is the main character of Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike series and appears in every book.
After losing his leg in Afghanistan, Cormoran works as a private detective with an office on Denmark Place in London.
Biography
Early years
Born of famous rockstar Jonny Rokeby and "supergroupie" Leda Strike, Cormoran had a nomadic childhood as a result of his mother's tendency to travel from place to place. He moved around so much that he became familiar with most areas of London and, by his own estimate, attended at least 17 schools throughout his childhood. The inconsistency of his life made him yearn for routine and a sense of permanence, leading him to join the military out of university.[1]
Relationships
Strike meets temp Robin Ellacott on the same day he accepts the case of Lula Landry's apparent suicide, later extending her contract, then at the end of The Cuckoo's Calling, hiring her permanently.
Cormoran grew up close to his Uncle Ted and Aunt Joan. He credits them as the reason he managed to have a somewhat normal childhood because Ted, Leda's brother, managed to intervene whenever Leda tried to get him and Lucy out of school. He maintains a good relationship with the two, as evidenced by their open invitation for him to go and visit them at their home in Cornwall.
As a child, Cormoran initiated a friendship with Charlie Bristow that lasted through his moves away from and back to the area. Their friendship ended abruptly when Charlie tragically died in a bike accident in a quarry while holidaying in Wales.
Cormoran's abnormal family life brought him close to Charlotte Campbell, whose family, according to Strike, "was even madder and stranger than his own". Their relationship was a very bumpy one, especially because of Charlotte's mythomania.[1]
In the Special Investigation Branch (SIB) of the Royal Military Police, Cormoran worked alongside Graham Hardacre. He mostly dropped out of contact with Graham, last phoning him while Hardacre was working in Germany, but they reconnect in Career of Evil when Hardacre is posted in Scotland and passes on details about Cormoran's suspects for the amputated leg sent to the office.
Siblings
He has eight younger half-siblings from his parents' relationships but seems to be in contact with only two of them: Lucy Strike and Al Rokeby.
Lucy Strike, who he grew up with and to whom he is closest; his half-sibling on his mother's side. In Cormoran's teenage years, she could no longer stand being uprooted and moved in with their Uncle Ted and Aunt Joan. She has a husband Greg and three sons. Cormoran tires of her attempts to encourage him to marry a nice wife and have children—seeing it as her trying to enforce on him her idea of a perfect life.
Al Rokeby, his father's son with his third and current wife, Jenny Graham. Having had a completely different upbringing to Cormoran (being raised in luxury and even attending a school in Switzerland) Al is impressed with Cormoran's life as a self-made man, especially after his success in solving the Lula Landry case. Unlike Cormoran, Al clearly resembles their father.
Strike has a half-sibling from his mother's marriage to Whittaker, who was taken away and raised by Whittaker's parents, following his mother's death and Whittaker's arrest.
Appearances
The Cuckoo's Calling
The Silkworm- Career of Evil
