Characters in Career of Evil

Cormoran Strike

Confronting threats from his own past, Strike's investigation forces him to examine relationships and events from his military career and unconventional upbringing that he has always kept separate from his professional life.

Also in The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm, Lethal White, Troubled Blood, The Ink Black Heart, The Hallmarked Man

Robin Ellacott

Given shared protagonist status in this instalment as her personal circumstances and professional ambitions demand equal narrative weight alongside the investigation.

Also in The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm, Lethal White, Troubled Blood, The Ink Black Heart, The Hallmarked Man

Donald Laing

One of three suspects from Strike's past — a former military colleague whose history with Strike provides the investigation's most compelling lead.

Noel Brockbank

A former army major and one of four suspects from Strike's military past that the investigation into the severed-leg delivery centres on.

Terence "Digger" Malley

A gangster from Strike's past and one of the four suspects Strike and Robin investigate after the severed leg is delivered.

Jeff Whittaker

Strike's former stepfather, tied to his mother's death and one of the four suspects Strike names after the severed leg is delivered.