The Cuckoo’s Calling – A who’s who?
Supermodel Lula Landry and her mysterious death are at the centre of The Cuckoo’s Calling.
Meet some of the other key characters from the first ever Cormoran Strike novel.
Sir Alec Bristow
Lula Landry’s adoptive father. A successful businessman devoted to his fragile wife, Yvette, Sir Alec died when Lula was in her early adolescence, but do his actions – concealing difficult truths from family members – leave a mark on the story of her death?
Yvette Bristow
The adoptive mother of Lula Landry and John Bristow. Her brother Tony describes her as ‘quite simply, an atrocious mother. No control, no discipline; complete overindulgence’.
John Bristow
Strike’s main client in The Cuckoo’s Calling, he wants Lula’s death investigated, though it was ruled a suicide. Adoptive brother to Lula, John works for the family law firm, is described as ‘rabbity in appearance’.
Alison Cresswell
John Bristow’s grim-faced girlfriend and secretary who accompanies Bristow to his first meeting with Strike, though she’s against re-investigating Lula’s death.
Bryony Radford
Lula Landry’s make-up artist. As another character describes her: ‘I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her…Charges a fortune, and such a bloody bitch.’
Ciara Porter
Lula Landry’s friend and fellow model. John Bristow describes her as ‘Quite a – a fluffy sort of girl.’ Strike might have his own opinion…
Cyprian May
Partner at the Landry family law firm, silver-haired and distinguished- looking, impeccably dressed, and possibly harbouring a secret.
Deeby Macc
Real name Daryl Brandon Macdonald, Deeby is an American rapper whose recent hit included lyrics referring to Lula, though they’d never met. They were due to have crossed paths the night she died, before things took their tragic turn.
Derrick Wilson
Key witness Wilson is the security guard on duty at Kentigern Gardens the night Lula died. He knows Lula’s final movements better than most, and Strike keeps coming back to him as a vital source of information.
Evan Duffield
‘A horrible person, an addict and a chronic self-publicist; about the worst influence on Lula you could imagine’ according to one of Lula’s relatives. Duffield is Lula Landry’s on-off boyfriend, and a pretty irredeemable character – but is he a suspect?
Freddie and Tansy Bestigui
Shameless film producer, Freddie, and his wife, Tansy, live above Lula Landry. Freddie is described as having ‘short legs, a broad barrel chest and a thick neck’. Tansy claims she heard something on the night of Lula’s death but no one believes her. The pair are in the midst of a divorce.
Guy Somé
Somé, A-list fashion designer and close friend to Lula Landry, took heat for putting out a campaign featuring Lula’s image, shortly after her death. Upon Strike’s investigation, his interview is the shortest in the police file though the designer lived within walking distance of the supermodel.
Kieran (Nico) Kolovas-Jones
Lula Landry’s main driver and confidante, and a wannabe actor who looks the part. Kieran has plenty to say about Lula, but he wasn’t driving her on the night she died.
Marlene Higson
Lula Landry’s biological mother, with whom she had no connection growing up. Higson doesn’t inspire confidence from those around her. One neighbour claims ‘She never knew who that baby’s father was’ – the baby in question being Lula herself.
Rochelle Onifade
Lula and Rochelle couldn’t be more different in their backgrounds. While Lula was adopted by a wealthy family, Rochelle’s history is a repeating pattern of abuse, time in care, violent outbursts and homelessness. Yet thanks to a shared experience the pair become close friends in the period before Lula’s death.