Strike is the detective and protagonist of The Cuckoo’s Calling. He is a veteran of the War in Afghanistan who retired after he lost his leg in an explosion. He is described as unattractive, with “the high, bulging forehead, broad nose and thick brows of a young Beethoven who had taken to boxing […] He looked older than his thirty-five years” (16-17). He has experienced a recent weight gain, tied to his change in mobility. He often uses his appearance to his advantage, intimidating people into giving him information or leaving him alone. Strike is the child of a “supergroupie” named Leda Strike and a famous rockstar named Jonny Rokeby, a fact which earns him attention and social status amongst the novel’s elite.

Strike has had a difficult life, a fact which is reinforced periodically as he experiences occasional flashbacks. These include details of his upbringing, punctuated by his mother’s different partners and a range of unsuitable living conditions. Following his mother’s suspicious death, he dropped out of Oxford and went into the military, finding order and peace until he lost his leg. Even his relationship with Charlotte is fraught with trauma. She is volatile and cruel, and they have a history of dating and breaking up.