J.K. Rowling New Book 2013: 'Harry Potter' Author Prepares Crime Novel 'The Cuckoo's Calling'

J.K. Rowling hasn't written a book since last year's "The Casual Vacancy." Richard Galbraith, however, published his debut crime novel "The Cuckoo's Calling" in April. Much to the surprise of the literary world, the two authors are actually the same person. 

In a move that trumps even Jay-Z's long delayed announcement of "Magna Carta Holy Grail," the millennium's highest-selling author wrote a book, published it, and kept the true identity of its author a secret for nearly three months. Critics may be disappointed that Galbraith, the hot new writer, isn't real, but that doesn't make their praise for "Cuckoo's Call" less sincere. Described as a "scintillating debut novel" with "superb flair," it inspired journalists to dig further into Galbraith's biography. 

The pseudonym was described as a former military member who was married with two sons, but The Sunday Times smelled a rat. They asked in their expose article "how a first-time author with a background in the Army and the civilian security industry could write such an assured debut novel." Their investigative work led them to Rowling, and the author's publicist confirmed the facts when the paper inquired. Rowling released a statement confirming her exposure. 

"I hoped to keep this secret a little longer because being Robert Galbraith has been such a liberating experience," she said. "It has been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation, and pure pleasure to get feedback from publishers and readers under a different name."

The revelation caught bookstores by surprise, as readers flocked to scoop up the relatively few copies in the U.K. The title jumped to the top of the bestseller's list. 

Rowling's announcement doesn't mean the death of Richard Galbraith however. The author says she plans on writing more novels starring the hero of "Cuckoo's Call," Cormoran Strike, under Gabraith's name.