JK Rowling's first novel for adults has gone on sale, and is already breaking records.
Pre-sales of The Casual Vacancy were the highest of any book this year, but little was known about its content which has been shrouded in secrecy up to its release.
Early reviews have been mixed. One critic said Rowling had retained her magic, another that the novel is "dull".
Many Rowling fans were in bookshops early to be the first to get their hands on a copy.
Speed reader Anne Jones skimmed the novel for Sky News in a bookshop in London.
She was pleasantly surprised with the plot and the author's range, and said she thought the "second half of the book was better than the first".
The novel is about a "snobby middle class" community riven by provincial politics and the fallout when a parish councillor dies in a West Country village.
It has been reported that the village she describes is based on Tutshill where Rowling was brought up as a child.
However, residents told Sky News they are not particularly happy about the description and it is not their experience of the area. Carla Newton said people are keen to find out more.
"I'll definitely be reading it in case I can recognise someone," she said.
Rowling has amassed a fortune estimated to be around £620m from her seven Harry Potter books and all the spin-off rights.
The author has revealed that her next novel is very likely to be another children's book.
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