J.K. Rowling to pen new novel

J.K. Rowling is back with a novel involving a writer whose acid-tipped pen may have led to murder, The Associated Press reports.

Publisher Little, Brown said yesterday that it is publishing a second book by Robert Galbraith, the "Harry Potter" author's thriller-writing pseudonym.

"The Silkworm" sees the return of detective Cormoran Strike, the ex-soldier hero introduced in "The Cuckoo's Calling."

In the new book, Strike investigates the disappearance of a novelist who has written a book that features scathing descriptions of real people.

"The Cuckoo's Calling" initially attracted little notice when it was published last year, but rocketed up the charts once Rowling was exposed as its author.

A lawyer has been fined for letting slip the writer's identity.

"The Silkworm" will be published June 19 in Britain and June 24 in the United States.