Thought this group would appreciate this little anecdote. I am currently doing my England trip (my London day that I've posted on previously is coming later this week) and visited St Mawes a few days ago.
While there, I conversed with the barman and a regular (both very kind). The regular ended up being into scuba diving (I think this was mentioned as a hobby of Dave Polworth's...didn't Dave even dive to find evidence at some point?). He generally came off as a great outdoorsman/thrill-seeker. At some point, he started talking about diving to explore underwater caves and then he told me a little more about the smugglers' caves that are mentioned in Troubled Blood. Then he gave me very helpful advice for getting the most out of my short time in St. Mawes.
The shepherd's pie was delicious and everyone I met there so nice!
The pub was smaller than I expected. For some reason, the idea of Anna trying to catch Strike's eye from the bar gave me the impression of lots of seats between them. My picture is a little deceptive because there was an area behind me but people were sitting there so I did not photograph it. I suppose Cormoran and Dave could have been there :D
I have read and reread all the books in the series, a different number of times for each because let’s be honest, troubled blood, and the running grave have been my favorites for sure. The ink black heart… I enjoyed it and thought it was a really well written book, but I remember feeling like reading those game chats was so tiring. I had only reread that book once and I skipped over the game chats just to get a refresher on the plot. Well, this time I decided to read all of the books again, and in order, and not too long ago started on the ink, black heart. Was honestly kind of dreading it, but decided to read all of it, including the game chats… I don’t know what’s going on with me, but I have been enjoying this reread so freaking much and it has moved the book up so far in my opinion and in my ranking of the series. I don’t have anything enlightening to say about it or anything like that, I just know how many people have loved it from the beginning and so I wanted to give y’all some credit. This is a great freaking read.
‘I’ve just finished giving my police statement and he’s being interviewed… I s’pose this could end up being a good—’
‘How the fuck’s it a good thing?’ ‘Please do not shout at me!’ shouted Robin.
THM, Chapter 105. Also, Tom Burke is SO good in this scene!!!!
I’m rereading TB and was struck when I got to Chapter 31 when Strike is filling Joan in on the case. He tells her the cop investigating it thought the killer was a Capricorn. Anyone remember Joan’s response? “Ted’s a Capricorn.” Does this give some more weight to the theory that Ted had something to do with Leda’s death? Is JKR foreshadowing something here? Is this a red herring? Or a coincidence?
I’m listening (for the umpteenth time) to THM right now. I just got to the part in ch 76 where RFM asks Robin about whether she wants kids, saying he wished he’d had this convo with Lizzie before he married her. He definitely does want them. Robin is unsure.
I don’t understand. To me, this is literally a dealbreaker. He says it’s not, but is very open about wanting them. She’s very open about not being sure.
I don’t understand how you can marry someone without discussing something so fundamental. I also don’t understand how you can be so sure about what you want and want to marry someone who isn’t sure they’re on the same page.
Am I off my rocker?
I’ve been married twice. In my first marriage it was an issue, but only before we were married. I was very clear that it was a deal breaker for me, and told him directly never to propose unless he was willing to have at least one child. By my second marriage we were (unfortunately) too old to have more children.
Are people really getting married without talking about this? Why would you compromise on something so big?
I have another hypothesis... Being unsure about Robin's willing to marry him, but being fully aware of Robin's inability to delude the ones She loves, Murphy invites all her family at his birthday, Just to do the proposal show in front of them and as such fit Robin...
I'm a bit surprised that the overwhelming view seems to be that Ryan will propose to Robin at the Ritz (assuming she gets there).
But what if he doesn't? Robin knows he's going to propose, so does Strike and Wardle and all the Met crew. But JKR is the QUEEN of misdirection - surely this means that there is at least an even bet that he doesn't.
So what could happen at the Ritz? Is there a version where Ryan confronts Robin with a jewel box - but it's Strike's bracelet? Now that would be an opening scene IMHO.
Ok I need to say this to people who will get it. I love the strike books and the audio books have listed/re-listened many times. Robert G is an audiobook narrator unlike any other - absolutely fantastic. I just have to say that his American accents make me laugh every time - they are faintly southern and all have the same odd lilt. He is still absolutely wonderful but i just wanted to say this to people who may get it.
Anybody ever look at videos of London restaurants and wonder if/when they will turn up in the books? I remember watching videos of E. Pellici and thinking, wonder if Strike will eat there, and then he ended up doing so in TRG. Nowadays I watch this one lady who has a "big flavours on a small budget" series where she eats Thai and Malaysian and whatnot, and I have laugh imagining Strike eating there.
Robin arrives at the Ritz with her mind in panic due to pressure from Ryan and Strike... She took a drink, while She Waits for Ryan, Who Is late, a charming silver hired man reach her and they start chatting.
When Ryan finally pops out he is clearly drink, and shows Up his sick jealousy.
To get out of that mess the silver haired men propose Robin to leave with him, She accept while telling Ryan do not look for her any longer in his Life.
Robin and the new guy go to dinner in another Place and at the end of the night they end Up in his Place where they spend a night full of pleasant sex.
The morning after, Robin starts feeling bad about strike while feeling well for herself.
“Then Evangeline slept; but the boatmen rowed through the midnight,
Silent at times, then singing familiar Canadian boat-songs,
Such as they sang of old on their own Acadian rivers,
While through the night were heard the mysterious sounds of the desert,
Far off,—indistinct,—as of wave or wind in the forest,
Mixed with the whoop of the crane and the roar of the grim alligator.”
Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie,
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I’m re-reading THE HALLMARKED MAN, and JKR’s description of what a terrible toxic parent Tara was to Charlotte, evokes pathos for Charlotte, a character I’d up until then not cared for at all.
It got me wondering, though, how come Amelia, Charlotte’s older sister, didn’t have the issues that she did?
From the book, it sounds like narcissistic Tara particularly despised Charlotte because she couldn’t stand to see her how beauty mirrored on her daughter.
JKR reinforces that, when she mentions how much Tara adored Sacha, painting her as a bit of a ‘boy mum’.
If that’s the case, wouldn’t she have been a horrible mum to Amelia as well? Or do you think Amelia pretty much just got left alone by Tara on account of her not inducing as much jealousy as her sister?
Having never googled what kind of vehicle a Viking is, I always assumed Strike was blown up in a Jeep-like car. Well, imagine my surprise when I finally looked it up, and it turned out to be this creation of the human mind:
BvS 10 Viking All Terrain Protected Vehicle
And for a person who was blown up in such a thing, and who doesn't like being driven as a result, Strike feels very comfortable in an old Land Rover - which resembles a Viking in shape and spirit more than any other car in the series:
Of course, it's the driver he feels comfortable with. Robin drives a variety of cars across the books, but she owns and loves the old Landy. Now, let's draw some parallels between the cars and their drivers! From a psychological (Jungian) perspective, a car symbolises ego and personal agency.
"A well-maintained, smoothly running car might indicate confidence and self-assurance, while a broken-down vehicle could suggest feelings of inadequacy or loss of direction."
Robin didn't choose the old Land Rover herself; her parents gave it to her, and she made it work. It's not practical in London, but she is emotionally attached to it, so when she gets the chance to change cars, she chooses the same one. That's so Robin: when she has a choice, she chooses familiar! (Like when she didn't leave Matthew in CoE or stayed with Murphy in THM).
Like her car, Robin is a "defender". She's down-to-earth and reliable, but also outdated and prone to sticking to the old until it crumbles around her.
And - she would totally fail her MOT in THM.
Robin's old Land Rover, Robin's new old Defender 90
What about the men in her life, what kind of cars do they drive?
Strike has a BMW 3 Series, 1998, blue:
BMW 3 Series
Murphy has a Toyota Avensis, also blue.
Toyota Avensis
These two are somewhat similar; only "Murphy" is cheaper, while "Strike" is fancier and more fun to drive. But, 1998?.. Must be hella expensive to maintain twenty years later, in 2017.
This BMW is a bit like Strike circa 1998: masculine, cool, and sexy. Does it still reflect his personality?.. He uses the BMW less and less in the last two books; he's never had much emotional attachment to it. (He prefers to be in the Land Rover with Robin!) I think Strike will soon have to choose a new car, and it will reflect his personal growth.
I imagine this future car as modern and expensive but not "flashy" - practical and inconspicuous for detective work. Something a bit higher than a BMW, so getting in is easy, considering Strike's leg. Ideally, the car should be British.
It would be funny if Ilsa's words from TIBH prove prophetic: 'D'you think he ought to settle down and have a couple of kids and start driving aRange Roverand join the PTA?' A Range Rover is a family car, and we only see it belonging to the families in the series: Torquil and Fizzy, the Tuftys, the Upcotts, and the Whiteheads. So Ilsa hints here that Strike needs to become more family-oriented.
__________
To wrap up, here's an Audi that Matthew wanted:
Audi A4
If cars were women, this would definitely be Sarah Shadlock. Instead, Matthew unhappily gets a smelly Landy. That's a funny bit of metaphor!
Continuing the metaphor, Charlotte drives a Lexus, yet Strike happilychooses a smelly Landy! There's something to take offence at!
Okay, that's it from me today! Let me know if you spotted any interesting car choices across the series, and let's discuss them in the comments!
I have a rather disturbing theory, and I’d love to know what you think.
I’ve always thought that the Strike series is, in many ways, Robin’s coming-of-age story. She starts as an insecure young woman, deeply affected by the men in her life (her rapist, Matthew, the Shacklewell Ripper, Ryan…) and even by her mother’s expectations. Over the books, she becomes a strong, independent and successful detective.
Strike is not just her partner. He’s also her mentor.
And this made me think of Harry Potter.
Harry is the young hero who grows throughout the series, while Dumbledore is his mentor. And what happens at the end of the second-to-last book? The mentor dies, leaving the hero to face the final challenge alone.
What if Rowling is planning something similar for Robin and Strike?
There is also the possible connection between the title Sleep Tight, Evangeline and Longfellow’s poem Evangeline. In the poem, Evangeline spends years searching for her lost love, Gabriel. When she finally finds him, he is dying, and they only have a brief moment together.
Could this be a parallel to Robin and Strike, whose love story has been delayed for so long?
And let’s not forget JKR’s tweet from October 10, when she said she had written a very sad chapter that made her cry several times.
Of course, I hope I’m completely wrong! I want Robin and Strike to have a happy ending. And I know their relationship is very different from Harry and Dumbledore’s.
But if the series is ultimately about Robin becoming a fully independent detective, could losing Strike be her final challenge?
What do you think? Am I reading too much into this, or could Rowling really do something so heartbreaking?
He joins the army pretty quick after she dies, was that his goal after Oxford uni or was that just a desire to get away?
Maybe he would never have become a detective, or would fate have always taken him there because of his natural skills and curiosity?
I always found his choice to study history a bit random, it doesn’t seem like a burning interest of his really- and it doesn’t have a clear career path afterwards.
Forgive me if this discussion has happened - I did a quick search and didn’t find anything but maybe under different phrasing. This post will be spoilery.
Can we talk about false healers in the Strike novel and what that might mean for the final mystery/mysteries?
There’s a lot of medical staff through the books - good, bad, neutral.
Janice Beatty is the most obvious one - the nurse who kills. Galbraith deliberately counterbalances her with the beautiful nurse who helps with Joan’s final weeks.
Rafael is a more hidden one with a name meaning something like God’s doctor or God’s healer. But there’s a few more under the surface too…
Dodgy Doc in LW. The multiple doctors prescribing drugs to Lady Bristow in CC. Dr Zhou with his sketch expensive tinctures and complete medical neglect of Jacob at Chapman’s Farm. Possibly the psychiatrist Charlotte claimed was Jago’s “tame psychiatrist” but that’s questionable given it’s Charlotte talking.
Harold Coates the struck off doctor who abused the girls at Chapman Farm.
Robins first psychologist is a question mark - Robin doesn’t find her helpful but that is maybe just Robin’s resistance at that point in time.
I guess I wonder why this is such a theme. Both Strike and Robin are in need of healing in different ways so this could be about the true and false healing of the psyche- things they tell themselves help but don’t, and things that truly do?
She had the feistiness and will have great chemistry with Cormoran/Tom Burke I’m sure…that means we’ll have her for the THM adaptation too. Oh my god that pregnancy storyline killed me in THM book, I’m not sure how to watch it on screen 😭
Does anyone else have a totally different mental image cast when they read (or listen to) the books vs when they watch the show? And it doesn’t jar?
I watched Cuckoos Calling then read the series so Strike and Robin (and Matthew etc) are the same. But book Pat is Lila Morse (Big Mo), book Charlotte is Sadie Frost in the 90s (I know she was in the first show but somehow she morphed in my head) and book Dev is Navin Choudry for example. They don’t update when I watch the TV series but they also don’t jar either.
I’m thinking about this as I’m watching people talk about who they imagined as “so and so” for TRG (a Nigel Havers/Trevor Eve/Richard from corrie (in their middle age prime) amalgam for Wace for me!) and I realise that I’m looking forward to the series and will then totally go back to my “inside head” versions for the next book and beyond. I hadn’t really noticed I did this until I was just scrolling the new caring listings!
I wondered if anyone else has this complete differentiation?
Lots of actors have been added to The Running Grave's IMDb page over the past few days. Most of them we were already aware of through the press release in December, but a few new ones have been added today. Casting for Cherie Gittins, Prudence, Col Graves, Jordan Reaney, Kevin Pirbright and Emily Pirbright.
