The Ink Black Heart: Capters 16-23

Chapters 16, 18, and 19 show the transition to Strike and Robin being formally hired to investigate a case they are already very interested in. They have been fortunate enough to have this opportunity twice before, first in Lethal White, when Izzy brought them in to investigate her father's death (which gave Strike a reason to keep searching for Billy and investigating his story) and in Troubled Blood, when Shifty's Boss hired them to bring down Shifty. 

In 16, Strike calls Robin about the offer as she is tailing Groomer and Legs through the William Morris Gallery. This chapter is notable for Strike expressing his skepticism that the Halvening were responsible for the attacks on Edie and Josh. Chapter 18 is a relatively long Chapter that introduces Grant "Grub" Ledwell and wife: the nickname is unnecessary to convince us they are a couple of money-grubbers, delighted to be cashing in on the creative property of the niece with whom they had had as little to do with as possible when she was alive. Robin's annoyance with Heather reminded me of her irritation with another woman delighted to eat at a fancy restaurant on someone else's dime: Tempest from Career of Evil.  In the end, this case has a lot of the feel of the original case in Lethal White, where Chiswell wanted them to dig up dirt on Jimmy Knight and Geraint Winn, so they can "fight fire with fire:" neutralize the blackmail with counter-blackmail; Maverick Films wants to subject Anomie to the same type of online harassment to which Anomie has subjected others.  In other words:

Those who live by the mob must be prepared to die by the mob.

The Ink Black Heart: Chapters 8-15

I'm going to jump through the section in thematic groupings, rather than chapter-by-chapter. I will start off with the Madeline sections:  Chapter 8, Chapter 13 and a bit of Chapter 15.  Chapter 8 gives us a glimpse at Strike's sixth date with Madeline, at a fancy bar and jazz club called Nightjar. While Strike appears to be enjoying himself and giving things a chance, as he puts it, there are some early harbingers of doom in this relationship. 

• This bar, with its jazzy music and froofy drinks, does not seem to be Strike's style at all. He would prefer a beer, and leaves at the first opportunity. 
• The name "Nightjar" refers to a bird with a sinister (though undeserved) reputation. It is nocturnal, and has a odd, insect-like call and is seldom seen, leading to dark associations It was once believed to cause infertility and blindness to goats by sucking milk from their udders at night, and to carry a fatal disease to cattle. It is also called a "corpse bird" and was once believed by some to be the form in which the souls of unbaptized children were doomed to wander the earth for eternity. 
• She doesn't think about feeding him, forcing him to scarf down unhealthy McDonald's meals before meeting her, an indicator this relationship is not going to be a healthy one. 
• She's rude to the waitress. 
• They have little interest in or understanding of each other's professional lives. something that was also true of Charlotte. 
• Strike likes her better once she has some alcohol in her, something that was also true of Charlotte. 
• She has a need to "be seen" by the press and the rich and famous, something that was also true of Charlotte. Strike has a need to avoid that. We'll see later in Chapter 15 that this will be a recurrent problem. 

The visit to her home on Valentine's Eve (Ch. 13) wasn't much more encouraging, with Strike acknowledging to himself that he would rather spend the evening with Robin discussing the Ledwell/Blay knife attacks over a takeaway. Then there's this: 

Strike had arranged for a showy spray of orchids to be delivered to Madeline in the morning and was carrying a card for her in his rucksack. These were the things you did for the woman you were sleeping with if you wanted to keep sleeping with her, and Strike was clearly keen to keep sleeping with Madeline, for reasons both obvious and barely acknowledged. 

This is about as romantic as something you would expect from Michael Fancourt. Nothing about affection for her, let alone love, on what is supposed to be the most romantic of holidays. Contrast this to his later gift of Phyllis the Philodendron to Robin on her move-in day; a more-or-less spontaneous gift of a much cheaper plant, but one with genuine heart-shaped leaves and given for the right reasons: because he cares for her, wants her to have a something nice for her new apartment and and without any ulterior motive or expectation of sex. 

Despite his stated intentions to "give things a chance" Strike seems fully in his restaurants and brothels mode, except, since Mads keeps no decent food in the house, he's missing the restaurant part. 

The Ink Black Heart: Chapters 1-7

Looking at the start of The Ink Black Heart leads very naturally to the question of how The Hallmarked Man will begin, given the leapfrog pattern that is seen in this series. I was struck again by the multiple links with the start of Lethal White. These are the only two books in the series that come off of cliffhanger endings, and pick up almost immediately where the previous books left off. Both open with Strike and Robin at a social event in a swanky venue, specifically celebrating Robin and atypically away from their usual work setting. In both cases, Strike is trying to make up for something he regrets; in LW, he is apologizing for sacking her and trying to get her back; in IBH, he is trying to make up for his thoughtlessness in previous Christmas and birthday gifts. 

TRG ended, of course, with Strike's grenade-style admission of love for Robin, just moments before she is to embark on a weekend getaway with Ryan Murphy. In a way, this is a "make-up" situation as well; Strike regrets not "opening his f*cking eyes" earlier, before Robin began the relationship with Murphy. She departs, and Strike heads off for the Flying Horse. The question is, will The Hallmarked Man follow the same pattern, and pick up immediately?  

If so, many have predicted that Robin will ditch Ryan and track Strike to the Flying Horse (whose sign bears a winged white horse) for a clarification of the grenade he has just dropped, and that they will at last be forced to openly acknowledge their feelings for each other. The SE Files podcast based this speculation in part, on the epigraph for chapter 89 of TRG: 

A white horse comes as if on wings.

He is not a robber, he will woo at the right time. 

The appearance of a white horse not only links us to LW, but also to The Maid of the Silver Sea, the source for at least two epigraphs. As in LW and its epigraph source, Rosmersholm, the equine of MoSS is an agent of death, but solving its mystery ultimately allows the two protagonists of MoSS to move forward with their romance. For more on MoSS, see this wonderful essay by Bea Groves, and my own summary of the novel. 

And, of course, bonus points if our heroes spy a silver-haired man in the pub. 

So, will we see the Robin who abandoned the Flobberworm on the dance floor and ran after Strike to confirm his intentions, or the one who goes along with what is expected, unwilling to rock the boat? Or, as in LW, will we see both? Even if Strike and Robin do have it out at the start of THM, I don't think their issues will be resolved then. I think there will still be some drama and misunderstanding in their relationship for a book or two before they are finally united. Recall, Robin made the wrong decision at the wedding, and decided she had to give the Flobber-marriage a shot. And, Strike and Robin's relationship was screwed up for a while after the missed kiss at the Ritz. So, I am not expecting an early resolution. 

Review of the BBC's The Ink Black Heart, Part Four: The bombing and the finale.

 The fourth and final episode begins in the aftermath of Vikas Bhardwaj's murder, with Strike and Robin being harassed by the local cop for the skeleton keys. Amusingly, this fellow is depicted almost exactly as in the book, red hair, attitude and all. Happily, Angela Darwish (who is both older and taller than described in the book) shows up quickly. We get the pleasure of seeing Strike give Red a very snarky look as he exits. 

After our hereos leave Cambridge, there is major plot streamlining:  Robin immediately gets into Drek's game and opens a private chat with Paperwhite, intending to warn her she is likely next on Anomie's hit list. She gets as far as telling her that Anomie killed Vikas before being banned. Strike concludes that Anomie is monitoring private chats. 

They decide to contact Yasmin Featherhead, in hopes of getting her to warn Paperwhite of the danger Anomie poses. Interestingly, neither detective seems at all distressed about losing access to the game. 

The scene then jumps to the office on the next morning, where both Strike and Pat have arrived early. Strike is still limping, but without the cane he was using in Cambridge. After some small talk about tea, Pat begins opening a large cardboard box that has just arrived in the mail. As she gets out her letter opener to slit it open, the readers know what is coming.......

KABOOOOOM! 

If anything, the scene is more dramatic than in the book, given that in the TV office, the wall and door separating the partners' office from the main one are largely glass, not wood. And, given the size of the fireball, Pat would definitely have been a goner if she hadn't gotten away. 

200-day Hallmarked Countdown Read-along: The Ink Black Heart Schedule. Feb 15-April 5.

 

Hello fellow Strikers. 

The 200-day lead-up read-along for The Hallmarked Man starts this Saturday, Fen 15th. As promised earlier, here is the schedule

• Sat, Feb, 15:  Chapters 1-7
• Tues. Feb 18: Chapters 8-15
• Sat: Feb. 22: Chapters 16-23
• Tues. Feb 25: Chapters 24-31
• Sat. March 1: Chapters 32-37
• Tues. March 4: Chapters 38-43
• Sat. March 8: Chapters 44-50
• Tues. March 11: Chapters 51-57
• Sat. March 15: Chapters 58-64
• Tues. March 18 Chapters 65-70
• Sat. March 22: Chapters 71-78
• Tues. March 25 Chapters 79-85
• Sat. March 29: Chapters 86-93 
• Tues. April 1: Chapters 94-100
• Sat. April 5: Chapters 101-107

A gentle reminder that I have a full-time job and can make no promises that everything will stay exactly on track.  I reserve the right to deviate from the above, as fits my schedule. 

This is going to be a very low-key re-read, but I invite anyone to share any insights they have gleaned this time around, especially those that lead to The Hallmarked Man speculation. A

A reminder also that many people find it easier to subscribe and comment on the Substack version of this site. 

Ground rules:

1. Maintain courtesy and civility at all times. I reserve the right to remove any commentary I find derogatory or hurtful to another. Any Anomies will be blocked. 

2. Remain on topic:

• We are here to discuss the books. Mention of other Rowling works, the TV production or any other work of fiction should be relevant to the book under discussion. 
• Same goes for politics. Only Strike's and Robin's political activities are relevant. JKR/RG's do not matter, and neither do mine or yours. Only JKR's tweets regarding the books (e.g. Twitter header pictures that drop hints) should be discussed. 

3. Spoilers are a given for Strikes 1-7. Some readers prefer to avoid all spoilers, including cover blurbs and preview chapters. The Hallmarked Man spoiler warnings will be posted for anything more revealing than an epigraph. 

4. Have fun and allow others to do the same. 

Review of the BBC's The Ink Black Heart, Episode Three: OK, so Yasmin isn't the brains of the operation...

Bad-ass Barclay: Episode Three picks up at the scene of Barclay's motorcycle crash, with Philip Ormand checking out the scene, either to confirm Barclay is dead or to retrieve the phone he just threw in the river, it's not clear. In any case, failing to find Barclay, he apparently assumes the body has spontaneously combusted and  returns to his unlocked car, forgetting to check the back seat when getting in. Real winner of a cop, this one is. Barclay has managed to slip into the back seat, clotheslines Ormand from the back, and calls the police. I really enjoyed him getting a moment of action that he did not get in the book. This was definitely a step up from a plane ride to Scotland and a cup of tea at Nicole Crystal's. 

Fortunately, the police have also been doing their job and it seems Ormand would have found himself arrested soon, even if he hadn't tried to kill Barclay. His interrogation shows the police know about the false detention and the tracer on Edie's phone, as well as the fact that he had gotten possession of it after Edie was attacked and concealed this evidence from police. The attempted murder of Barclay is apparently just gravy. Puzzlingly, Ormand claims to have been passing information to Yasmin for "years"---  how long were he and Edie supposed to have been together, anyway?  Even more interestingly, Robin and Strike are apparently being allowed to watch the interrogation, live on camera, and are able to rule Ormand out as Anomie when the Gamemaster shows up to demand that Buffypaws attend Comicon. 

The Hallmark Man Publication Date Moved Up: Join me in a 200-day countdown!

 Serious Striker hearts were aflutter this week when the publication date of The Hallmarked Man was moved to one week earlier, on Sept 2, 2025!  I have updated the countdown and hastened in my planning for a 200-day THM Countdown Re-read.  

Last time we were awaiting a book, I re-read the entire series in preparation.  I decided that was a bit much this time, so instead, I am proposing a re-read of the four books I think most likely to connect thematically to The Hallmarked Man, per my double-wedding-band structural model. You can see more details here and here, but the gist of it is, like Harry Potter, the first seven Strike books formed a structured ring with connections between books 3 and 5, 2 and 6 and 1, 4, 7. (See John Granger's work on ring structure for more of this modeling). In addition to the leapfrog pattern which connects the odd-numbered Strike books to each other, and the even-numbered to each other, I hypothesize that the last seven Strike books will form their own 7-part ring.  In addition, Since The Hallmarked Man is book #5 on this second ring, we can expect it to connect to #5 on the first ring, Troubled Blood. 

Under this model, The Hallmarked Man will make connections to all even-numbered books, but especially 2 and 6, plus book 5.  I therefore am going to suggest re-reading those books, with a particular eye toward what has been revealed about The Hallmarked Man via Galbraith's twitter headers, emojis and other hints. In particular, I want to consider the one known epigraph source, Maid of the Silver Sea. 

I propose to start the re-read on February 14th, exactly 200 days before THM publication. With 200 days to cover 4 books, that gives us 50 days per book. Furthermore, I'm going to suggest reading them out of order, starting with the most recent (and one fresh of on our minds thanks to the recent release of the TV show): The Ink Black Heart. So, fittingly, we wll join Strike and Robin at their "first date" at the Ritz on Valentine's Day. Yes, it wll end badly, but Valentine's Days always seem to such in JKR/RG novels. We'll plan to finish with Harty and friends by April 4.

Here's the rest of the plan:  

April 5- May 24:  TIBH's ring-structure twin, The Silkworm. 

May 25-July 14:  Troubled Blood

July 14-September 1: Lethal White

That takes us up to Hallmark Day.  

I'll post more detailed reading schedules later, but my plan is to work through each book over that 50 day period, posting 2-3 days per week. 

I look forward to a great fresh look at the series and thoughtful discussion here. 

Tune in tomorrow for my review of The Ink Black Heart TV show, Part 3.