The Hallmarked Man Real-time Re-Read, Chapters 105-106: "There's a bunch of stuff you don't know..."

Yes, they actually make
these door knockers.

Cormoran Strike, desperate to stop Culpepper's exposè on his affair with Bijou, is forced  to do the one thing he hoped never to do: seek out help from his father, Jonny Rokeby.  Note that Rokeby's middle name, Leonard, is another pointer to a lions in this book, as is the name of his drummer and childhood friend, Leo. 

Chapter 105 tops many people's lists of favorite part of The Hallmarked Man.  For me, the Spaghetti on Sark narrowly edges this out for the top spot, but it certainly comes close. The alienation Strike feels from his rock star father is evident at the very beginning. 

The townhouse outside which Strike arrived half an hour later was tall and white, with columns either side of the glossy black front door. When he got close enough to see it, he saw that instead of the standard lion’s head, the brass door knocker was in the shape of an electric guitar. Strike chose to ring the bell.

I think all of us, Strike included, were surprised at how nice Rokeby was, enough that Strike agrees to meet him for another beer sometime in the future. He has a lawyer on speed-dial that is apparently quite used to squashing lying journalists like beetles and is willing to go to work instantly for Strike with no retainer, contract or agreement of payment. I had earlier stated that one goal of this re-read is to look for connections between Cuckoo's Calling and The Hallmarked Man, which are predicted by double-leapfrog patterns but not by the Double Wedding Band model. It has long been my position that the power and privilege of wealth and fame are the Strike series equivalent to magic* in the Harry Potter world, and that Strike, like Harry, is caught between the "magical" community to which his father (and Charlotte) belong, and the more mundane world of his mother's family. Here, we see another example of that power, where a single phone call can magically make all of Strike's tabloid troubles disappear. 

While waiting for the lawyer to call back, Strike and his father have a chance to drink some no-alcohol beers and enjoy some delicious sandwiches, courtesy of Tala, the housekeeper. More importantly. they have their first conversation in 24 years, and Strike does indeed learn some new information, though more about Leda and her relationship with Rokeby than about "all her fuckin' men." I have a couple of lists compiled for this chapter: first, the parts that really tugged at the heartstrings and supplied us with at least some of the "stuff" Strike has never known and second, some signs that make me worry that Rokeby may never get that second beer with his eldest son. So, I'll start with 10 good reasons to love this chapter. 

The Hallmarked Man Real-time Re-Read., Chapters 101-104; An Eventful Monday.

As is typical during the last 10-15% of a Strike book, the action starts to pick up considerably. Case in point is this Monday, March 7th. We've already had Strike heading out early to avoid Robin, Strike and Robin snapping at each other on the phone and the restoration of Cormoranda to the main fish tank. Before the day is over, Strike will have traveled to Hereford, Yeovil and back to London, spoken to three different people about the case, heard from Fergus Robertson about Culpepper's latest screed and been forced to have his first meeting with Jonny Rokeby in 24 years. Robin, for her part, will watch Plug, drive to interview Faber Whitehead, fight off an attacker in the car and have a lengthy visit to the police station. This is a very full day. 

The Hallmarked Man Real-time Re-read, Chapters 99-100: Potential in-laws and a tiny, sparkling shackle.

Dammit, it's just not fair. Ted and Joan would have made delightful boyfriend's parents/potential in-laws, but they died before Robin could even meet them. Instead, she's gotten stuck with first the Cunliffes and now the Murphys: a persnickety mother and a loud-mouthed lush of a father. Plus, most likely horrible aunts, too. We all remember Auntie Sue from the wedding; if Strike and Robin are going to solve a Yorkshire murder next book, I continue to nominate her for the victim. Although we haven't met Mrs. Murphy's sister, she presumably knew were coming to stay with her and didn't warn RFM, so I don't think much of her, either. 

But, I must say, I like the opening sentence of Chapter 99:

Several things happened in quick succession the following morning to thoroughly destabilise Robin.

This could be the epigraph for the entire book. 

Which Came First, the Title or the Song? Could the Cocteau Twins hit have inspired Sleep Tight Evangeline?

An anonymous reader on an earlier post (who is welcome to message me if they want me to credit them!) pointed out another "Evangeline" song, this one by the Scottish group the Cocteau Twins, that was a big hit in Portugal in 1993, when JKR lived there.  At the risk of being unpatriotic, the song is much more to my taste than The Whiskey Shambles' "Sleep Tight, Evangeline"

The Hallmarked Man Real-time Re-read, Chapters 96-98: Terrible Dino, lying Robin and a possible justification for taking on Mrs. Two-times as a client.

Chapter 96 picks up the next day (Tuesday, Feb 28th) with the news of the murders.

News of the murders of Jim Todd and his mother hit the London Evening Standard the following day. To Strike’s relief, his presence at the scene wasn’t mentioned.

 RFM and Robin finally meet again on this same day; she (ugh!) agrees not to leave him but the house-hunting is on hold pending the "rebuilding of trust." Interestingly, RFM may well be lying even in the midst of this reconciliation talk.

The Hallmarked Man Real-Time Re-Read, Chapters 93-95: Sleepless in London and a full English breakfast.

I love the Strike-messing-with-the-Met chapters (see also Books 2, 4 and 6) and the Chapter 93 interrogation is no exception. 

Strike’s professional life had more often seen him as interrogator rather than interrogated, but in recent years he’d found himself on the uncomfortable end of a police interview far more often than he’d have liked. 

"Oo's grassed?" said Shanker furiously: Are seeds for a Sleep Tight, Evangeline plotline being planted at Barnaby's ?

One of the relatively successful guesses I made prior to The Hallmarked Man was that the Arsehole Cricketer case would really enrage Dominic Culpepper, which would result in retaliatory journalism that would necessitate Strike making contact with his father. True, I thought the scandalous story would involve Leda, not Bijou, (perhaps trying to implicate Rokeby, Strike or both in her death) and that Rokeby and Strike would have to team up because they both had a reason to block publication, but I was still close.  During this most recent re-read, I am seeing what could be hints for a future plotline, one that I think could bring disaster, or even tragedy, to everyone's favorite career-criminal-with-a-heart-of-gold, Shanker.