The Running Grave Initial Read-Through Part 1: Spoilers for Chapters 1-16

 I started to listen to the audiobook as of 8 this morning, with a cup of Yorkshire tea and a slice of coffee-walnut cake to go with it, I went straight to chapter 11 to finish that up, but with plasns to backtrack and listen to Robert Glenister's brilliant narration from the start.  A reminder that all post headings will contain the chapters included in the spoiler warnings, and everything with any TRG spoilers will be written in Blue Text. Please no spoilers past Chapter 16 in the comments. 

As always, Robert Glenister's narrations are spot on. He is pronouncing Edensor "Enzor." I thought he did a particularly good job of making Papa J's voice sound mesmerizing. And, was it just me or is Lucy's Cornish accent stronger this time around? 

 I thought I might have trouble forcing myself back to the beginning, but Strike's stupid move (Dammit, Strike!) in accepting a date with Bijou--aka, as the Strike and Ellacott Podcast ladies call her, "Cherry-flavored Charlotte" (Madeline was "Diet Charlotte")-- But, my idea of the threesome: Lorelei, Madeline and Bijou somehow being Strike's "Three Jewels" seems to be a bit more likely. But, sheesh, did renouncing Satan take off a few dozen of Strike's IQ points? After all the good he's done for his leg over the past 8 months, he's going to risk damage to it for the sake of a quickie with someone like.....  HER??  And then, a second date with the creature just ot spite Robin and Ilsa? It appears our worst fears about the Mad-woman (including pregnancy and even possible "spurgling") may be coming coming to fruition in the notorious Bijou. 

One line that jumped out at me from my first listen through the Prologue was Will's line, "You are the one trying to exercise undue influence."  "Undue influence" is the term Hassan prefers to "mind-control" in more recent editions of Combating Cult Mind Control, though, interestingly enough, this is a change that was listed as occurring in the 2018 edition, so may not have been as common in the version Strike read. 

I was also struck that Charlotte's presence continues to loom; and she, who is known for monochrome dress, is suddenly wearing red. Strike too, has noted the glassy look, but is assuming she is on drugs of some sort. And, I must admit, I think there was a missed opportunity for humor when Sir Colin kept apologizing for the family's outbursts at the club. A less discreet man than Stike might have pointed out that, when he said, "We've seen far worse" he meant the Edensors' "friends of old," the Chiswells. 

The other thing I noticed is that Strike, who seems to have a lot of disdain for people who fall into cultic traps. seems not to apply the same judgement to Leda, even as his anger at her grows. Several of the same attributes described in Will (and attributed to his autism) also turn up in Leda, including extreme naivete and inability to recognize evil. 

Chalk up one correct guess: Lucy was sexually abused in the cult. Chapter 11 was undoubtedly the most powerful Lucy-Strike interaction we have seen to date, even more so than their Jeep journey through floodwaters to Joan's deathbed. There was a lot to unpack here, but what struck me was how protective Cormoran was of his sister, even at the tender age of eight (or so we thought---  see timeline for the monkey wrench thrown in to this assumption) These were responsibilities no child should have to bear. It is interesting that, though Strike was apparently actively keeping Lucy away from the Crowther brothers, it was Dr. Coates that brutally violated her. So, we know that at least one of the "Prophets" that the UHC members are supposed to worship was a pedophile. 

This is potentially a huge shift in Lucy and Strike's relationship. I think the saddest part was hearing Lucy say she could never be a good mother to daughters because of what happened to her. Before, he had seen her clinging to her normal PTA-mom, magnolia-tree-in-the-front-yard and shiny new coffeemaker from LucyandGreg life as an indicator of her being less courageous than Robin; now he sees it as a different kind of courage. I wrote five years ago that I thought Strike needed to learn appreciation and reach peace with his biological family before he can be a good romantic partner to any woman, including Robin.  Between this opening up with Lucy and his healthy relationship with Prudence, I think he is on his way. I'm glad Lucy's happy about Strike forming a relationship with a Rokeby half-sister. Now... we need to find out what Whittaker really did to her. 

I haven't seen Hail, Caesar!, the film Ryan and Robin were planning to attend before their first row foiled their plans, but interestingly, it is about a movie star abducted by a group of Communists and indoctrinated into their beliefs. That sounds like both Will's first foray into criminal behavior and the UHC's tendency to recruit famous celebrities. 

We have the very odd, Easter Monday appearance in the office of Silent Clive Littlejohn, whose "jingle" sounds like he has a key he shouldn't have. This clearly sets off alarm bells in Strike, but unfortunately they are drowned out by Strike's own libido-bells, as he gets distracted by his jealousy over Robin having the audacity to get a phone call from the man she's dating and Ilsa has the audacity to be concerned about him sleeping with the only woman in London crazier than Madeline and Charlotte. Robin chooses to ignore him like the "truculent" toddler he's being. If Strike isn't careful he'll wind up with a truculent toddler of his own. 

Through Robin's interview, we meet another pair that carried over from the Aylmerton Community to the UHC: Brian and Sheila Kennett, although it does not appear they were involved in pedophilia. Shelia also spills the beans that Strike. Leda and Lucy were part of Aylmerton, which Robin, as I suspected, did not know. I wonder what her react to Strike will be about that omission. We also learn that Ann, Mazu's mother, was only 14 when she gave birth, and left the commune soon thereafter. Interestingly, Sheila does not answer when asked who looked after Mazu. 

 I did laugh out loud, as I listened to the audiobook of Capter 16 before I read it. and heard Sheila's mispronounciation of "Condoman Strike" as "Condiment Strike."  

Names

Sheila:  This looks like a good name with a double meaning, for the cross-wearing, elderly former UHC member Robin has been asked to interview 

Sheila is a feminine name of Irish and Latin origin. Coming from the Irish name Síle, it translates to “blind one,” a unique choice is baby’s spirit is like a bright, blinding light. Sheila also comes from the Latin name Celia, which means “heavenly.” 

Once enthralled by the commune, but now seeing the evil in their so-called religion, Sheila seems to fit the words of the great hym: "'Twas blind, but now I see." 

Kennett: "fire-born" or "good-looking"   Other than Sheila's attractiveness as a young bride, it is not clear what this could mean.

Fergus: "top choice" or "strong one."  This name could fit the journalist. who seems. at the very least. a better choice of journalistic ally than Dominic Culpepper and strong enough to stand up to the threats of the UHC, even writing a second article about how the church retaliated against him for the first article. 

Robertson: "bright fame"  Fergus seems to aspire to fame, in that he wants to write another exposé of the UHC. 

Cherie: "Darling"  Ironic, since she was hardly a "darling" of the UHC after she was blamed for Daiyu's drowning death. 

Gittins: "Dusky, dark, rough or unkempt".  Until we know more about Cherie, it is hard to say what this could indicate. Given that she has not been heard of since 1995, she. like Diedre, could well be dead. 

Niamh: "Bright, radiant, or daughter of the sea god." This is the oldest of the Doherty children and the only one, so far, who has not refused to speak to Strike. The name contrasts to the "unlucky" of her family's surname and is yet another example of a connection to a sea god in the names associated with the cult. 

Ralph: He was described as "aggressively" refusing to speak to Strike, which fits with "wolf." 

Abigail: She is apparently no longer her father's joy, as she has left the church and is now using her drowned mother Jennifer's maiden name.  "Little Abigail" was also one named by Sheila as someone "punished" for Daiyu's drowning death. It is also interesting, given the mythological connections within the series, that her firefighter profession is connected to "siren."

Glover:  Glovemaker or -seller.  The maiden name of Jennifer Wace and now Abigail's surname. Another "seller" associated with Chapman ("Peddler") farm. 

Flora: "Flower" or a Roman goddess of springtime. Unclear what this could mean at this point. 

Brewster: "Brewer of beer." Ironic for someone in a teetotaling cult. 

Howston: "Son of Hugh".  Hugh means soul, mind, or intellect.  This was apparently the surname of Flora Brewster's grandfather. who build shoddy homes. 

Henry: "House ruler" Flora's boyfriend who introduced her to the cult but did not stay himself. 

Worthington: "Farmstead estate" or "fenced farm."  Add the hyphenated "Fields" to Henry's name and you get something ironic, for someone who did not stay on the farm-based cult. 

Brian:  Strong. Shelia's husband, he certainly wasn't strong by the end of his time in the UHC. 

Ann:  "Grace" or "Graciousness"  Mazu's mother. who gave birth at 14 and left the Aylmerton commune shortly thereafter. 

Paul: "Small, humble" Apparently cognitively impaired., nicknamed "Dopey" in the UHC and among those blamed and punished for Daiyu's death. 

Draper:  Cloth-maker or seller. Another "seller" associated with Chapman ("Peddler") farm

Timeline

Monkey-wrench alert!  It is well-known that JKR/RG is not good with timelines, but in Chapter 11 we hit what is either the worst timeline gap in the series, or an intentional retcon. The first mention of the commune in CC  gave us a way of dating the tine of the family's stay:

...the dank dormitory of the commune in Norfolk to which his mother had dragged him and one of his half-sisters when they were eight and six respectively.

No subsequent mention of the commune in books 4. 5 or 6 has given us reason to question this initial characterization. I have always assumed the family was in the commune before the Blakely Prep era for the following reasons:

• We know Strike was born in November 1974, given the ages he was given at his birthday celebration in The Silkworm and his statement in TB that Margot Bamborough's disappearance occured in the year of his own birth. 
• One of the few exact dates we have in the series is Charlie Bristow's death in the quarry: April 3rd, 1983.
• Strike would have been 8 at the time, given his birthday was not until November. 
• Lucy and Cormoran have been assumed to be  about 15-18 months apart in age, given that Lucy is said to be 19 when Leda died in December 1994,  
• Cormoran would have been 20 then, and Lucy is 19 if you round up---closer to her spring 1995 19th birthday than 18.  
• Strike describes the dormitory he slept in at the commune as "dank."  While I suppose Norfolk could be chilly at any time of year, I would think this term would be more likely to be used in the winder than the spring or summer,  it would have been if Lucy and Strike  were taken to the commune after Charlie's Easter death. 
• All together, these statements have had me believing. for more than four years, that the approximate Norfolk commune stay was most likely August 82-Feb 83;  with May-December 1983 as a second choice.

However, in Chapter 11 JKR/RG dropped what is, for me, a bit of a bombshell, via Lucy, when she pushed her brother to remember Mazu:

Something shifted in Strike's memory. He saw a pair of very brief shorts, a thin halter-neck top and straggly. dark, slightly greasy hair. He'd been twelve; his hormones hadn't yet reached the adolescent peak at which the slightest sign of unsupported breasts caused uncontainable, sometimes mortifyingly visible, excitement.

Twelve????? This is a huge change of approximately four years in the timeline, making the commune stay sometime around mid-to-late 1986, and their departure likely only weeks before the Crowthers' arrest, rather than the several years I had concluded before. This makes sense, given that Lucy is remembering Mazu as 15-16, rather than the 11-12 Mazu would have been in 1983. It also makes it far more credible that Mazu was a knowing party to the sexual abuse of younger children, rather than being only an innocent victim of the Crowthers. It also makes me wonder if Strike's actions will lead to Lucy herself eventually having to give evidence in court about the abuse she suffered, not at age six but at 10-11, a age for which it would be harder for a defense attorney to discredit her testimony. 

I'm glad we have a timeline that makes sense for this particular story, but, I must say, considering that all of these dates regarding Cormoran's childhood are clues not just for the Will Edensor case, but also for the overarching mystery of the series--who killed Leda?-- it doesn't seem quite fair to rewrite history that has been established literally since the start of the series. What's next?  Will Shumba's homeschooling efforts and Ted's rescue of the kids from Brixton turn out to have happened when Cormoran was 13, instead of 9?  Will baby Switch Levay Bloom Whittaker be erased from existence?  The mind boggles. 

Another more minor error/retconn:  Chapter 12 says Leda died when Strike was 19; always before it has been 20.

Harry Potter Echoes

A lonely old memory-addled lady in a shabby house ready to spill her secrets?  Sheila seems to provide a counterpart to Bathilda Bagshot. Only. so far, no signs of secretly being a corpse-inhabiting snake. Who is acting more like the snake-corpse is Littlejohn, who seems to turn up at a suspicious time and speak in monosyllables just as Bathilda did at Godric's Hallow. 

Ring Structure

As the Strike and Ellacott Files Podcast predicted, we are seeing a lot of echoes to Troubled Blood:

• There are references to real-life severe weather events (Cornwall floods-Storm Katie) and political movements (Scottish independence-Brexit). 
• Kevin Pirbright also evokes Anna Phipps' confusion about her parentage and tendency as a child to accept explanations about family relationships that, in retrospect, don't make sense. 
• The Frank One & Two stalkers seem like more sinister versions of TB's Postcard, a case the agency also got because the acts were not sufficiently threatening to get enough police attention.
• Shelia Kennett automatically thinks of Robin's name as masculine, just like Gloria Conti's husband did. 
• Dr. Zhou's clinic in Belgravia sounds a lot like Symonds House
• Brian Kennett has the same first name as Brian Tucker. 

Literary Alchemy

With "cold rain" hitting Strike on his way to Lucy's, to her boys running around in their wellies in the back garden to Robin fighting her way to the office in Storm Katie, we've got a lot of rain. Interestingly, while Easter previously (DH and TB) has signalled transition from albedo to rubedo, we see little sign of that here.