The Running Troubled Blood: Connections between Strike Books 5 and 7.

 The Strike and Ellacott Files Podcast made notes of many connections between Lethal White and The Ink Black Heart and, accordingly, predicted connections between Troubled Blood and The Running Grave. There were certainly plenty.  I've mentioned quite a few as I've blogged through, and I'm putting together this post to compile more. Spoilers below. 

1. Both books have Lucy and Strike dealing with health problems of their Nancarrow relatives in St. Mawes, and struggling with how to best manage their care from London
2. Polworth says "Bit of a fucker, this," when texting Strike about Charlotte's death. We had learned in TB that he said the same thing when Strike's leg was blown off, and Strike recalls that, too. 
3. We have to assume Robin thought of Margot Bamborough when she was locked in the box. 
4. Prudence contacts Strike for the first time in TB and tells him that building a relationship with Rokeby has been challenging. She tells Robin more about that relationship in TRG. 
5. We have references to real-time severe weather events (Cornwall floods, Storm Katie).
6. We have references to real-time political separatist events (Scottish independence, Brexit). 
7. Both Kevin Pirbright and Niamh Doherty have similarities to Anna Phipps. 
1. Kevin mentions the confusion about his parentage and his tendency as a child to "go with the flow" when given explanations that didn't make sense.
2. Niamh would like to know whatever happened to her mom. 
1. The missing mother winds up being dead.
8. The Frank stalkers are much more sinister versions of TB's Postcard. Both put items through their target's letterbox. 
9. Sheila Kennent, like Gloria Conti's husband. assumed Robin was a male name. 
10. Dr. Zhou's clinic sounds a lot like Symonds House. 
11. Charlotte threatens/ attempts/ and ultimately commits suicide, calling Strike right before. 
1. Strike tells Charlotte she needs to stay alive for her kids in TB. She doesn't, in TRG, and only gives them one line in the suicide note. 
12. Charlotte told Strike in TB she had never been more jealous than she was of "that girl Robin." She is much more explicit on why she is jealous in her phone messages in TRG.  
1. Charlotte also calls Strike late in the night, while drunk, in both books. 
13. Strike and Robin wind up solving the cold cases of Daiyu Wace and Deidre Doherty, just as they did Margot Bamborough's. 
14. Strike handles two suspects with "kid gloves"--  Janice, who he acknowledged, and Abigail, who Robin points out,  and they turn out to be the killers (Thanks, Elizabeth C.)
15. Lots of chocolate! Robin is sent some to sustain her at Chapman Farm, then gets éclairs from his her parents. Little Qing is in heaven over chocolate biscuits in the office. 
1. There is also bad stuff disguised as chocolates: Janice's poison gifts to Margot and Strike, and the porn polaroids in the chocolate biscuit tin. 
16. Strike hires a new subcontractor at the start of the each book who turns out to be trouble. 
1. Near the beginning of the book, Robin tells Strike Pat likes one (Morris) but doesn't like the other (Littlejohn). (Hat-tip to The Strike and Ellacott files). 
2. Both suck up to Strike by calling him "boss."
3. Both get in trouble and are warned early one, Morris for not respecting Robin's authority as partner, Littlejohn for leaving his employment with Patterson off his resume. 
4. When confronted about their bad behavior (Morris by Robin for the dick pic, Littlejohn by Strike for spying for Patterson), they both cry about how much they need the job, with specific reference to their kids, and promise to be good from now on. 
5. When they are finally fired, both they curse and say "You can't do that!" but of course, Strike can and does. 
   
17. After Cherie's interview, Strike and Robin retreat to eat and discuss how she seemed to be recalling things and what in her behavior indicated lies. This is a lot like what they do after the first Janice/Irene interview. 
18. The first public glimpse of Charlotte after her suicide attempt in TB was with her sister Amelia. Amelia follows up with Strike after Charlotte's suicide in TRG. 
19. Robin offers support to people having miscarriages in both books. 
20. Steve and Jenny have their first baby in TB and Robin learns they are expecting a second here. 
21. Paul Satchwell hoped Margot would "melt" over the Valkyrie Viking figure; Jonathan Wace thought Abigail would "melt" over the childhood pet name "Popsicle."
22. The scene where Strike goes alone to confront Abigail, and has the police show up at the end of the long explanation was very similar to his visit to Janice at the end of TB. 
23. Both books have blonde drowning victims who were killed by being deliberately held underwater: Julie Wilkes and Deidre Doherty.
1. Both murders occurred years ago. 
2. Both were witnessed or strongly suspected by people who did not go public for years. 
24. Lucy and Strike have a huge row when he disparages two of her children and she disses Leda in TB. They grow closer in this book, with Strike telling her he's a good mom, bringing presents to all three kids (not just Jack) and acknowledging that Leda was not a fit mother. 
25. Shanker meets Strike while buying gifts for his stepdaughter Zahara in TB, and and he meets Strike to give Angel a more important gift (a visit with her biological father) in TRG. 
26. Joan asks Strike why he's never married in TB; Shanker asks why he never had kids in TRG. 
27. Strike is looking for a good care facility for Ted in TRG. He found a good one, St. Peter's, in TB, but probably does not want to consider it, given that he would likely run into Mucky Ricci's family during visiting hours. 
28. When Sir Colin apologizes for his son's outburst at the initial interview, Strike says they have seen worse. The Phipps family comes to mind. 
29. Pat, when first introduced in TB, is described as looking 10 years older than she was. She is described in the same way at the start of TRG, and later we learn that she is actually 10 years older than she claimed. 
30. Concerns about subcontractors getting too close to clients (Morris, Midge). 
31. Reconciliation of Edensor family at the end is similar to final meeting with the Phipps. 
32. Toy Boy was pretty much the opposite of Twinkletoes. An adult child worried about parent with gold-digger lover, versus a father worried about an adult daughter with gold-digger lover. 
33. The drugged beverages the children were given on the night of Daiyu's disappearance were called "special drinks," just like Kevin Beatty's poisoned concoctions. Kevin Pirbright also recalls being drugged, so we have two potential Kevins in that situation. 
34. Lucy unknowingly echoes Joan's dying words when she expresses pride in Strike for helping people. 
35. Robin has to clarify that she is speaking about one of Strike's Rokeby half-siblings:  When she calls him in TB to tell him Al is in the office, he asks "Al who?' "Your brother Al!" In TRG, to tell him she had dinner with Prudence and he remains silent, she clarifies "Your sister Prudence." 
36. The line, "a choice that really was no choice at all" line appears in both books .  In TB, it refers to Steve Diouthwaite having to finally acknowledge that he cowardly kept quiet about Janice Beatty being a potential killer. In TRG, it refers to Robin bravely agreeing to "the box." 
37. Strike buys his nephews identical toy weapons that shoot foam projectiles. 
38. In the aftermath of the meeting with Flora and Will, therapist Prudence ("That was a massive breakthrough for Flora. I've never seen her like that before.") sounds a lot like therapist Kim in the aftermath of the Phipps interview. ("That was close to a miracle, he's never talked about Margot that way").
39. The Shift and the Franks cases both turn out to be three-person jobs, and strain the agency's resources. 

As always, comments and further suggestions welcome.