The Ink Black Heart: Chapters 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.

In Chapter 19. we get to jump straight into Strike and Robin beginning the case together, as they have a debrief in the Tottenham. Their starting points are Drek's Game, which they try unsuccessfully to enter, and North Grove, which Robin proposes to check out undercover as an art class student. They also try their hand at profiling. Wally Cardew emerges as a prime suspect, an impression that is bolstered when they see the disgusting "Cookies" video. Interestingly, Edie's foster sister, Catriona, gets a bit of attention as a potentially useful source, but gets almost no mention for the rest of the book, once Strike determines her job makes her an unlikely choice for Anomie. This chapter ends on quite a cheery note, as Robin gets her flat and Strike gets a perfume-scented hug. 

Chapter 21 gives us a lot of information, as Sam "Tartan Twelve-Inch" Barclay and Cormoran "Sherlock Bigcock" Strike trail their respective targets to the Red Lion and Sun pub and are jointly able to observe the Nils, Seb, Tim and Wally in conversation. 

A few interesting or amusing points:

• Wally assuring Tim Ashcroft that he'd really like the Pen of Justice blog. 
• Nils's complete lack of control over Bram, who seems destined to become the next Dennis Creed. 
• Nils's surprise at Anomie's name, as if he is wondering whether it could be inspired by the window at North Grove.
• Tim Ashcroft's clear nervousness at the prospect of being questioned by the police. 
• Key case information:
• Josh was back at North Grove before the attack.
• The killer is believed to have taken the dossier and Josh's phone. 

The chapter closes with Strike's first sight of Zoe Haigh, and Chapter 22 tells us more about his tracking her to the park and back to her flat.  At first, this seemed to me like a stroke of luck comparable to Strike's finding Samhain Athorn in Clerkenwell, though on re-reading I can see that Zoe's turning up is a bit less coincidental. Still, this strategy of relaxing with a smoke and letting a key person of interest in the case just happen to walk by seems to be paying off for him. Zoe certainly is a pathetic figure in her first appearance, between her size, worn clothes and distress, and it makes perfect sense for Robin to be the one who approaches her. 

Chapters 17, 20 and 23 are chat room chapters. Honestly, I fund chapter 17 one of the hardest upon re-reading; after Morehouse's maturity and reasonableness in the aftermath of Edie's murder, it is painful to see him so manipulated by Anomie, in his Paperwhite disguise, Chapter 20 drops two big clues: 1) Anomie's atypical concern over the #ExhumeLedwell tweeting; he'd be expected to have a good laugh over that. 2) Anomie and Hartella are engaged in some sort of money-making project with "P."  We also learn Anomie is keeping new players out for fear of police. Chapter 23 shows Worm28's sensitive and sometimes overly emotional nature, as she flounces out of the channel twice over perceived insults. I remember being suspicious that she was the goth girl Strike had tailed in the previous chapter, even before we knew Zoe's name. Much is also made of her spelling and punctuation errors here. Morehouse makes it clear he wants Vilepechora and Lord Drek kicked out of the game, but Anomie continues to resist and to distract Morehouse by claiming to have received a picture of Paperwhite. The last interesting tidbit is the banning of someone named Inky501 for asking too much about Anomie; it is possible this was one of the undercover police?

Back on Tuesday with chapters 24-31.