The Ink Black Heart, Chapters 51-57: Maddie has a fit and and Yasmin behaves stupidly. Film at 11.

The steady downward spiral of the Madeline-Strike pairing takes a steep downward turn at the night of  the jewelry launch, where Strike appears to be getting along better with Henry and his toking buddy/ Kosh disciple. Another check in the "good Mummy's boyfriend" column. While I doubt Strike and Robin will have kids of their own, I could see them getting roped into part-time caregiving for Martin and Carmen's baby. It doesn't seem like they are specially good candidates for parenthood; even devoted grandmother Linda seemed less than delighted at the news. We are also told that Martin is considering a career as a long-distance lorry driver; when tracking Angel's dad, Strike described this as a career ideal "for someone keen to avoid his parental responsibilities." which sounds ominous. It's a long shot, but if Strike and Robin find themselves in the position of Ted and Joan, I could see Strike being a good uncle and substitute dad. 

As with the introduction to the Wally and MJ Show, the introduction to Kosh lines that the boys provide to Strike will also prove useful to the case. Unfortunately, given Strike's break-up with Madeline, the boys will likely never find out how useful they've been.  I do love the humor of the moment when Strike replies "I wouldn't count on it" to the question of whether the Kosh strategies work, and Charlotte turns up about a page later. Exhibit A, boys. 

The scene with Madeline in the jewelry shop not only echos Strike's past rows with Charlotte but also Robin's final scene with Matthew, when she infuriates him by taking a phone call from work in the middle of the mayhem. Unfortunately, Strike, who might well have walked away in the rain for good had Madeline not fallen on her face, is gentleman enough to go back, help her up and try again. In this way, it reminded me a bit of Robin being convinced to stay in her marriage by Matthew's sea-borne bacteria illness. The mid-row phone call from Robin not only addresses the second of the "dig up Edie" calls but also initiates the idea for "Venetia" to do another interview as a disguised journalist, this time with Yasmin. After the interruption, both Strike and the Mad-woman are calm enough to make up, but it is clear that, for Strike, at least, this is the beginning of the end.

 Happily, Ms. Featherhead (sorry, that's Weatherhead!) agrees to the interview at the Comic-Con.On the way, Robin shows that her internet sleuth skills she has honed so well tracking Anomie have generalized, as she has uncovered some online evidence of Jago Ross abusing his daughters. This proves fortunate, as it points our heroes in the right direction, prompting them t check out the Ross nannies and the country estate. 

Not only is the Comic-Con event squarely in the middle of the book, it points to Lethal White's Paralympic reception in other ways, with Robin (undercover as Venetia Hall) and Strike arriving together, then, per his suggestion, splitting up to do separate investigations. The evening also shares an encounter and questioning by the police, albeit at the end rather than the beginning and for very different reasons. 

I really liked the red herrings they dropped with the red-headed Inkheart that Yasmin and Robin saw in the cafe, and the guy in the wheelchair at the IBH exhibit, which at least raised the possibility, for the first-time reader,  of Morehouse and Paperwhite making it to the con and meeting up in person. I also hope the other masked Inkheart girl handing out flyers with Zoe was Rachel, and that she was the one Zoe had coffee with. Those two would make good friends; hopefully Robin gets a chance to introduce them during Gus's trial prep. 

Robin's interview with Yasmin turns out to be one of her best ever, as she both gains information and ascertains Yasmin's lack of full honesty. The realization that someone within the game had "groomed" Yasmin into believing he was a famous Black actor was one of her best bits of reasoning to date. Book-Robin gives Yasmin credit for a few more IQ points than TV-Robin, characterizing her as "a bit---definitely credulous" rather than saying, "I think she might actually be that stupid." 

Yasmin also gets to deliver one of the most ironic lines of the series:

I...I don't think any of the fans would have fallen for it, if the Halvening had tried to, like, plant fake stories or whatever? 

This from the woman who both delivered the fake dossier to Josh and let one of them convince her he was a famous actor who found her attractive. 

This section also includes two moderator chats.  The first is one of the most complex in the book: a three-way where, looking back, you see both sides of Anomie and possibly even more sides of Morehouse. We see another Morehouse/Anomie chat, where Morehouse first insists Vilepechora and Lord Drek be kicked out, then turns a bit more thoughtful, pointing out that Drek's game can't last forever and making it clear that he has grown up while Anomie has not. At the same time as Anomie is apparently trying to smooth things over with his friend, his alter-ego Paperwhite is laying a trap to test Morehouse's loyalty, and emotionally manipulates him into declaring love. In the third private channel, we learn that Morehouse has emailed Fiendy, falsely accusing her of telling Paperwhite about his disability, and refuses to forgive the teenage for her foolish jokes of a year before. It is sad to think that this is their last conversation, and they will never get a chance to make up. 

The final moderator chat is Lord Drek berating Anomie for the attack on his brother, and Anomie, fully confident that his online disguise is impenetrable, first taunts, then bans him. 

Up for Saturday:  The birth of Phyllis, the visit to Josh and the return of Uncle Grunt. 

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