Troubled Blood Chapters 28-33: Have Yourself a Lousy Little Christmas

One of the Hallmarked Man hints we have gotten from Twitter is that Dean Martin's "Silver Bells" will be significant, which, along with the hypothesized dates (late 2015 to at least February 2016) makes us think we will be celebrating Christmas with our favorite detectives in Book 8. I am really hoping it will be a happier holiday than we have seen before. In The Silkworm, we saw the lead-up to Christmas, including Strike buying revenge gifts for his nephews and Timothy Anstis, and even decorated a tree with Kath and Pippa. Our heroes were heading off to presumably enjoyable holidays with their families in St. Mawes and Masham at the end, but we don't see the celebration itself.  In The Ink Black Heart, Christmas itself was glossed over, with Strike going to St. Mawes but Robin volunteering to stay in London. Though we get to see how they spend New Years, we don't see any Yuletide festivities of the team in London or learn what our heroes got each other for presents. 

So far, the only time we have actually seen a Christmas Day is in Troubled Blood, and, frankly, it sucks for both of them, with Strike and Robin physically apart and both miserable for their own reasons. I was really hoping Robin would dump Ryan at the start of THM, and Christmas would see the start of them as a couple, but given the cover blurb, that seems unlikely. But, I am guessing that, as in TB, we'll see some sort of drama on the day itself. Maybe Murphy will surprise Robin with an engagement ring in her stocking?  Perhaps Ted, who will likely be residing in a London care home,  will spill some Strike, Nancarrow or Rokeby secret over a turkey dinner at Lucy's? At the very least, I hope Pat will be handing out tins of her famous fruitcake. 

In any case, barring the discovery of a body under the tree or one of the team getting shot by a disgruntled elf, it will be hard to have a worse holiday than Christmas 2013. 

Chapter 28: Robin's holiday starts off on the wrong foot. She takes a long trip back to the office on the afternoon before she leaves for Masham, and not only does not get to view the Talbot film. but also is disappointed with Strike's gift to her, after she went to lots of trouble to get him rare Tom Waits DVD's. On the train to Yorkshire, a toddler is wailing and she finds the Joni Mitchell album, Court and Spark, more disquieting than relaxing. Upon arrival, her mother gives her the news that the Flobberworm and his Flowerbomb Floozie are also in Masham for the holiday. This leads to more annoying conversation about the divorce and why it isn't settled yet. Even meeting her niece for the first time can't undo the distress all this is causing Robin; indeed, the "baby circus" seems to be taking over the house. She retreats to her childhood bedroom in a state of "exhausted misery." 

Chapter 29: Strike is no less miserable, holed up in his attic knocked flat with a flu bug that is lasting way longer than he thought it would. On Christmas Eve, only Pat is left to bring him the presents and cards that have been sent to the office, along with the film and film projector, and a couple of tubs of hot chicken soup she fetched from nearby Chinatown. He is grateful enough to send her a thank-you text. On Christmas Day, he feels well enough to clean himself up, change the sheets and get some work done, primarily completing on his summary of Talbot's notebook, which he will email to Robin. He cooks himself a stir-fry with some slightly old chicken and vegetables, then eats a few chocolates that he received as a Christmas present. He decides to set up the projector and view the film, which turns out to be a snuff film in which a young hooded woman with a scar down her side is gang-raped and murdered. Strike immediately rushes to the bathroom and throws up. Of course, he blames the chicken...

Chapter 30: Back to Masham.  Things are still sucking for Robin. The family is driving her so crazy that, by Boxing Day, she's decided listening to Joni Mitchell is not so bad after all. She's sick of the baby circus and was kept up most of the night by her niece squalling. Her major gift from her mom is a new perfume the she calls a "boring floral antiseptic." She becomes aware that rumors are circulating around Masham that she was unfaithful to the Flobberworm. Robin resents both her mother's clean smelling gift, which she speculates is to counteract the stench of adultery and the passive-aggressive queries about her relationship with Strike. She is aggravated by Strike's work email both because it neglects any holiday niceties and because she feels insulted that he has added himself to some of the witnesses she hasn't been able to track down yet. In Strike's defense, he also added her to his equally elusive Douthwaite, so I don't think he was suggesting anything other than enhanced cooperation.

We see one of the clearest parallels to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Robin, in an effort to save face by making her family think she's seeing someone, starts texting with the arrogant and slimy Saul Morris while downing lots of drink. This is very much like Hermione trying to make Ron think she is seeing someone else by going to the Slug Club Christmas party with the arrogant and slimy Cormac McLaggen. Just as Hermione regrets that choice when Cormac tries to corner her under the mistletoe, Robin regrets it when Morris won't shut down the conversation and sends her a dick pic. She winds up telling him off in the frigid back yard, with only Rowntree for comfort. 

While Part Three ends on a low note for both our heroes, things start looking up in Part Four, as the narrative passes from the nigredo stage to the albedo.  Strike is finally able to travel to St. Mawes to see Joan in early January. Chapter 31 shows us the best visit he has ever had with her, when he is finally able to communicate with her honestly and, most importantly, proves to be the only person in whom Joan can confide her funeral and burial wishes. After Strike gets his first-ever message from his half-sister and fellow Rokeby bastard, Prudence, Joan urges him to go to Rokeby's anniversary party saying, cryptically "I know what went on.... I think your father is at the heart of...of a lot of things." 

In Chapter 32, Robin should be getting over her feelings of inadequacy that Strike's Christmas email provoked, as she fills Strike in on the "bloody good work" she has gotten done on the case while he's away, including securing an interview with Cynthia Phipps, locating Gloria Conti (now Mary Jaubert) in France, and identifying the speeding van from the night Margot disappeared as a Whole Foods delivery vehicle. And she has this entire conversation while tailing Elinor Dean and noting her purchase of baby supplies. Strike, for his part, has a phone conversation with Greg Talbot Mucky Ricci and reports, to Greg's horror, that the film was a snuff film and had to be given to the police. 

More good news comes in Chapter 33, with the Whole Food van confirmed, and Robin finally able to go home and get some rest in the form of a relaxing bubble bath. We get some more background on Creed from her reading of The Demon of Paradise Park, then Max arrives home with the very good news of his new job on a BBC series, playing an Army veteran. They enjoy a champagne toast, and Robin agrees to invite Strike for dinner so Max can learn more about playing an ex-soldier. Before going to sleep, Robin has an idea on how they might change the Ministry of Justice's mind about letting Strike interview Dennis Creed.

Tune in on Thursday for Phun with the Phamily Phipps. 

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