Once upon a time, a fine fake-leather Sofa served a Denmark Street detectives' office, enthusiastically cheering on the PIs every time it was sat upon. Tragically, following some minor bomb damage, the Sofa was discarded by its owners. Happily, some cash-strapped Professors rescued it from the trash bin and, after a lot of TLC and adhesive vinyl, the Sofa was reborn. It now provides posterior respite for Faculty and Guests discussing their favorite books, film and television programs.
Monday, September 8, 2025
Collection of errors seen in The Hallmarked Man (Whole book spoilers)
Sunday, September 7, 2025
The Hallmarked Man Part 8: Spoilers to Chapter 105
The Hallmarked Man Part 7: Spoilers in Chapter 1-92.
Saturday, September 6, 2025
The Hallmarked Man, Part 6. Spoilers for chapters 1-80.
The Hallmarked Man Part 5: Spoilers for Chapters 1-68
Thursday, September 4, 2025
The Hallmarked Man: Part 4: Spoilers for Chapters 1-56.
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
The Hallmarked Man, Part 3: Spoilers for Chapters 1-41.
I remember Galbraith saying once that Charlotte's death was originally planned for Book 8. That may explain why there is so much focus on her family and her history--- I really wish we could move on from her. This additional backstory about Charlotte would have been more interesting when she was alive.
A lot of people predicted a major row with Linda and Robin, and it certainly happened. I'm not sure anything was resolved, though. Nor did we see if they reconciled. Finally, I think Linda is re-writing history a bit. In CoE she seemed to, if anything, be encouraging Robin to stay with the Flobberworm.
Well, my prediction of a Christmas from hell certainly came through in spades. We can see another indication of Strike and Robin's compatibility and she recalls the whiskeys with Strike. Drinking with Strike when she's stressed out helps; drinking without him does not.
The Hallmarked Man, Part 2: Spoilers for chapters 1-30.
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
The Hallmarked Man Ch 1-13 spoilers: Epigraphs and the client's family tree.
More from the Books-a-Million preview. (For my initial impressions, see here.)
If you are like me, all the relationships the new client was trying to explain got a bit confusing, so I put together a family tree that I think is correct. I also want to talk about the new epigraph sources we have.
Monday, September 1, 2025
The Hallmarked Man Part 1 Preview: Spoilers through Chapters 1-13
I finally got access to a longer English preview yesterday via the Books-a-Million site (click on "Look Inside:" if you want to see). I spent yesterday poring over the first 13 chapters, or most of part 1. Wow! Do not proceed if you don't want spoilers. I am staying off social media now, as there are later-book spoilers floating around-- apparently some bookstores are a bit careless about putting them out before the official date. I ask all readers to observe the warning in the post header and not post comments with spoilers beyond Chapter 13.
I actually enjoyed being able to read the section through twice. Maybe I will try to discipline myself into doing that for the rest of the book, to savor the experience. Of course, that's what I said with TRG and that resolve evaporated after Charlotte died.