The Hallmarked Man, Part 6. Spoilers for chapters 1-80.

While the aggravation I am feeling for Strike and Robin continues for much of this section, it is Robin now that seems to be making the most serious mistakes: getting an offer accepted on a house, telling Linda they are moving in together and continuing to avoid outings with Strike. The conversation with Murphy in the gastropub makes it clear she loves the job more than him. And she feels relief when the house falls through?  She's explicitly connecting the feelings from her Flobberworm days, but going on despite her doubts, yet again.  

This pattern of Strike dropping hints, hoping Robin will respond, and Robin wondering what he means without bothering to ask questions is getting old, and after the increasing closeness they've achieved over the last three books, seems out of character for both. Thanks to a negative paternity test, a savage dog and Strike nearly burning his eyes out with pepper spray, things are perking up by the end, so we can hope the Sark trip will help put things right with Strike and Robin. But then, we hoped that would happen with the Christmas bracelet, too. 

Between Carmen's drinking while pregnant and the clearly volatile relationship, I think someone else will have custody of baby Dirk before book's end. 

Fyola Fay (aka Fiona Freeman) is an interesting character, yet another example of a young woman being sexually exploited. 

• Fyola (assuming this is a "kewl" porn star's variant of Fiola) is an Italian term of affection, meaning "little flower" or "petal" but used like "sweetheart" or "darling" might be for English speakers. 
• Fay means "fairy"
• Fiona means "white" or "fair"
• Freeman means, of course, "free man" and is a surname often adopted by people newly freed from slavery.

In addition to having nice albedo connotations, this name is packed with irony for a woman trapped in the porn industry. 

• No one she sleeps with has genuine affection for her.
• Her life is certainly no fairy tale, even if, as she says, the money is good.
• Her existence does not have the light or purity her given name implies. 
• She is, essentially, enslaved, with the men who pimp her out having control over her. 

I was very touched by Strike's concern for Wardle's mental health, but Strike's own flash of nihilism when he visualized throwing himself in front of the bus was surprising. Despite all the albedo names and imagery, the psychological turmoil both Robin and Strike are experiencing is much more nigredo. 

I also noticed it mentioned Wardle trying to be a surrogate father to his brother's children, and even an implication this is one of the factors that put stress on his marriage to April. This reminds us both of Ted and Joan's stepping up as surrogate parents for Cormoran and Lucy. With little Dirk possibly needing surrogate parents in future, I wonder if this could be an issue for Strike and Robin. 

Dogfights!  Ugh....  I wonder if Plug Jr. is going to have to get rabies shots. That would be the usual procedure in the US if someone was bitten by a dog that could not be produced for proof of a rabies vaccine. 

I'm not sure Bijou is the person I would trust to run the paternity tests, but I'm glad it was negative. I hope Bijou and Honbold will be very happy together, though if I were him I'd insist on my own test, under secure conditions. 

Does anyone know if Lord Oliver Branford is based on any real-life British political/ entertainment figure? It is interesting that he compares himself to Richard Gere here, a celebrity with multiple marriages to women who is widely rumored to be secretly gay. 

OK, so Cosima's DNA is in a public ancestry DNA. What do you bet she cried at Sacha's party because he showed her a report saying they are half-siblings?  Given what Decima said about them "feeling like they had known each other in a previous life.." it sounds like there could be a subconscious connection.  Ugh...  I really hope I'm wrong on this. 

With any luck, Decima will turn out to not be a Longcaster, so little Lion will not be a product of incest.

Cosima's interest in true crime is also notable. Her name means "order" "harmony" or "the universe."  Wouldn't her universe be rocked to the core if she learned she was Jolanda?  Or if her family is embroiled in an incest scandal?

Murphy is being a jerk, but he is right about Robin's lack of honesty and acting as if she wants to keep things temporary. 

Connections to even-numbered books: 

The Silkworm:

• Killer again mentioned as someone who spent time with corpse, cutting it up and dissecting it. 

Lethal White:

• .Reference to the Flobberworm's intercepting Robin's phone messages when she talks to Fiona.
• Scottish Gateshead is making multiple calls claiming people are after her, much like Billy Knight.
• Robin recalls the ship's captain's house she shared with Matthew when pondering moving in with Ryan, and the feeling of constriction it gave her.  
• Robin's wish to go away someplace to decide what she wants to do reminds us of her agreement to go to the Maldives with Matthew. 

The Ink Black Heart: 

• The carved swan on the temple wall reminds me of the carved pelican headstone in Highgate. 
• Robin is at dinner with Strike wearing her blue dress and opal necklace, same as the Ritz, but with the earrings Murphy gave her added. She spends the meal annoyed with Strike rather than enjoying his company. 

Connections to #5 books.

 Troubled Blood:

• Another example of how damaging the porn/sex industry is for women, even those who are choosing it for themselves. Men are the true beneficiaries of the "sex work is work" attitude, 
• When Strike gets the DNA test results, he recalls only two occasions when he has felt similar relief. One was his safe arrival at Joan's deathbed. 
• Strike's accidental injury with two eyes swollen shut and Robin's apologetic response is a definite echo of the black eyes Robin got at the American Bar. She gets him milk for his eyes, like he got her ice and it leads to an open conversation between then that helps repair and deepen their friendship. Robin again thinks of him as her "imperfect best friend."
• Strike's leg has to be allowed into a place that normally restricts metal. 
• Old newspaper clipping about rape conviction is a clue. 
• Searching for variations on a suspect's name yields results. 
• Multiple sex offenders connected with the case, including a person "cold-blooded enough to spend a couple of hours with a fresh corpse, carving it up and dissecting it, late at night in an underground vault."
• Another lousy Valentine's day, with a fight with Murphy instead of Strike. 

Other connections:

Career of Evil:

• Fiona reminds us a lot of Stephanie, another young sex worker who Robin wishes to help.
• Reference to Wardle's brother's death.
• Great to see Hardacre again!
• Recollection of Tigger, the Jack Russel that bit Strike's prosthesis. 

The Running Grave: 

• Robin's rescue of Strike from the dog fight, when she sees him running toward her in the darkness, delivers enough of a blow to the attacker to let him get away and into the car, and then sped away, is an inversion of Strike's rescue of Robin from Chapman Farm. 
• Reference to Wardle's fatherhood and subsequent divorce. It was so touching to see him caring for his son. 
• Great Architect of the Universe as the universal God common to multiple religions is a lot like the UHC's concept of the Blessed Divinity.