The Hallmarked Man Part 9: Spoiler through Chapter 116

Yet another good, compassionate and understanding conversation between Strike and Robin where they sound like their old selves. Between Strike appropriately insisting Robin take extra security precautions, echoing her own words from TIBH, and the takedowns of Branford, Kim and Tara, we are seeing more of what we've traditionally loved as Strike mysteries pick up the pace as they wind to a close. This book has definitely been moving in a better direction since Part 7. 

Is it pure spite from the police that they are both not taking Robin's DNA evidence and refusing to arrest Plug? 

We might have known we hadn't seen the last of the Kimphomaniac. The news that she got secretly filmed in the porn flat was poetic justice, even if we feel a bit of guilt in delighting in what is, essentially, a form of sexual assault. At first, I was thinking it was a shame Vile-lentine didn't get caught in the same trap, but knowing him he'd have asked for a copy of the tape and blueprints to set up his own studio. This scene was reminiscent of some of the great verbal take-downs we've seen: Strike versus Creed, Strike versus Jago, Strike versus Wace and Robin versus Satchwell, but I think this is the first time we've had them both present for the big moment.  

I swear, the British must be the most hospitable people on the planet. Tara is cursing, accusing Strike of murder and screaming at him to get out and the maid still feels obliged to serve coffee! "Bring the coffee in first, then leave!" is one of the funniest moments in the series. This book does take some Wodehouse-esque digs at the upper crust. 

A joke about Strike and Charlotte being brother and sister... is this another pointer to the incest hypothesis?

Another White Swan pub. Notice that all the swans are lone ones in this book.  I am glad that Robin is seeking therapy again and Prudence is certainly a great resource, though it seems odd that she'd seek out a Jungian for advice, when CBT was the form that worked for her before. There is also no mention of her even trying her CBT exercises again. 

Dev Shah reacted very strongly to the Candy story, was suspicious of Bijou calling the office, and was quick to believe Kim when she said Strike had sexually harassed her. This, plus his strong reaction to Will Edensor is further indication that there might be something in his history that makes him especially sensitive to sex-related offenses.  Poor guy, he got his nose busted by Bigfoot and now out with a stab injury. They may lose him because he decides the job is too dangerous. 

Is it just me, or does this case have more than its fair share of kids tragically orphaned by parents having am accident on vacation? 

And, much as in books 5 and 6, this section closes with both Strike and Robin having flashes of insight that will presumably solve the case in the last part. 

Connections to even-numbered books: 

Our heroes make fun of upper-class speech.  Robin finding it hard to believe Branford used terms like "top hole" and "spiffing" is a lot like her response to Torquil's "steady on, old chap" at Chiswell House, a "phrase Robin never thought she'd hear outside a book." In Book 2, she also laughed at Strike calling Polworth "Chum," thinking it sounded very public school; Strike explains that it is actually used in the shark bait sense. 

I had predicted that Strike would visit a confined person and show them compassion. The situation with Rena was not exactly the same, but it was close: she had been recently sectioned and her mental illness and homelessness was a type of prison for her. Recall Remus Lupin's "They don't need walls or water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're all trapped inside their own heads." Strike certainly showed his tender side when dealing with her. 

The Silkworm:

• We were first told of Martin's hot temper and poor judgement back in SW, when Robin recognized similarities between him and Pippa Midgley. We see it clearly as he describes his latest row with Carmen. Robin is as understanding of him as she was of Pippa. 
• Strike goes up a drive lined by rhododendrons, as he did at Daniel Chard's. 

Lethal White:

• Robin's PTSD symptoms return after attack. 
• Martin's quick temper comes in handy when he defends Robin. 
• Branford (former MP) is urged to run for office again in the Goring; like Chiswell, he quotes Catullus, including the same Poem 16 that Chiswell quoted at Aamir. 
• That was the same speech where Chiswell brought up Lachesis, which is the Greek name for the Fate Decima. 
• Is Catullus really that popular in the UK, at least among the public school types?  It seems bizarre that both Chiswell and Branford seem to have memorized chunks of it--- particularly considering how obscene Poem 16 is---  not the one the teacher would assign in your high school Latin class. 
• We saw Robin stop her therapy in LW, in THM she seeks a new therapist. 

The Ink Black Heart: 

• I love the explicit echo of the "I don't want to lose you" speech. 
• Robin is given what she thinks is a pointless computer task to keep her off the street. 
• Strike neutralized the threat of Branford and the Kimphomaniac much like he did that of Jago Ross, by having better dirt on them than they had on him and pointing out that the press will be more interested in their story than his. 
• Strike getting a frightened young woman off the street and getting her to a hotel is a lot like what Strike and Robin did for Zoe. 

Connections to #5 books

 Troubled Blood:

• "You can pay for your own dinner!" from Branford echoes Strike's words to Carl Oakden. 
• Robin gets teary when Strike tells her she's the best he's ever worked with. 
• Branford has a childish lisp like Luca Ricci does, which is pretty incongruous in such an evil character.
• The takedown in the Goring reminds me of Strike's duel with Dennis Creed, where he turns the foes' own trick against them.
• Strike threatens an ex-contractor with never getting another job as a PI. 
• Strike and Robin sitting down to enjoy a meal after Branford and the Kimphomaniac leave the restaurant reminds me of Robin "finishing the artist's chips."
• Kim and Anna ended the case when the partners would rather keep going; this time Strike ends the case when the client would rather keep going. In both cases, Robin is very sad about the unanswered questions they are leaving. 
• After reviewing the collected evidence Strike decides there is reason to continue. 

Order of the Phoenix:

• May be a stretch here, but the sexual assault of a woman is depicted as just deserts and even comic,  when we learn that the Kimphomaniac was lured into being part of Branford's voyeurism show, and now risks public humiliation. While it is never explicitly said what the centaurs did to Umbridge, centaurs are traditionally associated with rape in mythology, and Umbridge's lasting fear of hoof noises suggests some sort of trauma. Yes, Kim and Dolores are both irredeemably evil chracters, but still....

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