I read this book in October, 2014.

This is book one in the detective series written by J.K. Rowling featuring Cormoran Strike, an ex soldier, ex SIB, one legged private investigator. It's quite a change from Harry Potter, but the good news is that J.K. has lost none of her writing skills. It's a terrific debut novel in a different genre. I liked the main character Cormoran Strike, his secretary / assistant Robin Ellacot, I liked the story, I failed to work out "who done it", and I thought it was well paced and built to a suitable climax. Initially I thought the book could have done with some editing - too many words in some places. But, as the book went on, it all settled down nicely to an excellent read.

In Cormoran and Robin we have a great partnership - with perhaps the hint of future romance. But equally, this could just remain a possibility - a tease - in the next few books. We meet Robin first - a 25 year old temping secretary who is elated because she has just got engaged to her boyfriend, Mathew. She is looking for the office of her next temporary employer, finds it eventually, and is amazed but delighted to find that she will be working for a private investigator. Robin's secret ambition had always been to be a P.I. Now we meet her employer, Cormoran. His last temp had been dismissed, and he didn't expect the agency to send him another temp. He is skint, cannot really afford a secretary, but decides to give Robin a go for a week. He thinks he can just about afford to pay her. Bit by bit, as the story progresses we find out more about Cormoran - little clues here and there. He is mentally as well as physically damaged - he was blown up in Afghanistan and lost his leg. He has now left the army. But his leg stump and prosthesis still give him a lot of pain. Initially Robin doesn't know that Cormoran has only one leg. Slowly they get to know more about each other. Cormoran is a very private person - and Robin senses that she must keep a respectful distance. But she is good at her job - and Cormoran finds that fate has sent him a treasure of an assistant / secretary. The Cormoran / Robin relationship is perfectly paced and beautifully judged - well done, J.K. A Google search reveals that Cormoran has a famous pop star father who had a one night stand with Cormoran's groupie mother - but father and son have never had anything to do with each other. This may change as the series progresses - I see lots of scope there.

What is the story ? Lula Landry is a very famous, very beautiful top model who falls to her death from her penthouse apartment in London. The police think that it is suicide, but her brother, John Bristow can't accept this, and so he asks Cormoran to try to find out what really happened. Why did he pick Cormoran ? John's young brother fell to his death in a quarry when he was a child of 10 - and Cormoran and the dead youngster were best pals.

J.K. paints a very convincing picture of life in the fast lane as a top model - famous people, conspicuous wealth, very glamorous, but at the cost of empty, shallow lives, being shaddowed by paparazzi and the gutter press. Is she possibly writing from bitter personal experience ?

It's all solved by the end, and the Cormoran / Robin team are still intact, and ready to take on future cases.

I thought it was a terrific crime novel debut - if J.K. can run with this, perhaps improve a little with time, it has all the promise of a great crime series. It's not faultness, but nevertheless I was pleased that it was as good as it was. It looks as if the old J.K. magic is still there. How can you follow the phenomenon of Harry Potter - J.K. seems to have found an answer. I look forward to reading the next in the series - there are so many different ways that I can see this developing.

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I read this book in October, 2014.

This is the second book in J.K. Rowling (writing as Robert Galbraith)'s crime fiction series featuring Cormoran Strike, and his assistant Robin Ellacot. Whilst I greatly enjoyed reading it, I thought it was only a good book rather than a very good one. That said, though, I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

It started off very well, set a few months after the first book. Cormoran and Robin are terrific characters, and their professional relationship / potential personal relationship is handled perfectly, and expertly paced. Robin has taken a massive cut in salary to work as Cormoran's secretary because all her life she has had a secret desire to be a private investigator. But now Cormoran seems to have forgotten this - he treats her as a typist, and talks of getting in someone to help with the investigative side. The problem is Robin's fiance Mathew, who is deeply suspicious of Robin's working for Cormoran. Why is she always so full of what Cormoran says and does ? But Cormoran thinks that Robin will never be able to commit to work the long, irregular hours that the job entails. It's simply not a 9 to 5 job. Also it can be dangerous. There is also another deeper reason - Cormoran is well aware of Robin's beauty. He could so easily find himself attracted to her - so he tries to keep a respectful distance between them. Eventually the situation is resolved - and it seems in the next book we may find Robin more active as an investigator / professional partner. This part of the story is handled excellently. Cormoran is also such an interesting character - the son of a pop idol father he has never met, ex army, ex SIB, and Cormoran is disabled - part of his leg was blown off in Afghanistan.

So why do I have reservations about the book ? I am afraid, it is the story or rather the story within the story. I started off thinking it was a terrific, original read. Owen Quine is a writer who goes missing, and his wife Leonora turns up in Cormoran's office asking him to find her missing husband. Leonora also has a mentally handicapped young daughter Olivia. Cormoran does find Owen Quine, or rather, his remains. He has been butchered after being tortured, and burned with acid. Soon Leonora is charged with her husband's murder - so Cormoran and Robin must find out who the real killer is, to save their client (and Olivia). Now comes a tedious part of the story - a story within a story. Owen's murder is as per set out in his last, unpublished book - a wierd, "Pilgrim's Progress" sort of tale about a hermathrodite creature. I know this story was meant to be deliberately awful, but I was not impressed. The unpublished book also slandered lots of people - did one of them kill Owen to prevent publication ?

The book is also a bit slow in places, and there is not a terrific amount of action. But there is a good, suprise ending to the book that I did not see coming - perhaps I should have been more tolerant of the story within the story !

So it's 80% very good, 20% only fair, say good overall. But for all that, I still think J K Rowling is a terrific writer, and I really do look forward to the next book in the series. Robin and Cormoran are such interesting characters - I want to know what happens to them next.

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I read this book in July, 2016.

This is the third book in the Cormoran Strike crime fiction series written by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling). Cormoran and his assistant / partner Robin Ellacot are great creations, and above all this book is about the ongoing Cormoran / Robin relationship. Cormoran has a girlfriend, Elin, rich, beautiful, successful, and an announcer on BBC radio - the third programme. Robin is engaged to Matthew - their wedding had to be postponed when his mother died, but it is has been rescheduled, and is to take place in a few weeks' time. So Robin and Cormoran's relationship can only be professional, can't it? And yet there is a terrific sexual chemistry there that neither dare acknowledge. This is definitely out of bounds. But neither has ever had a better friend, they just get on so well, and they care for each other more than can ever be admitted. Mathew is head over heels in love with Robin, but how can Mathew compete with Cormoran - no wonder he feels so insecure?

The book opens with a parcel addressed to and delivered to Robin Ellacot. She opens it and her screams bring Cormoran running. Someone has sent Robin a girl's severed leg. It soon becomes clear that someone from Cormoran's past is trying to get at him through Robin, and Robin's life is in great danger. Cormoran can think of 4 people who hate him enough to be doing this. They are Malley, Whittaker (Cormoran's mum's boyfriend), Laing, and Brockbank. All are rogues and brutes from Cormoran's SIB army days. The police know Malley well, and so concentrate on him. Cormoran thinks it is more likely to be one of the other three, but the police won't listen. With Robin's life in danger, and the bad publicity destroying his detective agency business, Cormoran and Robin have to solve the mystery of who is behind all this by themselves. But now there are two complications. Robin and Mathew's engagement is off - he had been unfaithful to Robin with a friend of theirs - and Robin is in a bad state. Back in the same pub where Cormoran cried on Robin's shoulder when he split with his long term girlfriend, now Robin needs a shoulder to cry on. Drinking more than usual, Robin lets slip why she quit Uni. One night, a rapist in a gorilla suit, attacked Robin, and left her for dead. She lost all her self confidence, fled home, became agaraphobic, and it took a couple of years for Robin to get her life back. Robin never wants ever again for a man to dictate what sort of life she can lead. On the other hand Robin is now terrified that Cormoran will want rid of her. How can someone with her past who could not save herself work as a private detective and protect others. Dare Cormoran risk Robin's life / put her through all that again.

And so the story proceeds, and tension builds. Can Cormoran keep Robin safe without sending her home ? Can Robin forgive a truly repentent Mathew ?

J. K. Rowling is not a concise writer, and so this is a long novel - but I don't mind that. Cormoran still manages to drink Doom Bar beer in London - I don't mind that either, I doubt that J.K is a beer drinker herself. By the end of the book Cormoran has done the police's work for them, but the real climax of the book is Robin's on / off wedding. Will she go through with it, and will Cormoran be there. What happens next demands another book in the series. I look forward to it with relish.

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I read this book in April, 2018.

Usually I get all my books second hand in some charity shop, but I got some book tokens for Christmas, 2018 and so bought the very latest Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacot book new, as a hardback, but managed to get a copy half price in the January 2019 sales. It's a big book even by J.K.Rowling standards (650 pages) - J.K. now seems unable to write at normal length, or is it just that she is too important an author that an editor can cut where appropriate. Any way, also being a hardback, it's a heavy book and not one I could take on holiday abroad - in short, having bought it "just out", I have only now got round to reading it at a time when it is now out in paperback. Ah well !

Let me start by saying that I loved this book, even though it is too long. I think the author has created two very strong characters in private detective Cormoran Strike, and his assistant and now business partner Robin Ellacot. Pairs of detectives working on a case always offer more possibilities for private life dramas. They can interact with each other, quarrel, make up, rush to save each other, etc. And in some cases, they can even fall in love. That is what has happened here, but neither Cormoran nor Robin will admit it, or even talk to each other about it. So the author plays with the theme "will they / won't they " from book to book - it's a compelling tease that keeps us turning pages and eagerly buying the next instalment. J.K. did it perfectly in the Harry Potter series, and here she is doing it again. She is so good at it, that we all excuse the long books.

In all these series there are two main stories - story one is the case/cases under investigation, and story two is the private lives one. Let me start with the cases to be solved - and then get on to the more interesting Cormoran / Robin one. Two thing happen at the start of the book. Jasper Chiswell is not a nice character, but is a conservative government cabinet minister who is being blackmailed. Apparently he did something which was legal a few years ago, but is now illegal. He won't say what it was, but he calls in Cormoran Strike to help. Cormoran has just caught the Shackelwell Ripper, and is now very famous. Also he was in the army SIB when Jasper's son Freddie was killed. Chiswell is married for the second time to Kinvara but it is now a loveless marriage. Kinvara lives at Chiswell's county house and is devoted to her five or six horses. Chiswell was poorly advised financially, and is now almost broke. Cormoran finds that two people are connected to the blackmail, Winn, the husband of an opposition minister, and Jimmy Knight, a socialist rabble rouser intent on bringing down the conservatives. Chiswell wants Cormoran and his team to find things to discredit the blackmailers - and neutralise them by counter blackmail. The other thing that happened at the start was a mentally unstable young man who was not taking his medication, Billy, called at Cormoran's offices, and told Cormoran that he had witnessed the murder of a young child, and the burial of the body. Everyone thinks he is dillusional, but is he ? There is something about Billy's story that nags at Cormoran, and he decides to investigate. Apparently two separate stories - we know enough about detective fiction to suspect that they are connected.

It turns out that Billy is Jimmy Knight's younger brother, and the Knight family were sort of country peasants who lived near, and did occasional work for the Jasper Chiswell estate. We also meet Raphael, Chiswell's son from his first marriage. Drunk at the wheel Raphael killed a young child, and went to prison. On release his father Jasper took him in - a big mistake as it was to turn out. Raphael has charisma of sorts, especially with the ladies, but really is a nasty piece of work. The story is proceeding nicely when Jasper is found (by Robin) dead in a chair at home - poisoned and suffocated with a plastic bag over his head. Was he murdered or was it suicide ? His daughter Flick thinks he was murdered, and re-engages Cormoran to find out. The police are also doing a full investigation - it's the death of cabinet minister.

Now we come to the more interesting Cormoran / Robin story. In the hunt for the serial rapist Robin went against Cormoran's instructions, and almost got herself killed - she has a very bad knife injury/ scar down one arm. Robin now has regular panic attacks that she is getting treatment for, but is keeping secret. Cormoran had dismissd Robin on the spot, but regretted it, and was trying to get in touch with Robin again by text. Robin for some obscure reason went ahead with her on / off marriage to her childhood sweatheart Mathew - she is now Robin Cunliffe. When Cormoran turns up at Robin and Mathew's wedding Robin discovers she has made a terrible mistake. Mathew had been reading Robins text messages and deleting Cormoran's texts. Robin is furious, and collapses into Cormoran's arms. If only Cormoran and Robin would communicate ! Cormoran leaves the wedding, and has a one night stand - Coco answer's Robin's phone call to Cormoran. He has jumped into bed with someone else. Pressurised on all sides, Robin goes on honeymoon with Mathew - separate beds - to escape the press. And now a year has gone by, Robin and Mathew are in a loveless marriage, Cormoran is seeing Lorelei without commitment, and both Robin and Cormoran are dancing around each other. Are they even friends, Cormoran wonders ?.

What a tangled, but fascinating web for Robin and Cormoran. The Robin / Mathew story is almost completed by the end of the book - but not fully - so we have to read on. And of course, Robin and Cormoran are still in love, but not admitting it. Robin is in grave danger, alone with a killer. Will Cormoran get there in time ? So again we have to read on. It's all a brilliant tease - well done Robert Galbraith / J.K.

Two last thoughts. Cormoran really must get a better false leg - he is in constant pain. And now Cormoran drinks a variety of beers, but is delighted to sometimes find his favourite DoomBar.

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I read this book in July, 2021.

I read this book in May, 2022.

This is book six in Robert Galbraith / J K Rowling's excellent Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott series. Although I got my copy quite a while ago, I was put off reading it by it's excessive length. At 1,012 pages it is simply too long. But that said, it's difficult to criticise when the author gets just about everything else just right - and especially the ongoing Robin and Cormoran romance tease which is handled expertly, and perfectly.

I am going to start by reintroducing the main regular characters, and then deal with the three main plot strands separately, although they all run concurrently i.e.
The miscellaneous routine Detective Agency cases
The Ink Black Heart / Drek's Game main plot
The ongoing Robin and Cormoran "relationship"

The Regular Characters : Cormaron Strike is almost 40, 6 ft 3 inches, overweight and unfit through eating junk food and smoking. He is the illegitimate son of pop star Rokeby. He still lives in rented rooms above the Detective Agency offices. He has a full sister Lucy, and a fellow illegitimate half sister Prudence. She is trying to meet Cormoran for the first time, and may be about to succeed at the end of the book. Robin Ellacott, almost 30, is Cormoran's business partner - they have now worked together for about five years. Robin flat shares with Max, but is looking for her own flat, succeeds, and moves in mid way into this story. The Detective Agency is now busy, and very successful, having to turn business away. They employ various sub-contacting detectives - Andy Hutchins is leaving, Michelle (Midge) Greenstreet is a new recruit, Sam Barclay is still there, Dev Shah has been poached from a rival agency, and Pat Chancey is still their very efficient office manager. Because of their cripplingly high work load, Cormoran is forced to employ a second grade Stewart Nutley - he resigns by text at the first sign of danger, applies for re-instatement when the danger has passed, but is correctly chased off by Sam Barclay.

Miscelleous Detective Agency Cases : Miss Jones has a dispute over the custody of her baby daughter. This is dealt with quickly, and the case closed successfully. A Russian American billionaire has valuable items going missing, and he suspects his stepson. Eventually evidence is found against both the step son, and his mother. The Groomer case is a bit tricky and has a spin off into Cormoran's private life. A well known TV journalist has broken with her boyfriend, but he is continuing to see / groom her 17 year old daughter. When the mum has to go abroad on business, the daughter goes to Annabels for New Year, hoping to meet the boy friend there, and Cormoran and Midge follow. The boyfriend doesn't show, but does meet the girl later at the school gates. It's whilst at Annabels that Cormoran meets and starts an affair the Madeline.

The Ink Black Heart : Extracts from the Buzzy website show us an interview with Josh Blay and Edie Ledwell, creators of a hot You Tube cartoon called The Ink Black Heart (IBH) about a graveyard, where body parts roam about, with skeletons, demons and a ghost. Also news of a copycat Drek's Game based on the IBH and created by anonymous artists called Anomie and Morehouse - this game is famous for its fanatical followers, many being racists and trolls. Next there is a big money offer for IBH from Netflix. Anomie and Co call it a sell out. Anomie and followers troll Edie with hateful messages threatening rape and horrible death - so much so that Edie attempts suicide, but is saved. A feature of Dreks Game is that all participants must always remain anonymous, but can message each other within the game. Eight moderators ensure everyone follows the rules. The eight moderators are as follows (I have added their true identities where it doesn't give too much away) ; Anomie ; Worm28 (Zoe Haig); LordDrek ; Vilepechora (Oliver Peach, an anagram) ; Hartella (Jasmine Weatherfield) ; Fiendy1 ; Morehouse ; and Paperwhite. As part of the trolling Hartella visits Josh Blay to tell him a lie - that chief troll Anomie is really Edie. At her wits end, Edie visits the Strike Detective Agency and sees Robin. She begs them to help and find out who Anomie is, but the Agency is too busy, and Robin has to refer Edie to another Agency, but hates to turn away a fellow female asking for help. Edie goes to sort matters with Josh, arranging to meet him at the cemetery which inspired IBH. Now another news flash - Edie is dead, and Josh is badly injured and in hospital.

Robin tells Cormoran of Edie's visit, and together they go to the police. They speak to DCI Ryan Murphy and Angela Darwash whom Cormoran thinks is from MI5. Madeline, Cormoran's new girlfriend, has a son Henry who watched the IBH cartoon, where characters included Harty, Paperwhite a ghost, and Drek, an evil character. Henry says the game was better when Wally Cardew played Drek. Wally has far right views. Edie had an agent Alan Yeoman, and Josh used Katya Upcott. Alan visits Cormoran and Robin, and asks them to find out who Anomie is - with a now reduced work load they are able to agree. Edie's aunt and uncle Heather and Grant Ledwell have inherited half of IBH, and want to sell the film rights, but Anomie and the trolls are bad PR. Dreks Game has also been infiltrated by far right fanatics / terrorists - the Halvening. Two infiltrators are LordDrek and Vilepechora. Edie had been in a relationship with Josh, but they broke up, and Edie entered a new relationship with Philip Ormond, who is now a police suspect for Anomie. Other suspects are Sebastion Montgomery, Nils De Jong, the owner of an artist's commune and art college North Grove, Bram de Jong, Nils's son, Kea Niven, Josh's girlfriend before Edie, Gus Upcott, agent Katya's son, and Perston Pierce (Pez) an artist at North Grove.

There is a suggestion that Morehouse is disabled. Cormoran is having problems with his false leg, is in constant pain, but soldiers on, doing even more damage. He and Robin visit Katya Upcott, and meet her family - husband Inigo, who has ME and is in a wheelchair, son Gus, a gifted music student, and 12 year old daughter Flavia. The detective agency had been tailing suspects and watching Twitter for Anomie tweets. Anyone doing something else during this tweeting could not be Anomie and could be eliminated as a suspect. This was a mistake as is revealed later in the story. Midge Greenstreet's friend played Dreks Game as Buffypaws, and gives Robin Buffypaws's log on details. So now they can see if Anomie has entered the game - i.e. more opportunities to eliminate suspects. Within the game Anomie messages Buffypaws (Robin) and boasts that he killed Edie. So, all they have to do is find out who Anomie is.

Cormoran had been tailing a suspect into a bar, but drew attention to himself when his wonky leg failed, he fell over, and had to fight off the suspect who attacked him. Cormoran was lucky to escape - he had just tangled with a Halvening terrorist. Eventually the Agency does become a terrorist target, and Stewart Nutley, the newest sub contractor resigns by text. The far right "Brotherhood of Ultimate Thule" had become annoyed at Edie for sacking one of their own, Wally Cardew, and replacing him with a black man. We also get various disguised voice phone calls saying dig up Edie, and later saying read the letters thrown into her coffin. Jasmine (Hartella) agrees to be interviewed by the journalist Venetia Hall (Robin in disguise). Robin and Cormoran visit Comic Con. which everyone of interest seems to attend. A young lad with red soles on his trainers catches their attention and they follow him to the railway station to see someone push him onto the track, and there is train coming. Instinctively Robin jumps down to help the young lad up. They get him and Robin up just in time, but the lad has his head thumped by the passing carriage and has severe head injuries. LordDrek is furious at Anomie for pushing his brother Vilepechora onto the track, but Anomie says we don't like Halvening infiltrators and bans them both. Robin is in the news, and the Halvening know whom to come after - they think the detectives were following / investigating them. Vilepechora had shown Anomie how to use Bitcoin, and use the dark web to buy a taser and a knife which he used to attack Josh and Edie.

Robin had been contacting young Zoe Haig (Worm28) and sees Tim Ashcroft leave her flat. He had been grooming Zoe - a lot of older men seem to be using Dreks Game to contact young females. And now there is a bad blow to the investigation. Anomie blackmails Hartella to sometimes take his place in the game - how many suspects have been wrongly eliminated ? Cormoran is working in the office when Pat rushes in and slams the door behind her, followed by a massive parcel bomb explosion. The place is wrecked. They call the police and have to move out - initially Cormoran to a sofa bed in Robin's new flat, and later to a nearby basic hotel - the Z Hotel. The Agency and the police have been helping each other. DCI Murphy tells them Philip Ormond has been arrested for the murders. The Police think the Halvening are behind everything, but Cormoran disagrees. Ormond is later released. Robin had been in touch with Rachel Ledwell (Grant Ledwell's daughter). She tells them that Morehouse knows who Anomie is. But Anonie tests Buffypaws and bans her from the game. They have lost game access, a major set back.

I'll now leave you to read the rest of the story. Morehouse is murdered before he can be interviewed, and soon Cormoran has to admit defeat and seek medical help. In effect he is out of action, and the Agency work load is intolerable. They will have to give up the Anomie case - but not yet, says Cormoran. They do win through in the end, but there is still a lot of story before they get there, and it all builds to as good a climax as I have read in a long time. With writing and plots of this calibre we have to excuse the authors excess wordage.

Robin and Cormoran : The book opens with the Agency successful, and Cormoran and Robin celebrating her 30th birthday at the Ritz. Robin looks stunning, and the strong cocktails flow. On parting Cormoran forgets himself and goes to kiss Robin, but withdraws stunned by the look of fear in her eyes. Had he been misreading the situation. Robin too has to analyse her reaction - was it fear, or elation, or was she caught off guard, or is she just out of practice, or did she realise it would change everything. There is now an awkwardness between them. Robin accepts an offer from her cousin to join a ski-ing party abroad. Hugh Jackman is there, and although Robin is not interested, he won't take no for an answer. Soon it's Cormoran's 40th. Tailing someone to Annabels at New Year, he had been given a New Year drunken snog by beautiful Madeline Courson Miles. She has her own jewellery business, is a good designer, and puts on shows with famous models - eg Cormoran's ex Charlotte Campbell. Soon Cormoran is on his 6th date with Madeline and they are sleeping together. Next, Pat phones Cormoran to return to the office - Charlotte is sitting there waiting to see him. She says her husband Jago is divorcing her, and is going to expose Cormoran with massive publicity. This would be very difficult for the business - how could Cormoran tail people if he is instantly recognised ? She wants Cormoran to discover something she could use against Jago. He sends Charlotte packing, but he does ask Shah to do just that for his own defence- thus increasing everyone's work load. As Charlotte leaves she makes sure Robin hears as she asks Cormoran how Madeline, his new girl friend is doing. Robin is devastated - he'd been keeping this a secret. Robin is shocked into realising how strong are her feelings for Cormoran. She acknowledges to herself that she is in love with him - but he is sleeping with someone else. There is a nice bit of symmetry for Cormoran at the end of the book.

DCI Ryan Murphy phones Robin with an update, and asks her out. Taken by surprise she says she is working all weekend, and Ryan leaves it at that. Robin is annoyed at Cormoran - she is trying to fall out of love with him - but is smiling just at speaking to him. Madeline wants to go places and see and be seen with Cormoran, but Cormoran says he can never do this - he dare not let his face become well known with such exposure. Charlotte stirs it up with Madeline who rounds on Cormoran and says he is just like his father Rokeby. Cormoran bites his tongue, but doesn't appreciate tantrums. Robin tells Cormoran that she has been following Jago's 14 year old daughter - Jago is abusive to his daughters. Later the subcontractors get more and even video evidence which Cormoran shows to Jago's first wife. She will use it to get sole parent status, and Cormoran will use it if Jago mentions him in divorce proceedings. Robin is worried and tearful about her dad who has had a heart scare, but he is OK now with a stent fitted. She prepares to move into her new flat by herself, still upset, but finds Cormoran waiting on the doorstep with a pot plant, and bags of Tesco shopping. They move Robin in, assemble flat packs between them, and have a fish supper. You have got to try harder to fall out of love, Robin ! Next Robin sees Cormoran offering comfort to an upset Josh in hospital. She is seeing the softer side of Cormoran. Definitely not how you fall out of love. In disguised character as Jessica, Robin meets Pez, and lets him kiss her. It's a long time since she snogged someone - it's not displeasurable. There is a funny moment when Cormoran tells Robin of his leg problems. He has now developed "jumping stump" "What is that" asks Robin - "my leg is having spasms and is jumping about by itself". Cormoran laughs when Robin stares at his artificial leg propped against the wall. "Not that", he says, "my stump !"

When Ryan Murphy gives Robin a lift home, she explains her earlier reaction when he asked her out - out of practice, only known one man( ex husband Mathew), taken by surprise. She agrees that Ryan should phone her again when he gets back from his foreign holiday. Cormoran accepts Robin's offer of sofa bed accommodation. Under threat of potential terrorist attack, she is reassured by his presence. Cormoran says a lot of his leg problems are due to his being unfit, and overweight - he has put himself on a diet, and stopped smoking. Next the police tell Robin that Halvening have been watching her flat. Cormoran tells her to get out, and together they relocate to a basic hotel near their bombed office. Cormoran has to go to bed early, alarmed by the close proximity of Robin and that he might say something he would regret later. That has always been their problem - not communicating their feelings. Although he has been doing his best to support her, Cormoran realises that it is not working and gently breaks up with Madeline. Of course, misunderstandings continue. Cormoran thinks Robin is seeing Hugh Jackman, and she thinks he is still sleeping with Madeline. And so we come to Robin being in contact with Rachel Ledwell, and finding Morehouse murdered, and the thrilling climax. Finally, we have the bit of symmetry I referred to earlier. Robin is visiting Cormoran in hospital - she knocks over a card from Madeline, and Cormoran says "put it in the bin, we broke up weeks ago". As she leaves Cormoran asks if she has any fun plans for that evening. "Actually I have. I've got a date with Ryan Murphy". Now it is Cormoran's turn to be stunned into finally recognising his feelings for Robin - he too is in love. But, stuck in a hospital bed, he cannot chase after her.

Although I have said more than I intended to, there is lot of story I have not mentioned. I like that the authors love of a latin phrase and anagram remains undiminished. Roll on the next book and we'll see how the Robin / Cormoran relationship develops.

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I read this book in August, 2024.

This is book seven in the terrific Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott series by Robert Galbraith / J K Rowling. Although I got my copy quite a while ago, I was once again put off reading it by it's excessive length - it's 945 pages and it is simply too long. However it's difficult to be too critical when the author tells such a great story - and the ongoing Robin and Cormoran romance tease is handled expertly, and perfectly. I have started writing these reviews under three headings, and I will stick to that :- Main Characters , Private lives stories and Main plots.

Main Characters :
Our main hero is Cormoran Strike, 47, 6ft 3 inches, and now over 3 stone lighter (on a diet). He had been in hospital for over 3 weeks with his leg, and was told to lose weight.
Robin Ellacott, Cormoran's business partner. Her mum is Linda, and her dad Michael.
DI Ryan Murphy, Robin's boyfriend, good looking and also over 6ft. They have been together for about 8 months. Ryan is an ex alcoholic, but dry for 2 years.
Lucy is Cormoran's sister (same mother, different father) and Prudence, very rich, is another half sister - same father, different mother. Lucy is married to Greg and they have 3 sons, Luke, Adam and Cormoran's favourite nephew Jack.
Jonny Rokeby, Cormoran's rock star father, but ignored by Cormoran.
Isla is married to Cormoran's friend Nick Herbert.
Charlotte Campbell, Strike's ex fiance of 16 years ago.
Midge Greenstreet, ex police, is one of Strike's sub contractor detectives.
Dev Shah and the Scot Barclay are two more subcontractors.
Clive Littlejohn, ex Special Branch, is a new sub contractor, and a spy for the opposition.
Pat, now admitting to be 67, is Cormoran and Robin's office manager.
Mitch Patterson, heads a rival detective agency, and hates Cormoran.
Shanker is Cormoran's old friend, almost a brother, who was helped by Cormoran's mother Leda.
Eric Wardle is a policeman friend of Cormoran's
Tasho Mayo is an actress client of Strike and Ellacott who is being stalked by the "Franks"

Various characters connected with the UHC, United Humanitarian Church, are :-
Will Edensor, son of Sir Colin and Lady Sally Edensor, autistic, captured by UHC cult. Will has two brothers, James and Edward. David Renton is Sir Colin's lawyer.
The Crowther brothers were two paedophiles who ran the Aylmerton community in Norfolk, now smashed. Leda took young Cormoran and Lucy there.
Mrs Mazu Wace, joint founder of UHC, is the daughter of Malcolm Crowther.
Jonathan Wace, her husband, 20 years older, runs UHC. Taio is their elder son, Jiang the other.
Daiyu Wace, Mazu's daughter, and Jonathan claimed he was the father, drowned on Cromer beach at the age of 7 years old. She is worshiped by UHC as the "Drowned Prophet"
Rusty Anderson was killed in a road accident outside UHC's Chapman Farm. He is known as the "Wounded Prophet"
Alexander Graves was "kidnapped" by his family, but returned to UHC and committed suicide. He is the "Stolen Prophet." Alex was Daiyu's real father.
Harold Coats is a struck off doctor - the "Healer Prophet".
Margaret Boyd, 70, is a rich UHC benefactor - the "Golden Prophet"
Deidre Doherty died in the UHC "Manifestation Pool". She was the mother of Lin whom Will Edensor got pregnant. They had a baby girl Qing.
Kevin Pirbright is an ex member of UHC, and now campaigns against them. He gets shot

Personal Lives By far and away the main story is the Cormoran and Robin relationship / tease. They fell in love years ago, but dare not voice it as they both treasure their friendship and business relationship. Robin is now with DI Ryan Murphy, and Cormoran is scared that she might opt for a baby and marry Ryan. After a longish separation, and after having sex, Ryan whispers to Robin "I love you." She replies "I love you too" - it's a standard reply, but is it true? In the climax to the book, Cormoran and Robin chat about Cormoran's ex, Charlotte. Robin is waiting for Ryan to pick her up - they are going away for the weekend. Cormoran knows happiness has to be earned, and so at long last he speaks. He tells Robin that Charlotte finally accepted that "I am in love with you". Robin is stunned, shell shocked and doesn't get a chance to reply as Ryan appears - she goes off with Ryan in trance, but now it is in the open. Of course we must read on. What next ?

Cormoran's friend Shanker asks for his help. His unofficial step daughter has leukaemia and she wants to find her estranged father. Of course, Cormoran will help.

Cormoran visits Lucy to warn her that his latest case involves the Aylmerton Community where their mum took them when they were children. Cormoran had heard tales of child abuse, but always thought he and Lucy were lucky and spared this. Lucy breaks down, and tells Cormortan she was abused, and Mazu, who aided the abuse, is still there. She was taken to see Dr Coates when she was 15, and has been in therapy ever since. Cormoran is shattered and wants justice / retribution

Bijou Watkins , a friend of Isla's, phones Cormoran suggesting they meet for a drink. OK. Isla finds out and warns Cormoran that Bijou is poison. She is capable of using a spent contraceptive to get herself pregnant and her talons into her next victim. Cormoran tells Isla not to interfere. Next stories appear in the press of Bijou breaking up someone's marriage, and the report mentions Cormoran. Cormoran tells her to get the stories stopped. Bijou is pregnant and had been dating Cormoran to get her boyfriend Andreas Honbolt jealous. Andreas is a top lawyer and thinks Cormoran has bugged his office. Cormoran proves that the bug was planted by Pattersons, the rival detective agency. This kills two birds with one stone as Honbolt destroys Patterson's - and they had been waging a dirty tricks campaign against Cormoran.

Charlotte Campbell homes in on Cormoran again, and tells him she has cancer. He says he is sorry to hear that. Charlotte stands there sobbing, but Cormoran is firm and tells her we were finished a long time ago. He doesn't answer her phone calls, and Charlotte commits suicide. Charlotte's sister contacts Cormoran, saying she has a letter for him from Charlotte. The sister later destroys the letter, saying no good would come of it.

Ted and Joan had brought up Cormoran and Lucy when their mum Leda dumped them. Ted is now a widower, and Lucy is shocked when he arrives for a visit - he has aged and is forgetful. Cormoran goes to St Mawes in Cornwall to take Ted to the doctor to get him assessed. Ted later goes missing, but happily is found. It's dementia, and he can no longer live alone. Cormoran says we'll find him a care home in London, so that we can visit.

Pat , their office manager has a confession - she lied about her age, she is 67. She was being blackmailed by Littlejohn, Patterson's plant. Cormoran and Robin tell her she still has a job - no forced retirement.

Main plots : Sir Colin and Lady Edensor's autistic son Will has dropped out of Uni, and is living in a cult in Norfolk - UHC, United Humanitarian Church. He has been there for 4 years with no contact. Sir Colin wants them to find evidence of coercion, or whatever, to extricate Will. Will's brother James holds no love for Will. Robin decides to join UHC undercover, as a rich potential benefactor Rowena Ellis, and borrows expensive outfits from Prudence to play the part. UHC is run by a charismatic Jonathan Wace - his tag is to ask people to "accept the possibility" that there might be a divine being, and come along for a taster session. Fergus Robertson wrote a book about the UHC, and briefs Robin and Cormoran, hoping he'll get a scoop out of it. The UHC cult practise free love, no contraceptives (there is a reason for that, we will learn later), no medicine, no outside contact, discard material things to achieve your pure spirit, little food, fasting, work long hours, be always exhausted - basic brainwashing techniques. Jonathan Wace came to UHC with his daughter Abigail, and took up with Mazu, claiming her daughter Daiyu was his.

Kevin Pirbright escaped from UHC, but his sister Becca stayed. Mazu is the paedophile Malcolm Crowther's daughter. Mazu's uncle was a children's magician, and now she does "magic" tricks to convince recruits that she has divine powers. Daiyu's real father was Alex Graves, and when he died, Daiyu inherited £250k. Jonathan Wace also claimed the Graves family estate for Daiyu. The Graves family then sued for custody of Daiyu. To avoid this, Jonathan said that Daiyu was his daughter, not Alex's.

Cherry Gittens (17) mysteriously drove the van that took Daiyu to her death. She drowned very early in the morning at nearby Cromer beach - what was she doing going for a swim then ? She was swept out to sea, and no body was ever recovered. Daiyu is called the "Drowned Prophet", and worshipped by the UHC. Miraculously she appears when summoned by the Waces. Robin is under cover at UHC's Chapman Farm in Norfolk, and communicating with Cormoran by exchanging notes hidden in a fake stone at the perimiter fence of the property. This is at blind spot for the CCTV cameras. Robin discovers Will and Lin are special friends - Lin is Deidre Doherty's daughter (Deidre was raped by Jonathn Wace). Will had slept with underage Lin, and they have a daughter Qing. All Robin's intake are told they are special, and after the week's taster session are invited to join UHC. Robin agrees, and steps forward to be immersed in the deep pool within the UHC temple. Later, Robin is out and about, and to escape detection has to hide in an old barn, where she finds a bundle of clothes, and a box of photos hidden underneath. The photos show sexual torture with the abusers wearing pig masks. Who are these people ? Robin gets the photos to Cormoran via the fake stone, and they think they have correctly identified all in the photos - but they are mistaken.

Robin is frequently in grave danger. Taio takes Robin to one of the Retreat houses to have sex. She says she is not worthy, and somehow escapes, but finds herself very much out of favour. She gets Sir Colin to finance a £1k donation to the UHC, and so she is back in favour. Kevin Pirbright had another sister apart from Becca - Emily Pirbright. Emily and Robin are sent to Norwich to street fund raise, but Emily goes missing. Robin finds her, and gives her a good covering story. A grateful Emily says that Daiyu never drowned and is 28 and alive somewhere. If Daiyu could be found, that would destroy UHC, and extricate Will, and so Robin and Cormoran will search for Daiyu. But there is more danger. Mazu has lost an important UHC broach, and everyone has to search for it. With no watches nor clocks, Robin is keeping track of time (she has to visit the fake rock every Thursday) by hiding pebbles under her mattress - one per day. When she goes to check, she finds the missing broach there, picks it up, and throws it out the window. A search party enters, lead by Becca, and she suggests they look under matresses. Becca is amazed the broach is not there - but she is a powerful enemy, yet another danger for Robin.

Tasha Mayo's stalkers are about to pounce, and so Cormoran has to delegate to Shah the picking up of Robin's weeky note, but Shah reports - no Robin, no note, no fake stone. Strike rushes to Hartford Farm. Robin has had to attend a meeting in the temple, and the voice of Daiyu speaks. She calls out Robin, and asks her to enter the deep cleansing pool. Robin cannot refuse, enters, and is dragged under, drowning, water filling her mouth. Robin recovers after artificial respiration, lying on the temple floor. Mazu, Jonathan and Becca accuse Robin. She has to do an exra penance, and is locked in a foetal position in a small 3 ft wooden chest with splinters. For how long? Robin has no idea of time. Meanwhile Strike is waiting at the fake stone site, with night goggles, waiting in vain for Robin to appear. Robin is released and sent to look after the sick children. There she sees poor little malnourished, very very sick Jacob (no medicine allowed). She determines to escape and get Jacob help. Another penance for Robin - she has to sleep with Taio, no excuses this time. She says she needs a pee, jumps out of the bathroom window, and runs as fast as she can to where, somehow, she just knows Cormoran will be waiting to rescue her. She just knows. Cormoran is there, has been for over a day, has cut a hole in the fence, and pulls her through. Taio goes for Cormoran, but is felled with a blow from the wire cutters. They jump in Cormoran's car, and speed off to the hotel room Cormoran had booked to hide out during the day. Robin has lost so much weight, but amazingly, it is she who tells Strike he has lost weight (his diet). Food is ordered and Robin eats it greedily. There is only one bed, and Cormoran says he will sleep on the floor. Don't be silly, says Robin, we both are seeing someone else, it will be OK. Robin is out of date, she is thinking of Bijou. Robin bursts into tears and thanks Cormoran for saving her. It's all right says Cormoran, "it's my job, innit ?" Robin updates Cormoran, and he is horrified at what she has been through.

Norfolk police are none too ready to rescue Jacob. Cormoran insists that Robin takes a full week off to recover. He updates Sir Colin. Lin has disappeared, and Robin thinks she may have been moved to Dr Zhou's London clinic. Free of her stalkers, Tasha is keen to help, and although Cormoran is reluctant to use a civilian, it is agreed that she books herself into the clinic and scouts around. Next Robin finds that UHC have accused her of child abuse - of taking dirty pictures of young boys for Cormoran's pleasure. Then a surprise - Will has escaped from UHC with Qing, and has turned up at the Strike and Ellacott offices. Pat is looking after Qing who has now tasted chocolate for the first time. Will says he has done the right thing, but is convinced the "Drowned Prophet" will come after him. Prudence is a therapist. Next we discover her client is Flora Breasley who was in UHC for 5 years. It would help the case against UHC if both Will and Flora would agree to testify, but Prudence wants to protect client confidentiality. Later Robin gets Prudence to agree to Will and Flora meeting. Prudence had to accept that Flora is no better now than when she first met her. This may help them both. The meeting starts off poorly, and Will is still terrified of the "Drowned Prophet." Robin explains that there is no divine Daiyu - her appearances are staged tricks. She only appears when it is dark, and what you see is an impersonator's reflection on a slanting sheet of plate glass. Flora reacts with joy - so that is how it's done. Flora tells Will she will speak of the three divine secrets and he will see that Daiyu does not appear to strike her down.

And so now we are into the end story. Is Daiyu dead or alive ? If she is dead, how did she die - did someone kill her, and if so, who ? Robin and Cormoran get all their police contacts together - if there is no action soon, we will release the story to the press. Is there a happy ending for Lin, Will and Qing, and Sir Colin ? I will leave you to read the book to see how it all ends, and read about all the bits I have not mentioned. Of course, Robert Galbraith / J K Rowling is a great, inventive writer - but why is she unable to write books of a normal length ? And of course, with Cormoran's love of Robin declared, but not yet responded to - we will have to await the next instalment to find out what happens next. Roll on the next book !

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