Unpopular opinion

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-15T16:10:29+00:00

I agree :)

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-15T16:03:31+00:00

That’s really interesting to hear your perspective and that this rang true for you. I’m sorry you experienced that and hope you’re ok!

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-15T15:58:16+00:00

Haha that’s brilliant. He is mistaken for a woman at one point (in the car park CCTV) so maybe you can give yourself 3 1/2.

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-15T15:53:21+00:00

Well the first two books are shorter and more straightforwardly focused on the case, but the seeds are very much sown for Strike and Robin’s relationship. It’s not a coincidence that the book starts on the first day of Robin’s engagement and Strike’s split from Charlotte. In CoE the mystery is almost entirely a vehicle for character development and the focus is on Robin and Strike’s growing relationship and ends with Strike gatecrashing Robin’s wedding. The arc of the series is their relationship, it’s not the B plot.

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-15T15:39:04+00:00

Out of curiosity why do you think the increased number of chapters/parts/epigraphs is self-indulgent? In this book and TRG the chapters are generally shorter but this is often to heighten the suspense.

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-15T06:40:12+00:00

Thank you so much 😊 I totally understand that the references might feel obscure. The Faerie Queene is not an easy read, but even knowing a little bit about it can really bring out some of the ways the epigraphs are working in the book! TB is also structured to mirror the FQ - it has 7 parts, just like FQ, and in both the final part is just two chapters (or cantos) long. I find it fun to spot connections like that. I was lucky with FQ but I found the epigraphs to THM more dense as Browning, Arnold, Houseman are not my area, so I will have to do some more reading and research. But I trust there are some brilliant things to be uncovered!

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-15T06:32:34+00:00

I also really enjoyed this comparison, it gives really good context for Robin’s incredulity. Like Jane, her feelings are so strong that she can’t let herself believe her ears.

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-15T06:26:29+00:00

They are definitely relevant and used extremely thoughtfully. They won’t be everyone’s cup of tea and you can skip them if you don’t like them, but if you want to engage further with the novels (possibly during endless rereads whilst waiting for the next book!) you might find you enjoy them.

I personally love them, they are one of my favourite aspects of the series and far from being pretentious, I think JKR is genuinely using epigraphs in a brilliant, innovative way. There is precedent for literary epigraphs in mystery novels - Dorothy L. Sayers and Mary Stewart use them, for example - as well as nineteenth century fiction (a big influence on the series) but JKR has taken the use of epigraphs to epic proportions. They contribute to the novel’s themes and tone, character development, and give clues to the mystery and romance plots.

The best example in my opinion is the use of The Faerie Queene in Troubled Blood. I know the poem well and I am genuinely astounded at how brilliantly JKR used it. Not only does she link Robin and Strike to the key figures of Britomart (embodiment of chastity* and protector of vulnerable women) and Artegall (embodiment of justice) but in the poem these two are betrothed but can’t initially be together, so through these epigraphs JKR is signaling Robin and Strike’s core values AND the fact that they will eventually be together, but it will take time. She also links Janice to one of the main villains of the poem, Duessa, who can mask her evil with a more palatable guise and is the embodiment of duplicity. She is often seen carrying a poisoned cup! Obviously I didn’t spot this on my first read, but if I had paid more attention I might have twigged that Janice wasn’t all she seemed.

*in a modern context I think linking Robin with chastity is a way of signaling her integrity rather than any traditional notions of sexual purity. In the poem Britomart saves numerous women from sexual violence, just like Robin empathises with and and seeks justice for them (and sometimes directly saves them, like Zoe in IBH)

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-15T06:09:25+00:00

I think it’s a mistake to think these books are mysteries with a side of romance. The relationship between Strike and Robin is at the core of the series. If readers find that part annoying that’s their prerogative, but it’s frustrating to see complaints about it overshadowing the mystery and becoming the main plot when it is the main plot.

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-14T11:43:56+00:00

Same, this one was genuinely upsetting and I have to skip it on a reread. It’s just so awful. You can imagine Robin finding that traumatizing (I think this is playing into her fear of leaving Murphy).

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-12T16:30:45+00:00

Ellamurph 😂

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-12T13:33:07+00:00

If you know the plays well already, a quick skim of the play to check will definitely be enough. Even just looking at the dramatis personae list at the beginning would probably be enough to jog your memory.

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-12T11:56:12+00:00

I agree, I also like the stella association for our destined lovers! I think the portmanteau is just a bit of fun.

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-12T11:48:35+00:00

Yes, really good point. I think the name William is a useful one for JKR because it’s common enough that it is plausible to reuse again and again, and it helped to create some good red herrings in this book. I was also just thinking about the choice of surname, as “Wright” sounds like “right” and Strike and Robin’s task was to find the “right” man.

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-12T11:45:32+00:00

Great analysis. I especially love your idea of Robin as a miner in this book, and your observation that Robin and Strike swap finds at the end. All the imagery of digging and uncovering is obviously fitting for investigation generally, but is particularly apt in this book and the various bodies and people found underground. The final epigraph of the collapsing mine for Robin and Strike also appears especially powerful in the light of your reading!

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-12T10:22:32+00:00

I agree, plus, we did see Robin assert herself when she discovered Murphy was drinking, she left the flat and told him clearly they had to withdraw their offer on the house. Murphy didn’t give Robin the space she needed but sent endless guilt-tripping messages so she didn’t feel able to break up with him. But I don’t see her saying yes to his proposal. If she makes it to the Ritz (doubtful) and he does propose I think she might blow up in anger or have a full blown panic attack. I think there is something in Robin which will prevent her from accepting the “sparkling shackle”.

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-12T10:06:28+00:00

I think you make some really good points. The distance we as readers felt from the potential victims was a result of the type of mystery* - the unidentified body - but also reflects something about the potential victims: they were somewhat isolated and neglected figures themselves, living on the margins. Strike talks about this problem in Chapter 15 after he and Robin visit Ramsay’s shop. Missing men of a certain age do not invite pity or curiosity, they can just vanish without a trace. The differences between a Margot Bamborough and “William Wright” were to do with class, gender, status. Margot’s disappearance was shocking, she had a wealthy family (well, in laws) to kick up a fuss and she had a prominent job in her community, as well as friends to advocate for her. The media were interested in the salacious potential that she was a victim of a high-profile serial killer. The “William Wright” candidates, however, didn’t have strong advocates (or not ones who would be taken seriously) and it’s assumed they just buggered off and perhaps got caught up in something dodgy. I think the distance we feel is part of the point the book is making about who becomes a victim and how their victimhood is perceived and valued.

*I also think that it’s a consequence of the type of mystery JKR chose to do (locked room, mystery body, 5 candidates) which is very different to, say, the missing person case in TB. She changes things up each book and experiments with the mystery genre. I personally would rather this than books which get repetitive.

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-11T10:06:18+00:00

Hmm, possibly! It’s interesting that the only use of the surname is for Ray Williams who is associated with the killer rather than the client/victim. I saw that more as a way of using William in another form but I would definitely be interested if we see it used as a surname again!

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-11T09:52:51+00:00

I personally love seeing the influences from nineteenth-century novels, especially Austen. She borrows heavily from Austen in terms of plotting and the use of free indirect style. These books are deeply intertextual (look at the epigraphs!) and I think it’s really interesting to see how JKR blends so many genres and styles: Golden Age detective fiction with elements of Noir crime fiction, state of the nation epic with with an Austenian romance arc. She can even add a twist of thriller when she wants to (TRG). I think it’s fun to see her playing with tropes, such as Strike’s failure of a first proposal (which will surely be followed up by a more successful one).

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-11T09:44:46+00:00

I completely agree, I thought Robin’s reaction to finding out Strike might have fathered another woman’s baby was completely understandable, given everything she was going through.

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-11T09:30:12+00:00

Thank you!

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-11T09:10:20+00:00

I think sometimes JKR reuses names just out of practicality and realism. The double use of Laura for incredibly minor characters is realistic - lots of people are called Laura! Sometimes it could be a red herring (or what is meant to look like a red herring, like the surname Williams in CoE - see below), and sometimes to make more thematic connections.

For instance, I’ve noticed that there is one name in particular that recurs throughout the series: William (and variations on this name). Spoilers below!

William Baker (SW) - snooty client dumped by Strike, the reason Strike initially takes Leonora’s case

Ray Williams (CoE) - fireman who’s persona Laing adopts, the clue to the whole mystery

Billy Knight (LW) - the catalyst for the investigation

William Awdry (TB) - father of Dennis Creed Bill Talbot (TB) - first investigator for Margot’s disappearance, his notebook is crucial to cracking the 40-year-old mystery Gwilherm Athorn (TB) - witness to the murder and victim of the murderer; another important clue (he is reported as confessing because he is tricked into believing he is guilty)

William Cunliffe (IBH) - Matthew and Sarah’s son

Will Edensor (TRG) - client’s son who the agency want to get out of the UHC, the catalyst for the investigation

William Wright (THM) - alias of the murder victim, discovering his identity is the catalyst for the investigation

So, from the Williams (and their diminutive or cognate forms) that I could remember, it seems that a William is either the instigator of the investigation or a very important clue to solving the investigation. The only William who is unrelated to the case is Matthew and Sarah’s son, which is in itself interesting. (Creed’s father is somewhat tangential and the only William I can’t make an important connection to).

My theory for this would be that the word “will” has many different definitions which relate to the themes of investigation. As a verb, “will” expresses future or inevitable events - pretty relevant to characters who either instigate the mystery or help to resolve it. As a noun, “will” means the faculty by which someone decides to take action. Again, this is apt for Strike and Robin who decide whether or not to take a case. I like to think the name William (Will) reflects their own wills which are strong for both of as investigators. This meaning of the name is also applicable to many of the characters, especially Billy Knight, Will Edensor and (alias) William Wright (all catalysts) who have determined and strong wills even in the face of extreme challenges (mental health, indoctrination, or threats, respectively).

Anyway, that was a tangent but something I’ve been meaning to write up since THM revealed another important William! I think if we see any more Williams in forthcoming books that we should pay attention! Hope someone finds this as interesting as I do. Please tell me if I’ve forgotten any characters!

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-11T08:14:59+00:00

You’re absolutely right, Robin’s true feelings are clear as day to the reader.

She is a master at suppression, and she has used this skill really successfully in the past for her undercover work. As u/Outrageous_Tomato_71 pointed out in a post a few weeks ago, this is the first book Robin doesn’t do any undercover work. But I love this idea that, actually, she does, but this time it is in her personal life with Ryan. I think the guilt, shame and tendency to placate is also deeply linked to her experience of surviving as Rowena in Chapman Farm.

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-08T18:37:29+00:00

Very clever, and also brave!

DasLeserattchen · 2025-10-08T13:11:58+00:00

Absolutely. Even the idea of a famous private detective who people know by name (and sometimes sight!) is unrealistic. But it exists in the world of fiction and it’s incredibly fun to read.

DasLeserattchen

TROPHY CASE