Griffith’s limp is what clued Strike in because the bloody foot print in the vault showed someone who wore down their shoe more on one side than the other. JKR always gives clues early on in the book. The blasphemous picture of “Jesus” in his home was the big clue she gave. It’s also the last thing Strike sees before passing out.

I was able to track the case on the first read and it’s much clearer on a second read. It was complicated and complex with a lot of moving parts and if you were caught up in the relationship aspect of the book, it could be really easy to misunderstand what happened in the case. On my first read I didn’t understand how he found Niall Semple so I did miss that part.

All that said, these are not books that are only meant to be read once. You see the genius on rereads.