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Cormoran Strike #6
The Ink Black Heart
Listening Length: 32 hours and 42 minutes
The latest installment in the highly acclaimed, internationally bestselling Strike series finds Cormoran and Robin ensnared in another winding, wicked case.
When frantic, dishevelled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn't know quite what to make of the situation. The co-creator of a popular cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie's true identity.
Robin decides that the agency can't help with this - and thinks nothing more of it until a few days later, when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in Highgate Cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart.
Robin and her business partner Cormoran Strike become drawn into the quest to uncover Anomie's true identity. But with a complex web of online aliases, business interests and family conflicts to navigate, Strike and Robin find themselves embroiled in a case that stretches their powers of deduction to the limits - and which threatens them in new and horrifying ways . . .
A gripping, fiendishly clever mystery, The Ink Black Heart is a true tour-de-force.
The latest installment in the highly acclaimed, internationally bestselling Strike series finds Cormoran and Robin ensnared in another winding, wicked case.
When frantic, dishevelled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn't know quite what to make of the situation. The co-creator of a popular cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie's true identity.
Robin decides that the agency can't help with this - and thinks nothing more of it until a few days later, when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in Highgate Cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart.
Robin and her business partner Cormoran Strike become drawn into the quest to uncover Anomie's true identity. But with a complex web of online aliases, business interests and family conflicts to navigate, Strike and Robin find themselves embroiled in a case that stretches their powers of deduction to the limits - and which threatens them in new and horrifying ways . . .
A gripping, fiendishly clever mystery, The Ink Black Heart is a true tour-de-force.
33 pages, Audible Audio
First published August 30, 2022
About the author
Robert Galbraith
24 books30.6k followersThis is a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series and The Casual Vacancy, a novel for adults.
NOTE: There is more than one author with this name on Goodreads.
Rowling was born to Anne Rowling (née Volant) and Peter James Rowling, a Rolls-Royce aircraft engineer, on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Bristol. Her mother Anne was half-French and half-Scottish. Her parents first met on a train departing from King's Cross Station bound for Arbroath in 1964. They married on 14 March 1965. Her mother's maternal grandfather, Dugald Campbell, was born in Lamlash on the Isle of Arran. Her mother's paternal grandfather, Louis Volant, was awarded the Croix de Guerre for exceptional bravery in defending the village of Courcelles-le-Comte during the First World War.
Rowling's sister Dianne was born at their home when Rowling was 23 months old. The family moved to the nearby village Winterbourne when Rowling was four. She attended St Michael's Primary School, a school founded by abolitionist William Wilberforce and education reformer Hannah More. Her headmaster at St Michael's, Alfred Dunn, has been suggested as the inspiration for the Harry Potter headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
As a child, Rowling often wrote fantasy stories, which she would usually then read to her sister. She recalls that: "I can still remember me telling her a story in which she fell down a rabbit hole and was fed strawberries by the rabbit family inside it. Certainly the first story I ever wrote down (when I was five or six) was about a rabbit called Rabbit. He got the measles and was visited by his friends, including a giant bee called Miss Bee." At the age of nine, Rowling moved to Church Cottage in the Gloucestershire village of Tutshill, close to Chepstow, Wales. When she was a young teenager, her great aunt, who Rowling said "taught classics and approved of a thirst for knowledge, even of a questionable kind," gave her a very old copy of Jessica Mitford's autobiography, Hons and Rebels. Mitford became Rowling's heroine, and Rowling subsequently read all of her books.
Rowling has said of her teenage years, in an interview with The New Yorker, "I wasn’t particularly happy. I think it’s a dreadful time of life." She had a difficult homelife; her mother was ill and she had a difficult relationship with her father (she is no longer on speaking terms with him). She attended secondary school at Wyedean School and College, where her mother had worked as a technician in the science department. Rowling said of her adolescence, "Hermione [a bookish, know-it-all Harry Potter character] is loosely based on me. She's a caricature of me when I was eleven, which I'm not particularly proud of." Steve Eddy, who taught Rowling English when she first arrived, remembers her as "not exceptional" but "one of a group of girls who were bright, and quite good at English." Sean Harris, her best friend in the Upper Sixth owned a turquoise Ford Anglia, which she says inspired the one in her books.
NOTE: There is more than one author with this name on Goodreads.
Rowling was born to Anne Rowling (née Volant) and Peter James Rowling, a Rolls-Royce aircraft engineer, on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Bristol. Her mother Anne was half-French and half-Scottish. Her parents first met on a train departing from King's Cross Station bound for Arbroath in 1964. They married on 14 March 1965. Her mother's maternal grandfather, Dugald Campbell, was born in Lamlash on the Isle of Arran. Her mother's paternal grandfather, Louis Volant, was awarded the Croix de Guerre for exceptional bravery in defending the village of Courcelles-le-Comte during the First World War.
Rowling's sister Dianne was born at their home when Rowling was 23 months old. The family moved to the nearby village Winterbourne when Rowling was four. She attended St Michael's Primary School, a school founded by abolitionist William Wilberforce and education reformer Hannah More. Her headmaster at St Michael's, Alfred Dunn, has been suggested as the inspiration for the Harry Potter headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
As a child, Rowling often wrote fantasy stories, which she would usually then read to her sister. She recalls that: "I can still remember me telling her a story in which she fell down a rabbit hole and was fed strawberries by the rabbit family inside it. Certainly the first story I ever wrote down (when I was five or six) was about a rabbit called Rabbit. He got the measles and was visited by his friends, including a giant bee called Miss Bee." At the age of nine, Rowling moved to Church Cottage in the Gloucestershire village of Tutshill, close to Chepstow, Wales. When she was a young teenager, her great aunt, who Rowling said "taught classics and approved of a thirst for knowledge, even of a questionable kind," gave her a very old copy of Jessica Mitford's autobiography, Hons and Rebels. Mitford became Rowling's heroine, and Rowling subsequently read all of her books.
Rowling has said of her teenage years, in an interview with The New Yorker, "I wasn’t particularly happy. I think it’s a dreadful time of life." She had a difficult homelife; her mother was ill and she had a difficult relationship with her father (she is no longer on speaking terms with him). She attended secondary school at Wyedean School and College, where her mother had worked as a technician in the science department. Rowling said of her adolescence, "Hermione [a bookish, know-it-all Harry Potter character] is loosely based on me. She's a caricature of me when I was eleven, which I'm not particularly proud of." Steve Eddy, who taught Rowling English when she first arrived, remembers her as "not exceptional" but "one of a group of girls who were bright, and quite good at English." Sean Harris, her best friend in the Upper Sixth owned a turquoise Ford Anglia, which she says inspired the one in her books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 9,529 reviews
January 6, 2024
(A-) 84% | Very Good
Notes: Political but even-handed, left and right get reprimanded, merits weight, no novelette, it makes you hate the internet.
*Check out progress updates for detailed commentary:
Notes: Political but even-handed, left and right get reprimanded, merits weight, no novelette, it makes you hate the internet.
*Check out progress updates for detailed commentary:
September 9, 2022
Tweet #1:
Wow! What a brilliant, original, smart, gripping novel. J K Rowling has done it again. I am in awe of her imagination and attention to details.
Tweet #2
I was a bit worried when I saw the page count (1275 pages!!). Maybe an editor should have seen this before publication? Just a thought.
Tweet #2
I then realized half of those pages are tweets and message boards. I was not sure what to make of that but it worked. I really got invested in all mystery around the secret online characters and the quest to find who they really were in real life.
Tweet #3
Everything was perfectly planned, none of the tweets and messages were random. They each held a clue that was useful to the two detectives either on the spot or at a later occasion. The level of detail and creativity is almost scary.
Tweet #4
Plot: The co-creator of a successful cartoon, initially released free on You Tube and subsequently a hit on Netflix, is badly harassed online by some person called Anomie. Edie Ledwell tries to hire Robin to take the case but is refused for honourable reasons. She ends up dead and the firm is hired by her agent to find out who Anomie is.
Tweet#5
ctd: Anomie is the co-creator of a fan-based game inspired by the cartoon. To crack the case, Strike and Robin are forced to dive deep into the muddy and foul virtual world of the cartoon with its dedicated and aggressive fandom. Robin gets a central role in this investigation.
Tweet#6:
Add an offline art collective and a far right group to the mix to make things interesting. The usual themes are present: sex, love hate, violence towards women, rape, and rampant misogyny.
Tweet#7:
Also some new themes, which are more and more present in the virtual world: online aggression, racism and the raise of the extreme right, incels, ableism and other online trends.
Tweet#8
What about Strike and Robin, you might wonder? Well, Rowling really knows how to keep us wanting on this one. Something happens in the beginning between the two and the rest of the novel is dealing with that.
Tweet#9
How gripping is this book? I was a bit bored at around 40% (not for long) but I read the last quarter in one day. I might have pretended to work Yesterday at the office while keeping the Kindle app open to read. I also might have neglected a few (most) other duties.
Tweet#10
I can’t wait for Strike& Robin No.7
Wow! What a brilliant, original, smart, gripping novel. J K Rowling has done it again. I am in awe of her imagination and attention to details.
Tweet #2
I was a bit worried when I saw the page count (1275 pages!!). Maybe an editor should have seen this before publication? Just a thought.
Tweet #2
I then realized half of those pages are tweets and message boards. I was not sure what to make of that but it worked. I really got invested in all mystery around the secret online characters and the quest to find who they really were in real life.
Tweet #3
Everything was perfectly planned, none of the tweets and messages were random. They each held a clue that was useful to the two detectives either on the spot or at a later occasion. The level of detail and creativity is almost scary.
Tweet #4
Plot: The co-creator of a successful cartoon, initially released free on You Tube and subsequently a hit on Netflix, is badly harassed online by some person called Anomie. Edie Ledwell tries to hire Robin to take the case but is refused for honourable reasons. She ends up dead and the firm is hired by her agent to find out who Anomie is.
Tweet#5
ctd: Anomie is the co-creator of a fan-based game inspired by the cartoon. To crack the case, Strike and Robin are forced to dive deep into the muddy and foul virtual world of the cartoon with its dedicated and aggressive fandom. Robin gets a central role in this investigation.
Tweet#6:
Add an offline art collective and a far right group to the mix to make things interesting. The usual themes are present: sex, love hate, violence towards women, rape, and rampant misogyny.
Tweet#7:
Also some new themes, which are more and more present in the virtual world: online aggression, racism and the raise of the extreme right, incels, ableism and other online trends.
Tweet#8
What about Strike and Robin, you might wonder? Well, Rowling really knows how to keep us wanting on this one. Something happens in the beginning between the two and the rest of the novel is dealing with that.
Tweet#9
How gripping is this book? I was a bit bored at around 40% (not for long) but I read the last quarter in one day. I might have pretended to work Yesterday at the office while keeping the Kindle app open to read. I also might have neglected a few (most) other duties.
Tweet#10
I can’t wait for Strike& Robin No.7
September 4, 2022
For the love of chocolate, will someone please get this woman an editor willing to put their foot down? The length of these books is pure self-indulgence - there is no need for them to be so long. Too much time spent on suspects who end up to be insignificant, too many chat transcripts that try to skewer every twitter stereotype out there, too much will they won't they waffle between Strike and Robin....it's just. Too. Much. The pace of the story and the pleasure of reading could only benefit from the story being drastically tightened up.
Also I'm tired of hoping for Strike and Robin to get together but being forced to watch yet another relationship trainwreck with yet another completely boring woman. By now he should not still be falling into bed with anyone who offers.
There are giant books it's a pleasure to get lost in, but the last two in this series have just been exhausting.
Also I'm tired of hoping for Strike and Robin to get together but being forced to watch yet another relationship trainwreck with yet another completely boring woman. By now he should not still be falling into bed with anyone who offers.
There are giant books it's a pleasure to get lost in, but the last two in this series have just been exhausting.
September 12, 2022
For a minute, I was worried that the book itself sucks, based on the steep drop in the ratings. Then I scrolled down a bit and sighed a breath of relief - it’s just people mistaking Goodreads for Facebook or Twitter.
I am going to reserve judgement on the actual story until I’ve read it. When I have something to say about the author, I will do so in an appropriate forum.
I am going to reserve judgement on the actual story until I’ve read it. When I have something to say about the author, I will do so in an appropriate forum.
September 2, 2022
This is an actual review of the authors work not her political opinions. It makes me furious that people who have not even tried to read the book leave a review. This is another imaginative and curious Cormoran Strike novel. Very heavy on details which is Rowlings pattern. I am not a cartoonie which is what I refer to as the animated serials that stream now days so some of the book was tedious. I nailed the killer early on but was still surprised when it all played out. Another trait of the author, lulling you in to a sense of comfort only to toss curve balls at you. Of course I am sure the story line is not as important to me as the charisma between the lead characters and how far the author will let them go this time. If you are a fan this is another good one!
Read
September 2, 2022Another book that'll be rated on Goodreads but not read, set ablaze in rumors and not reading. This site is called GoodREADS not GoodRUMORS. The Goodreads community is interested in reviews not rumors. I hope Goodreads does something about this. The book is long. If you "rated" it moments after it came out, chances are you never read it. Stop lying to yourself (and others). Lying never did anyone any good.
NOTE TO GOODREADS: please do something about trolls on this site. People should not be able to rate books they obviously haven't read. This defeats the entire purpose of this site, which should predominately be concerned with reviews of books and not reviews of authors based on what Fox or CNN or NYT says about them.
September 5, 2022
“I want you to write ‘I must not tell lies.’”Never let it be said that JK Rowling doesn’t love to double down.—JK Rowling as Delores Umbridge, who stubbornly insists that people are lying when they are not.
When Troubled Blood came out, people questioned whether any mystery novel really needs to be 944 pages. So did JKR scale things back in her new Cormoran Strike novel, The Ink Black Heart? Of course not! This book clocks in at an absolutely bloated 1,024 pages.
But that’s not the doubling down we’re here to talk about. JKR took deserved criticism for unnecessarily wedging her anti-trans views and tropes into Troubled Blood. But surely in her new book she used her robust imagination to come up with a plot that was about … anything else in the entire universe other than her views on trans people, right? Of course not! The Ink Black Heart is about the female creator of a popular YouTube cartoon who releases a cartoon criticized as being racist, ableist, and—you guessed it—transphobic. First, a segment of her fans turn on her, and then she found stabbed to death in a cemetery. I’ll take “Authors Who Incorrectly See Themselves As Martyrs” for $200, Alex.
To be honest, I had no intention of reading or reviewing another book by JKR. I’d be good if I never heard her name again. She once wrote a brilliant series of children’s books that teaches nothing so much as the importance of love and tolerance. And since then she’s forgotten that lesson, exposed her own flaws, and written six adult books of varying quality (The Casual Vacancy was not very good, the early Cormoran Strike books were solid).
JKR is free to write whatever she wants. But I do wonder how many people care about a story that 1) is inspired by a literal billionaire whining that a bunch of her fans stopped liking her because they formed their own opinions about her publicly stated opinions, and 2) has the premise that it is the wealthy, powerful person who is in mortal danger at the hands of some secret conspiracy of wokeness, as opposed to the all-to-real violence actually perpetrated against marginalized communities.
Now, I know from my review of Troubled Blood that some people will read this review and feel compelled to comment and tell me how wrong I am (for someone who can’t stop playing the victim, JKR sure does have a lot of defenders). But when you do, please answer a question for me: Why do you care one whit what I, or people who have similar views to mine, think about this book? I mean, I am posting my review, but I don’t go onto other people’s reviews and challenge them about why they liked the book, or how they could be ok with what I view as a problem. Why does my review bother you so much that instead of just scrolling on by you actually stopped and took the time to criticize me? I am genuinely curious what makes people like you tick.
Not recommended, obviously.
P.S. Trans women are women.
September 7, 2022
944 pages, of course, how can it be anything lesser? Bring it ON, Ms. Rowling!
*****************************************************************************
Finally, it is here, and as expected SOCIAL MEDIA IS ABLAZE with hate messages, spoilers, and whatnot! But I am not here to say yea or nay to whatever hullaballoo is going around, this is an honest review of a series I love.
Ink Black Heart, the 6th book in the much loved Cormoran Strike series is like always with JKR a marvelous piece of writing. The story begins with the ending scene in the 5th book with both of them enjoying dinner at the Ritz for Robin’s 30th birthday.
Now basically the whole series is about TWO factors, one that concentrates on the push and pulls OR kind of Will they, Won’t they in the relationship of Robin and Strike, and SECOND the investigative aspect of the story. The majority of the fans of this series are definitely IN coz of the magnetism captured by Rowling in these two wonderful characters and ever since the show has been aired on TV, for me the images have been crystal clear in my mind. This part of the story is still kept open with one step forward by Strike and two steps backward by Robin and vice-versa. But as JKR says in her interviews, Strike will require more time to acknowledge his own attraction for Robin and the risks that may ensue as they are both unwilling to jeopardize their working relationship and deep friendship.
I can’t help but admire JKR for her plotting, I believe there are stories for 10 books in her head and honestly speaking the graph of Robin and Strike is so freakingly awesome that I can see how the relationship will take its own sweet time to develop as both of them struggle emotionally to let go. JKR surely knows where her leads are heading to.
Then the part about the mystery…The subject matter heavily resembling the kind of toxicity that has been hurled at the author herself is extremely engrossing. The kind of social media hatred that can be created to hamper an individual, is explored thoroughly by the author. NOPE, there is nothing about TRANSGENDER phobia portrayed in the story, and in fact, you have to give it to her for producing such a detailed and in-depth study of the masks that hides the faces in social media.
Definitely, not a fast paced thriller, which is obvious with its 1000+ pages, don’t worry, more than half of them are due to the chat transcripts that are covered in the book, but Strike and Robin’s investigation into cyberbullying is kind of an eye-opener and if JKR has used the theme to hit back at her trolls, then more power to her coz the extent of the persecution faced by the content creator here is unimaginable to put into words. The suspense did take its time to reach its climax and with a multitude of characters both in their online and offline avatars, it does take a chunk of our reading time to get them all sorted in our heads. The reveal, unlike other books, didn’t make me gasp or have my jaw drop, though the author carefully maintains the intriguing element of the story till the end.
Those reading in KINDLE, please be aware that the chat portions of the book are a nightmare to read as I could not increase the font size and I had to open them in my KINDLE APP to do that. I sincerely wish that the publishers redo the KINDLE VERSION at the earliest and give a break to my burning eyes.
This review is published in my blog Rain'n'Books, ##Goodreads, ##Amazon India, ##Book Bub, ##Medium.com, ##Facebook, ##Twitter.
*****************************************************************************
Finally, it is here, and as expected SOCIAL MEDIA IS ABLAZE with hate messages, spoilers, and whatnot! But I am not here to say yea or nay to whatever hullaballoo is going around, this is an honest review of a series I love.
Ink Black Heart, the 6th book in the much loved Cormoran Strike series is like always with JKR a marvelous piece of writing. The story begins with the ending scene in the 5th book with both of them enjoying dinner at the Ritz for Robin’s 30th birthday.
Now basically the whole series is about TWO factors, one that concentrates on the push and pulls OR kind of Will they, Won’t they in the relationship of Robin and Strike, and SECOND the investigative aspect of the story. The majority of the fans of this series are definitely IN coz of the magnetism captured by Rowling in these two wonderful characters and ever since the show has been aired on TV, for me the images have been crystal clear in my mind. This part of the story is still kept open with one step forward by Strike and two steps backward by Robin and vice-versa. But as JKR says in her interviews, Strike will require more time to acknowledge his own attraction for Robin and the risks that may ensue as they are both unwilling to jeopardize their working relationship and deep friendship.
I can’t help but admire JKR for her plotting, I believe there are stories for 10 books in her head and honestly speaking the graph of Robin and Strike is so freakingly awesome that I can see how the relationship will take its own sweet time to develop as both of them struggle emotionally to let go. JKR surely knows where her leads are heading to.
Then the part about the mystery…The subject matter heavily resembling the kind of toxicity that has been hurled at the author herself is extremely engrossing. The kind of social media hatred that can be created to hamper an individual, is explored thoroughly by the author. NOPE, there is nothing about TRANSGENDER phobia portrayed in the story, and in fact, you have to give it to her for producing such a detailed and in-depth study of the masks that hides the faces in social media.
Definitely, not a fast paced thriller, which is obvious with its 1000+ pages, don’t worry, more than half of them are due to the chat transcripts that are covered in the book, but Strike and Robin’s investigation into cyberbullying is kind of an eye-opener and if JKR has used the theme to hit back at her trolls, then more power to her coz the extent of the persecution faced by the content creator here is unimaginable to put into words. The suspense did take its time to reach its climax and with a multitude of characters both in their online and offline avatars, it does take a chunk of our reading time to get them all sorted in our heads. The reveal, unlike other books, didn’t make me gasp or have my jaw drop, though the author carefully maintains the intriguing element of the story till the end.
Those reading in KINDLE, please be aware that the chat portions of the book are a nightmare to read as I could not increase the font size and I had to open them in my KINDLE APP to do that. I sincerely wish that the publishers redo the KINDLE VERSION at the earliest and give a break to my burning eyes.
This review is published in my blog Rain'n'Books, ##Goodreads, ##Amazon India, ##Book Bub, ##Medium.com, ##Facebook, ##Twitter.
September 7, 2022
I am not a review-writer, until today.
I was floored by the amount of 1-star ratings this book had received. Sheesh. It is extremely well written, with beautifully developed characters and the thickest plot you could possibly expect. Not to mention it is still riveting despite being the sixth book in the series, (at which point you can usually tell the author has given up and is just trying to draw things out.) I can't even imagine how much time and effort had been poured into this book, I mean, my God, it's a 1000 page page-turner for Christsakes, how often does THAT happen?? This series had me in a chokehold from the very beginning- I had preordered the last two books of the series a month prior to their release dates and read them within a week of their delivery to my front door step. So, you can imagine my absolute shock when I saw how many 1-star reviews this installment to the series had collected.
That was, until I saw why it had been given all those measly one stars.
If you gave this book 1 star because you think that Rowling is transphobic, you are an absolute brick. There is not one, (I repeat, NOT ONE), shred of evidence in The Ink Black Heart that could possibly indict J.K. Rowling as transphobic, homophobic, whatever-kind-of-phobic-twitter-has-told-you-she-is.
This book is amazing, I'll be pre-ordering the next one as well.
I was floored by the amount of 1-star ratings this book had received. Sheesh. It is extremely well written, with beautifully developed characters and the thickest plot you could possibly expect. Not to mention it is still riveting despite being the sixth book in the series, (at which point you can usually tell the author has given up and is just trying to draw things out.) I can't even imagine how much time and effort had been poured into this book, I mean, my God, it's a 1000 page page-turner for Christsakes, how often does THAT happen?? This series had me in a chokehold from the very beginning- I had preordered the last two books of the series a month prior to their release dates and read them within a week of their delivery to my front door step. So, you can imagine my absolute shock when I saw how many 1-star reviews this installment to the series had collected.
That was, until I saw why it had been given all those measly one stars.
If you gave this book 1 star because you think that Rowling is transphobic, you are an absolute brick. There is not one, (I repeat, NOT ONE), shred of evidence in The Ink Black Heart that could possibly indict J.K. Rowling as transphobic, homophobic, whatever-kind-of-phobic-twitter-has-told-you-she-is.
This book is amazing, I'll be pre-ordering the next one as well.
September 2, 2022
Ink Black Heart is an excellent addition to the series. The juxtaposition of real world violence and internet harassment is chilling and the mystery is great.
As a note, the 1 star reviews from people who haven't read the book are much like the harassing and hate-filled online commentary that the book utilizes. Since these people haven't read the book, I just want to point out the irony of being an internet troll while on a page for a novel about internet trolls. Well done.
As a note, the 1 star reviews from people who haven't read the book are much like the harassing and hate-filled online commentary that the book utilizes. Since these people haven't read the book, I just want to point out the irony of being an internet troll while on a page for a novel about internet trolls. Well done.
August 25, 2022
Love her and will always admire this women. She deserves the world. It takes true courage to stand up against the injustice.
September 1, 2022
This was excellent.
If you've spent any time on the internet, particularly on twitter, especially as a woman and a feminist, a LOT of this book will be stuff that means more to you than someone ~just~ reading it.
"Women's capacity for pity is bloody dangerous." Too right.
I have many more feelings about this book but I JUST put it down so I need to digest it.
If you've spent any time on the internet, particularly on twitter, especially as a woman and a feminist, a LOT of this book will be stuff that means more to you than someone ~just~ reading it.
"Women's capacity for pity is bloody dangerous." Too right.
I have many more feelings about this book but I JUST put it down so I need to digest it.
September 4, 2022
I thought this was a safe space to write genuine reviews on the books we love.
These comments should not be allowed as they have nothing to do with the actual book.
All you keyboard warriors think that you have won but in this one book and her brilliant portrayal of the toxicity of chatrooms, JK Rowling has once again shown her brilliance as a storyteller, her understanding of society and people and proven herself a much more intelligent, thought-out, brave and compassionate human being than any of you awful people.
JK Rowling you have given me so many hours of pure joy reading your books. When this one came out, I was a child again getting my next Harry Potter installment. Thank you thank you thank you.Please don't stop writing and don't stop speaking out
These comments should not be allowed as they have nothing to do with the actual book.
All you keyboard warriors think that you have won but in this one book and her brilliant portrayal of the toxicity of chatrooms, JK Rowling has once again shown her brilliance as a storyteller, her understanding of society and people and proven herself a much more intelligent, thought-out, brave and compassionate human being than any of you awful people.
JK Rowling you have given me so many hours of pure joy reading your books. When this one came out, I was a child again getting my next Harry Potter installment. Thank you thank you thank you.Please don't stop writing and don't stop speaking out
December 27, 2022
This is Robert Galbraith's (JK Rowling) latest in London based private detectives, Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott series. As many of you will be aware, a short read this is not, this is one for those who love being deeply immersed in a book, here particularly in a online runaway YouTube success and its accompanying world of fans and obsessives of Edie Ledwell and Josh Blay's offbeat cartoon set in a cemetery, The Ink Black Heart. The cartoon has spawned a similarly popular offshoot Drek’s Game, created by the anonymous Morehouse and Anomie. A distraught, frantic and exhausted Edie, having attempted suicide, turns up at the agency offices, meeting Robin, wanting them to discover the real identity of Anomie, who has led a vicious and hateful online campaign targeting her.
Robin listens to her, but despite feeling sympathy, she is forced to turn Edie down, the agency is overladen with cases, the agency's popularity has risen with their past successes, and she feels they lack the necessary cyber expertise, and recommends other agencies. However, Robin is later horrified to learn that Edie has been tasered and stabbed to death at Highgate cemetery, with Josh left in intensive care facing a shocking life changing future. She follows the story, and pleased when the agency is offered the case by Edie's agent, and representatives of those wanting to make a film of the cartoon. Strike and Robin's inquiries are exacerbated by a shortfall in staff, they have recently taken on Mancunian Midge and Dev Shah, but with their other cases, they are stretched far too much in a dangerous, complex and twisted investigation.
Under the spotlight is the ongoing will they/won't they relationship, Robin and Strike now have a strong and valued established relationship, but both are so committed to their work that they are wary of risking what they have, it remains to be seen whether they will cross the line in the future. What is a delight is to observe a Robin shining in a investigation, she proves to be more than equal to Strike professionally, although she is to find that going to the aid of others brings terrors and dangers she could not have forseen. This was a wonderfully engaging read, touching on the perils of being online for women and girls, the toxic abuse, the paedophiles, the right wing extremists, incels and other predators. Robin and Strike have to wade their way through a litany of lies and deceptions before the truth is uncovered. This is a great series that will appeal to those who love the crime and mystery genre.
Robin listens to her, but despite feeling sympathy, she is forced to turn Edie down, the agency is overladen with cases, the agency's popularity has risen with their past successes, and she feels they lack the necessary cyber expertise, and recommends other agencies. However, Robin is later horrified to learn that Edie has been tasered and stabbed to death at Highgate cemetery, with Josh left in intensive care facing a shocking life changing future. She follows the story, and pleased when the agency is offered the case by Edie's agent, and representatives of those wanting to make a film of the cartoon. Strike and Robin's inquiries are exacerbated by a shortfall in staff, they have recently taken on Mancunian Midge and Dev Shah, but with their other cases, they are stretched far too much in a dangerous, complex and twisted investigation.
Under the spotlight is the ongoing will they/won't they relationship, Robin and Strike now have a strong and valued established relationship, but both are so committed to their work that they are wary of risking what they have, it remains to be seen whether they will cross the line in the future. What is a delight is to observe a Robin shining in a investigation, she proves to be more than equal to Strike professionally, although she is to find that going to the aid of others brings terrors and dangers she could not have forseen. This was a wonderfully engaging read, touching on the perils of being online for women and girls, the toxic abuse, the paedophiles, the right wing extremists, incels and other predators. Robin and Strike have to wade their way through a litany of lies and deceptions before the truth is uncovered. This is a great series that will appeal to those who love the crime and mystery genre.
September 4, 2022
So Rowling writes a book about the ways online trolls can twist reality and start false rumours and, in a move that surprises absolutely no one, online trolls start false rumours about the book, twisting reality. No, the victim is not an ableist transphobe, and the murderer is not some blue haired SJW. With that out of the way, I am rather glad I read it on my Kindle and didn't listen to the audiobook - the Twitter transcripts must be unbearable to listen to and everybody is complaining about it on Audible. Also, I had some fucker spoil the identity of the murderer for me on Twitter when I was halfway done - and I still enjoyed the book immensely. Favourite quote: “Feeling guilty about not achieving stuff is the result of internalised capitalism, apparently.”
November 20, 2022
It was too long for a mystery book, the other parts aka Strike-Robin situation was a mess from start to finish. A good chunk of this needed some serious editing and perhaps it is Rowling who got away with this length in this particular genre.
I guess the hate train that Rowling experienced for her transphobic comments was the inspiration behind this because this book was full of online hate and how people feel safe behind the screen of their computers or phones. And the people on the receiving end had to bear so much.
It was good mystery but the length was too much to go through. I felt like one of contract help that the Strike hires to observe their targets, following people around or just sitting out their houses, waiting/praying something to happen but everything remains still for a long time. By the time the suspect trips, it is not a feeling of triumph but the elation of ordeal being finally over.
I guess the hate train that Rowling experienced for her transphobic comments was the inspiration behind this because this book was full of online hate and how people feel safe behind the screen of their computers or phones. And the people on the receiving end had to bear so much.
It was good mystery but the length was too much to go through. I felt like one of contract help that the Strike hires to observe their targets, following people around or just sitting out their houses, waiting/praying something to happen but everything remains still for a long time. By the time the suspect trips, it is not a feeling of triumph but the elation of ordeal being finally over.
September 1, 2022
Awful book by an awful person. 1000 pages of terribly constructed characters, boring plot & lame attempts to appear like a victim. I have never liked JKR’s work it’s predictable and a rip off of other peoples ideas & other culture’s mythology.
JKR’s work feels like it’s only aimed at children & simpletons.
JKR’s work feels like it’s only aimed at children & simpletons.
September 18, 2022
The only problem I have with this instalment: It's not in my hands being read right now!! Come on, August, come fast!!!!!
(EDIT 1: Started it yesterday (thank you Amazon for delivering it the day of) and so far, I love it!! Had to start again to understand some of the online jargon, but I’m glad I did that because I was able to get more out of it. I can’t wait to see where this goes)
(EDIT 2: Finished the first half and this book really keeps you on your toes. I’ve read more than I intend than the last few days and I have to say so far, I’m loving this story. You could see how JKR’s experiences on social media in the last few years have had a profound influence for this novel. It takes a lot of courage to acknowledge something like this, even if many may take it in a way she probably never intended. I personally don’t find her transphobic whatsoever and if she denies those claims, then I believe her until otherwise noted. I go with my instincts and they usually turn out to be correct. Anyway, long story short, and I usually never go into things like this, JKR really knows how to write an intriguing tales regardless of genre and even if people may turn on her, I’ll be one of her supporters forever. It doesn’t mean I agree with some things she says, not by any stretch of any imagination you can, well, imagine. It’s always best to look at all the angles of any situation and decide where to go from there based on your instincts. Again, I love this story and I’m excited to see what comes next)
(Final Verdict: Definitely one of my favourite instalments of this series! Keep ‘em coming, JKR! Can’t wait to see what’s next for CormoRobin, and please make it sooner than later, if you can.)
(EDIT 1: Started it yesterday (thank you Amazon for delivering it the day of) and so far, I love it!! Had to start again to understand some of the online jargon, but I’m glad I did that because I was able to get more out of it. I can’t wait to see where this goes)
(EDIT 2: Finished the first half and this book really keeps you on your toes. I’ve read more than I intend than the last few days and I have to say so far, I’m loving this story. You could see how JKR’s experiences on social media in the last few years have had a profound influence for this novel. It takes a lot of courage to acknowledge something like this, even if many may take it in a way she probably never intended. I personally don’t find her transphobic whatsoever and if she denies those claims, then I believe her until otherwise noted. I go with my instincts and they usually turn out to be correct. Anyway, long story short, and I usually never go into things like this, JKR really knows how to write an intriguing tales regardless of genre and even if people may turn on her, I’ll be one of her supporters forever. It doesn’t mean I agree with some things she says, not by any stretch of any imagination you can, well, imagine. It’s always best to look at all the angles of any situation and decide where to go from there based on your instincts. Again, I love this story and I’m excited to see what comes next)
(Final Verdict: Definitely one of my favourite instalments of this series! Keep ‘em coming, JKR! Can’t wait to see what’s next for CormoRobin, and please make it sooner than later, if you can.)
August 31, 2022
I liked the novel as little as I liked CoE — a violent psycopath going on a murder spree because he is a violent psycopath has to be just about the least interesting reason for murder, and it's hard to feel concerned for the physical safety of the main characters of an ongoing series during the action sequences — only this book is three times as long and came after LW and TB, which were my favourites both because of how engaging the mysteries were and because of how much of the characters’ personal lives were woven in, and how real the secondary characters and the world they moved in felt.
The parts of this book that feature Robin’s parents (her dad has a heart attack/operation and she does not even go to see him? Seriously?), Ted, Prudence, THE DOG DYING JUST AS WE WERE ABOUT TO NEVER SEE HIM AND HIS OWNER AGAIN, felt like either cheap inconsequential drama or something that the author went back and inserted at random after the fact.
My sincere impression is that Rowling REALLY wanted to write this story and so she basically paused the series to force her established characters into it. Nothing about it felt connected to the previous novels and the story was not very good.
Also nice undeniable bit of transphobia when Robin and Strike go out of their way (and also forget that people can lie, I guess) to fully and definitely agree that someone complaining online about being on their period is irrefutably "a girl". One can try to separate art from artist (as hard to justify as it has become at this point) but now the hatred and the bitterness are bleeding fully into the story, and ruining that as well.
The parts of this book that feature Robin’s parents (her dad has a heart attack/operation and she does not even go to see him? Seriously?), Ted, Prudence, THE DOG DYING JUST AS WE WERE ABOUT TO NEVER SEE HIM AND HIS OWNER AGAIN, felt like either cheap inconsequential drama or something that the author went back and inserted at random after the fact.
My sincere impression is that Rowling REALLY wanted to write this story and so she basically paused the series to force her established characters into it. Nothing about it felt connected to the previous novels and the story was not very good.
Also nice undeniable bit of transphobia when Robin and Strike go out of their way (and also forget that people can lie, I guess) to fully and definitely agree that someone complaining online about being on their period is irrefutably "a girl". One can try to separate art from artist (as hard to justify as it has become at this point) but now the hatred and the bitterness are bleeding fully into the story, and ruining that as well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2022
2022
I have so many feelings about this.
First off, it's a little hard to follow, between the tweets, emails, screen names across multiple platforms, normal names... oh man... it's just a lot at first read. I will be rereading this monster of a book again here pretty soon and I'm sure it'll be easier to follow.
Second, no one writes stories that are as intricate and mind blowing as JK. I mean stuff that doesn't even seem relevant ends up cracking the whole case. Like... how do you even think of that?! ...blows my mind...
Lastly, and let me preface this statement by saying I am all about the slow burn romance, and I know that this is NOT a romance series, but Strike and Robin make me want to scream. Loudly. Frequently. A lot. It's now been 6 books. 6 books of awkward and jitters and giddy. 6. 6 FFS! That aspect of the story is just dragging on to the point of irritation. At least irritating me. Either do it or don't but for the love of all that's good and holy do SOMETHING!
All in all, another fantastic gem by JK. Waiting for the next one with bated breat!
I have so many feelings about this.
First off, it's a little hard to follow, between the tweets, emails, screen names across multiple platforms, normal names... oh man... it's just a lot at first read. I will be rereading this monster of a book again here pretty soon and I'm sure it'll be easier to follow.
Second, no one writes stories that are as intricate and mind blowing as JK. I mean stuff that doesn't even seem relevant ends up cracking the whole case. Like... how do you even think of that?! ...blows my mind...
Lastly, and let me preface this statement by saying I am all about the slow burn romance, and I know that this is NOT a romance series, but Strike and Robin make me want to scream. Loudly. Frequently. A lot. It's now been 6 books. 6 books of awkward and jitters and giddy. 6. 6 FFS! That aspect of the story is just dragging on to the point of irritation. At least irritating me. Either do it or don't but for the love of all that's good and holy do SOMETHING!
All in all, another fantastic gem by JK. Waiting for the next one with bated breat!
August 31, 2022
JK Rowling writes over a thousand pages of self indulgent persecution fetish. Babe this belongs in livejournal like 20 years ago, for you to cringe about when you remembered the time in your life before you'd ever experienced real hardship and also before you'd ever had a single conversation with a trans person.
Truly sad because she could have just retired and lived off her potter royalties for the rest of her life, but instead she swerves out of her way to stomp on people who are already being systematically persecuted. Then, adding another insult to the injury, she monetizes fantasizing incessantly about how she was the real victim the entire time.
Truly sad because she could have just retired and lived off her potter royalties for the rest of her life, but instead she swerves out of her way to stomp on people who are already being systematically persecuted. Then, adding another insult to the injury, she monetizes fantasizing incessantly about how she was the real victim the entire time.
August 31, 2022
I went into this knowing the plot was going to be bad - the first time I heard the summary I was convinced it was satire. But I wasn't expecting the quality of the writing to be as poor as it was.
First of all, this book is not as long as it seems. It might be a lot of pages, but a huge amount of space is taken up formatting conversations into Tweets / texts / other forms of digital communication. There's even a table that took up an entire page on my phone, listing out someone's search history, complete with links that I'm not entirely sure were made up. While it can be a fun gimmick in books, it became very monotonous very quickly. If I wanted to read Twitter drama, I would be on Twitter, not reading a book.
Maybe Rowling's juvenile writing worked in her favour as a children's author, but it doesn't carry well into adult lit, not even with the low standards these types of crime thrillers usually have. Her constant need to write out colloquialisms and accents, her flat, gray descriptions of the world, and her lack of interesting sentence structure. Ironically, it reads far more like a fanfiction written by one of the overly-online characters in the book than something that should have been professionally published.
And, of course, it's impossible to read this book without talking about Rowling's politics. They're practically the entire plot. I do find it bizarre how she seems to directly reference some things she was "cancelled" for (a direct reference to the fictional author having a character that looked like an antisemitic stereotype vs people pointing out the antisemitic goblin tropes used in Harry Potter.) While for some issues she foregoes the parallel completely to make the author more sympathetic. In the novel the author is mentioned to have been cancelled for transphobia over portraying a "hermaphrodite worm", while in real life Rowling places a lot of identity in her anti-trans views.
Anyway, in conclusion, I do think it's kind of beautiful that people who are going to read this for the transphobia will have to suffer through this headache-inducing monstrosity. And for those of you that are going to hate-read... make sure to support small businesses and get it from your favourite independent online ebook library.
First of all, this book is not as long as it seems. It might be a lot of pages, but a huge amount of space is taken up formatting conversations into Tweets / texts / other forms of digital communication. There's even a table that took up an entire page on my phone, listing out someone's search history, complete with links that I'm not entirely sure were made up. While it can be a fun gimmick in books, it became very monotonous very quickly. If I wanted to read Twitter drama, I would be on Twitter, not reading a book.
Maybe Rowling's juvenile writing worked in her favour as a children's author, but it doesn't carry well into adult lit, not even with the low standards these types of crime thrillers usually have. Her constant need to write out colloquialisms and accents, her flat, gray descriptions of the world, and her lack of interesting sentence structure. Ironically, it reads far more like a fanfiction written by one of the overly-online characters in the book than something that should have been professionally published.
And, of course, it's impossible to read this book without talking about Rowling's politics. They're practically the entire plot. I do find it bizarre how she seems to directly reference some things she was "cancelled" for (a direct reference to the fictional author having a character that looked like an antisemitic stereotype vs people pointing out the antisemitic goblin tropes used in Harry Potter.) While for some issues she foregoes the parallel completely to make the author more sympathetic. In the novel the author is mentioned to have been cancelled for transphobia over portraying a "hermaphrodite worm", while in real life Rowling places a lot of identity in her anti-trans views.
Anyway, in conclusion, I do think it's kind of beautiful that people who are going to read this for the transphobia will have to suffer through this headache-inducing monstrosity. And for those of you that are going to hate-read... make sure to support small businesses and get it from your favourite independent online ebook library.
September 2, 2022
yeah dude!!
troubled blood is still my fav (so far) but the absolute grip this had on me was unreal. i love the prose in these books, the characterizations, the atmosphere, the crimes. i'm obsessed. i'm going to get this series leather-bound.
troubled blood is still my fav (so far) but the absolute grip this had on me was unreal. i love the prose in these books, the characterizations, the atmosphere, the crimes. i'm obsessed. i'm going to get this series leather-bound.
September 7, 2022
An extremely accomplished contemporary crime novel- epistolary and with a tremendously wide range of characters- this is not a novel to dip into occasionally- it requires concentration- but is also well worth the effort. The books and cases in this series are each different and as far from formulaic as you can get. A wide cast of characters, Dickensian style, may not be for everyone but I thoroughly loved it and wanted to stay in the world of Strike and Ellacott for as long as possible. Not only does this book highlight many of the negative aspects of on line social media, but good on Rowling for addressing the issue that she herself has had to get through.
November 27, 2022
Read this beast in one go. Unputdownable.
Read
September 1, 2022jkr needs to go to therapy instead of channeling her ignorance and transphobia into poorly written books. I will never buy this book and if a copy of it ever ends up in my hands, it’s going straight in the trash. I’ve read some snippets of the book and not only is it filled with extreme transphobia, the book actually enforces gender stereotypes nonstop and it makes funny of spoonies. I wish I was joking about that spoonies part but she literally makes fun of a character in the book and one the few details given about the character is that they have POTS, fybromyalgia, and CFS. If you like reading thrillers, I highly recommend reading literally any other thriller besides this one.
Also, can we talk about how jkr’s pen name for her thrillers is the name of a famous guy connected to conversion therapy? That should’ve been a warning sign that she was going off the deep end…
(And just a disclaimer goodreads, I have no star rating on this review, therefore, my review doesn’t impact the overall book rating and it doesn’t need to be taken down.)
Also, can we talk about how jkr’s pen name for her thrillers is the name of a famous guy connected to conversion therapy? That should’ve been a warning sign that she was going off the deep end…
(And just a disclaimer goodreads, I have no star rating on this review, therefore, my review doesn’t impact the overall book rating and it doesn’t need to be taken down.)
October 12, 2023
Putting aside any and all author controversy, because as with all Galbraith books lately, I’ve refused to read any reviews prior to finishing the book. I may not agree with all of Rowlings opinions, but she is an excellent mystery author.
That being said, I found the story, as always, incredibly complex and one that pulled you in from the beginning. Could you draw many parallels between the story and JKs experience over the past few years? Undoubtedly. Did this book leave me hungering for even more Strike and Robin? Also undoubtedly. As always, I was left guessing by the complex plot until the very end.
One note: I actually feel JK is likely uniquely qualified to speak on this topic, for better or worse, of a fandom turning on the original creator. So it was interesting to read some of that and ruminate on it.
That being said, I found the story, as always, incredibly complex and one that pulled you in from the beginning. Could you draw many parallels between the story and JKs experience over the past few years? Undoubtedly. Did this book leave me hungering for even more Strike and Robin? Also undoubtedly. As always, I was left guessing by the complex plot until the very end.
One note: I actually feel JK is likely uniquely qualified to speak on this topic, for better or worse, of a fandom turning on the original creator. So it was interesting to read some of that and ruminate on it.
September 7, 2022
I am utterly baffled by why this plot requires over 1000 pages to be complete. I’ve been a Cormoran Strike fan from the beginning but these last couple books have really pushed me as far as I can go. What editor read this book and said “yup, totally fine.”?! There are so many plot lines that just don’t go anywhere or move anything forward (Prudence, even Charlotte?!).
There is a lot of political commentary in this book and, unlike a lot of the reviews, I don’t have as much of a problem with it. JK believes what she believes, some of that doesn’t align with what I believe but I can look past that for a good story. The problem in this book is that there really isn’t a good story so all you’re left with is the feeling of having the author’s ideology shoved down your throat regardless of whether you agree with it or not.
The story essentially follows the duo chasing down an anonymous troll who may be responsible for the death of a cartoon creator and the paralysis of her co creator. What follows is 1000 pages of them chasing it down futilely until the last 50 pages.
Do yourself a favor and skip this one.
There is a lot of political commentary in this book and, unlike a lot of the reviews, I don’t have as much of a problem with it. JK believes what she believes, some of that doesn’t align with what I believe but I can look past that for a good story. The problem in this book is that there really isn’t a good story so all you’re left with is the feeling of having the author’s ideology shoved down your throat regardless of whether you agree with it or not.
The story essentially follows the duo chasing down an anonymous troll who may be responsible for the death of a cartoon creator and the paralysis of her co creator. What follows is 1000 pages of them chasing it down futilely until the last 50 pages.
Do yourself a favor and skip this one.
September 2, 2022
This is an actual review from someone who’s read the book.
I couldn’t wait to continue on with Robin and Strike! I soaked up this 32+ hour audiobook in 3 days!
I’m going to be honest, I didn’t continue with this series for the plots. I’m here for the characters! I’ve seen some complaints about the book being too long and I agree. If it’d been long because of character development, I wouldn’t have minded. But it was mostly chat room conversations, and those are a slog in audio format.
Having said that, this book has much higher stakes than the previous books. Yes, Robin’s been in physical danger before, but not like this. There are several suspenseful parts, and one that had me really worried.
And there’s still the ‘will they, won’t they’ between Robin and Strike.
I really enjoyed it, despite its flaws. It’s a great addition to the series!
I couldn’t wait to continue on with Robin and Strike! I soaked up this 32+ hour audiobook in 3 days!
I’m going to be honest, I didn’t continue with this series for the plots. I’m here for the characters! I’ve seen some complaints about the book being too long and I agree. If it’d been long because of character development, I wouldn’t have minded. But it was mostly chat room conversations, and those are a slog in audio format.
Having said that, this book has much higher stakes than the previous books. Yes, Robin’s been in physical danger before, but not like this. There are several suspenseful parts, and one that had me really worried.
And there’s still the ‘will they, won’t they’ between Robin and Strike.
I really enjoyed it, despite its flaws. It’s a great addition to the series!
September 2, 2022
I'm loving Robin's character arc throughout this series. There was a ton of info to sift through in this book, so I did not guess the killer at all on this one. I will definitely reread this so I can find the hints that Rowling always leaves. I also feel that J.K. Rowling did a good job in describing the experience of being the target of online hate (obviously) which definitely made me think more about the way we use social media. Overall, an excellent addition to the Cormoran Strike series and I'm glad the ending is pretty open ended (aka there will be another installment).
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