*SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS INK BLACK HEART *SPOILERS*

I couldn't get invested in Madeleine either, I knew she would end up jettisoned 😅

Yes I thought that was really interesting too. Strike did warn her she wouldn't like him though!

I loved the Latin story from Strike. My dh went to school in London and he did Latin ( only a comp) not that he can remember any of it now.
A few Latin and Greek references in this book too, she likes her classics.
The poems she chose were interesting too.
Nice mix.
Polesworth is just a laddy one isn't he?
Strike knows his got a good heart deep down and used to army bantz etc , but Robin hasn't seen his good side in action so has a different view of him completely.

The repeated mentions of Pez’s penis really made me laugh 😂

The Polworth thing is interesting, driving home how two people can see someone completely differently. Loyal, hilarious and caring (Strike, TB and previous); a bit of an offensive small-minded twat (Robin, IBH).

If Pez had had better hygiene and clean clothes he might have been ok. I like the Liverpool accent too. At least he didn't push her into having sex or anything too terrible.
Just a chancer really. Even if he was one of the suspects!

Yes Sarah is rather like a pound shop version of Charlotte! So I expect her to move on to someone with bigger assets <ahem> but not to be happy as a result. I guess the appalling Jago is available now but I wouldn't wish him even on Sarah.

Pez needed a plunge in the sheep dip.

Yeah, I noticed the small penis bit with Matthew !! Lol
Pez calling her gorgeous made me feel gooey ( even if he was a bit of a creepy one)
Sarah doesn't deserve anyone nice, she deserves all the heartache in the world

I bet Matt rocks up in book 7.
The new baby and Sarah giving him grief.
Hope she tells him to sod off!

I'm hoping Matt will be back in a later book when he gets his comeuppance from Sarah running off with someone richer and (apparently) better endowed.

Polesworth was good with Ted and Jean , but J K has gone off him and his wife it seems !! It was only a brief mention at dinner though to be fair
Plus Robin isn't your typical mumsy sort so other women may find her hard to relate to a bit ? She has a different life to other people now

I’ve just returned the Kindle version and have ordered the hardback. Just impossible to enjoy, peering through a magnifying glass!

Poleworth didn't do well in this book either, I suppose the Cornish connection was very well covered in TB. Still I would've liked a bit of St Maws.

I wonder is Matt gone forever or will he surface again down the line?

Nothing much about their families in this book : the Rokeby crowd didn't feature or Robin's family that much. It was much more brisk in its writing than TB. Less faffing about presents and perfume buying this time too!

We got yet another trailer for Strike's hideous Norfolk childhood experience, which I think will be significant on Book 7.

Ted wasn't mentioned, only one or two sentences and Shankar too , just one ( funny ) text !
I Hope that book 7 is more traditional although all the books have complex storylines.

Charlotte , She was still described as gorgeous though ( the two teens gawping at her and
Strike thinking ' I don't blame them ' ) and Robin comparing her own clothes to her designer ones , she felt a bit like Cinderella there.
Despite being evil and all the rest of it , she'll always get by on her looks and connections and old money.
Nothing much will affect her really :(
People like that get away with it all.

Yeah think the penny dropped for Strike when she offered up the twins to Ross. Sharing custody with him when she knows what he’s like.
But I’ve said it many times on these threads they need to solve his mother’s murder. Maybe that will be the last book and the case that finally brings them together.

I liked how Charlotte was depicted this time. In previous books she was beautiful, gorgeous, husky voice, funny etc. because that's how Strike still saw her.

This time she's just flat out awful as if he finally sees her for what she is.

I think we're done with her now.

There are four more books to go , so I think we will need to wait for these two to get their act together.
I wonder if the lockdowns will feature at all later on in the series? It's 2015 now.

I felt the same about the opportunities - when they went to the hotel I thought, oh no, surely there won’t only be one bed!! And there wasn’t. But then he went into her room when she was wearing pyjamas and I thought, ‘Here we go!’ But nothing..

Love Pat , such a vivid character.
I know someone who is like her a lot
We get on, but nobody is that close to her really
Too brittle for many people.

The sad thing about Campbell -Ross is she is putting her poor twins through the same childhood she had , money and privileges galore , but not a shred of love or stability :(
The cycle continues.
Even Strike , who I like a lot , has that dismissive attitude sometimes , cold hearted. He would never be as bad as her , of course , but their upbringing has defined them both to appear unfeeling ( she is, he does it to protect himself )
Both are a physiatrists dream patients when it comes to childhood and background and how it shapes you.
You could write a stand alone book about Charlotte. A kind of human Voldemort!

Finished yesterday, wish it had have been released on the bank holiday as I reckon I could have got most of it read in a single day then!

The web chats were super painful on the Kindle, I can't even imagine with the audio version. Even writing them must have been a nightmare.

I think Charlotte was there purely so that Strike could finally be free of his obsession with her. She needed dealing with before anything could happen with Robin. I thought it was a shame more didn't happen with Robin, given in the last book they came quite close to sleeping together. Lots of teasy opportunities for it to happen - he stays at her flat, they stay in hotels together - but basically nada. I definitely hope Charlotte is left out of book 7, she is the biggest pain in the arse imaginable. I did think her sub-plot was going to link back to the main plot in some way, but would much rather just have her out of the way.

The rest of the crew were brilliant, Midge was great and Pat fantastic in dealing with them all.

I didn't guess the murderer, he didn't seem very developed as a character (esp compared to some of the red herrings).

Some interesting themes for Rowling - fandoms, internet abuse. Makes me extremely glad my ds has never shown any interest in social media, given some of the stuff written to and about young teens.

The red herrings are hard to pick up on.
I had a feeling of who it was from one of their visits early on , but I kept going back to someone else.
Charlotte Campbell was even more vile / evil than normal :( I think that having those poor babies has really messed with her head even more than usual tbh. Deranged character
Hope she is left out of book 7.
Loved to have met Pru. Maybe next time.

Loved it. Thinking of immediately re-reading.