Who's got their copy of Robert Galbraith's (JKR) latest?

I think one thing with late-series Rowling is that there are a large number of recurring characters we need to catch up with. At the beginning the cast-list is relatively sparse, but alongside a new plot-relevant cast we have all the established friends and family members who have to be somewhere doing something.

& For this series in particular, the agency is supposed to be growing and being successful - so that almost necessitates more plot strands to keep everyone busy.

That’s fair. They are books that demand concentration and attention, which is relatively unusual in that genre, I think.

I think part of the problem with editing is the serial nature of it.

There are things which seems totally irrelevant that crop up later. I'm putting Midge's date with Ellen and the stuff about Martin in the category of 'wouldn't be surprised if that turns out to be significant'.

I wasn't a fan of all the Charlotte stuff but the scene in the church in TRG is one of my favourite bits of writing in any of them.

While I do agree it can be a bit hard to follow, I find I often work out other books because of the superfluous character or plot and so she buries it deep and even when I've suspected, there's always been more to it.

True. I also wonder whether JKR is so big a name that editors hold off in a way they wouldn’t with less famous writers.

None of that is to criticise JKR, by the way. She’s a fabulous writer and the country’s best campaigner.

I just wish THM had been tighter!

I seem to recall an interview for the Harry Potter books in which JKR said that there was a bit of an editing problem for the later books (door stoppers that they were) and that was that nobody had the faintest idea why the books had gone stratospheric.

Which makes for a very nervous editor because the bit you edit out, or the subplot you cut, might be the very bit that makes them so successful.

I was surprised in THM when Linda tells Robin that she and Michael never really liked Matthew.
Well, she kept that quiet!

Robin could have done with that information when she was umming and ahhing about the wedding. She might have found the strength to call it off.

I'm only on the second book, but I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I don't usually read crime fiction, but I love the way she writes. She is so good at character development.

I've been wondering, her books seem to have mainly positive reviews on Goodreads. I'm surprised TRAs haven't flooded them with loads of one-star reviews. Or does Goodreads have things in place to prevent this?

Is that the restaurant that Robin goes to with Pru, in TRG?

I really enjoy the Strike books. But this one is just too complicated. The frequent reminders of who’s who, who they’re related to and how they fit into the investigation tells you that JKR or her (underemployed) editor recognise how convoluted the story is.

I’m also getting a tiny bit bored with the never-ending romance theme. Get on with it man!

Got it for Christmas. 300 pages in. Loving it

Bumping up to say that The Hallmarked Man is a NewYears Day daily deal on Amazon. 99p for a Kindle copy.

Just bumping this thread as the kindle version of The Hallmarked Man is only 99p today https://amzn.eu/d/iyudj4E

Oh god, that’s such an exciting thought. I’m going to go and read the menu.

Make sure you’re hungry! The food is so full of flavour that it’s very filling.

This is now high on my list of things to do when one of my London based friends and I get a day pass from childcare together!

Yes, the food at Il Portico is utterly amazing.

I went to Il Portico because I'd read about it being trashed by TRAs. It's a fabulous restaurant, well worth a visit.

Il Portico. I think one of their other restaurants got trashed by TRAs after the owner dared host a fund raiser for Lumos.

Thanks for the explanations re Tunnocks.

I'm a caramel wafer fan but am happy with the teacakes too 👌

I think she's better on Strike than H.Potter, but yes please to the editor!

Oh I like that idea. Also, Robin and Prudence go for dinner in The Running Grave at a restaurant in London that J K Rowling and other GCs have famously met at, and which was attacked (and I think vandalised?) by TRAs. Annoyingly the name escapes me right now.

And isn’t there a top end restaurant called something like ‘The Happy Carrot’? Which I thought was a nod to the rabbit sanctuary?

Tunnocks received a request from a conference for a donation of their lovely tea cakes and caramel wafers. They sent some.

The conference was the LGB Alliance’s conference and the response to their politely thanking Tunnocks online was a storm of ever so offended TRAs. How dare people who sell cakes and biscuits give some to people guilty of wrongthink!

The rest is Mumsnet FWR history…

@TheNeighboursComplain I think it started off originally in one of the long running tribunal threads, perhaps Allison Bailey’s. I also have a vague memory of an attempt to cancel Tunnocks by the people on TRSOH when Tunnocks did something unacceptable like retweet a post by someone who may once have expressed a vaguely terfy opinion.

Anyway, there’s lots of hanging around if you’re listening in online to a tribunal and so people naturally (this is FWR!) veer off topic to fill in the time and food and snacks is a perennial topic. This lead to a long running argument discussion on which Tunnocks product is the best. Some swear by the caramel wafer but I’m a dark chocolate Teacake (only available in Scotland) girl. Some weird people like the snowballs.

I think it’s a variation on one of those internet laws. The probability of Tunnocks being mentioned on a long running FWR thread increases with the length of the thread.