*Spoilers spoilers spoilers* the running grave spoilers thread.. (Content warning - mentions suicide)

[EggTheParrot]

Just as the title says really.. spoilers ok in this thread. Let's keep the other one spoiler free??

Oh my god why is Robyn going undercover!

If it is an alias, she must have adopted it before the age of 15 or so.

Gosh yes- Betty, Doreen or Kitty wouldn’t quite have the same ring would it?

Well if we know Mazu was called Mazu as a teen, back in the days of Aylmerton Farm, when Leda stayed there with child Strike and child Lucy, then it could be that she changed her name as a young teen.

Or it could be that her father wanted to give her a name that sounded exotic, in homage to the I Ching?

She is the right age to be the child of a hippie. Copies of the I Ching were all the rage during that time, along with books about Jung and synchronicity. My mother had an I Ching too, actually; in fact, I remember messing about with it and a bunch of coins when I was a bored teen.

Recently finished it and LOVED it, that ending !!!

Can't believe we have too wait another year for the next one....

Do people think Robin and Strike will or won't get together???

Apparently the original Mazu was a Chinese sea goddess so that would explain why she’d pick the name, if she did change it.

This is the plot of The Crime of the Century, by Kingsley Amis - a reasonable read, if you can get hold of it. It was originally published chapter by chapter in the Times, so it's an interesting pace.

Sheila (The old lady who remembered Strike from the Aylemerton days) says "I helped little Ann give birth... she was only 14.... Mazu, Ann called her, but Ann took off not long after"

I forgot about that bit.

Ah okay so Mazu is not a Sheila after all. Bet she would have turned out better if she had have been.

How was the church never investigated by the charities commission? They said that they collected money to send young carers on nice holidays (obviously didn’t!) and other ‘good deeds’.

I'd completely overlooked this, thank you! So Mazu made it a tradition following her example.

Does anyone want to talk about JKR and writing about sex? It has occurred to me, during a bout of insomnia, that the lady herself has so far told us a lot with a very few, well placed adjectives, but not actually written a toe-curling sex scene.

Now, fanfic writers; the good the bad and the ugly, have taken up the mantle and let their imaginations run absolutely wild with every character she’s ever created, even Dobby! Presumably that has to change when Strike and Robin finally get together, and it’s got to be better than anything any of the amateurs have produced. That has got to be an enormous pressure. Any thoughts on how she’ll finally tackle that?

…because I’m hoping for the feminist statement of our generation! I want a poetic balance to the last time Robin was fucked by a man in his forties and see her treated like the goddess she’s become. I also want a near-clinical description of what can be achieved by those blessed from birth with clitoris, g-spot and capacity for multiple orgasms with correct handling, with her characteristic warmth, good humour and realism.

No pressure Jo, but if you want a volunteer to proof-read, I’m offering!

I bet £10 the preamble will involve Strike needing to remove a latex mask, or Robin recognising and trusting him in spite of one…anyone else?

Upon rereading I'm thinking it's not Noli who is based on Emma W, it's Becca! No chance of getting her to play the role in the adaptation, I presume...

I would to see some humour and tenderness in the sex. Bit like when she was choosing perfume with him. Intimate but also fun x

I don’t want details of sex. “Considerably more satisfying” is plenty of detail for me.

Yeah I don't think I want a detailed sex scene either.

JKR is very versatile, I'm sure she's more than capable of it but I want to read a detective novel, not 50 Shades of Grey.

Yes, I think less is definitely more when it comes to sex scenes. In Wolf Hall, after their wedding night, his wife simply smiles at Thomas Cromwell and just says 'So, that's all alright then.' Wonderfully understated, yet clearly very satisfied x

Dear JKR, this is enough description for me too please.

I'd be pretty confident that JKR is not going to do a detailed sex scene. Full on sex scenes in novels are almost always cringeworthy and add nothing to the narrative other than cheap titillation. There are probably exceptions but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Ok but I want something more than "considerably more satisfying"!

We do know the Strike shagged Bijou up against the wall. There's a image! So she does have form for giving us a bit of information. I definitely don't want a blow by blow account (ahem) but a little bit of detail is needed!

I've just finished the book- I can't believe how invested I was in the story, worrying about Robin whilst I was at work!!

Ooh, I agree it’s got to be done well, feelings and emotions over mechanics! But I will be disappointed if I don’t get a sense of the connection of a lifetime and of a woman a) finding all aspects of herself in spite of a troubled entry into adulthood and b) finding a partner who celebrates and respects that without feeling threatened.

Oh hell no do I want to hear about Strike seductively removing his lower leg. I'll take dot dot dot, thank you very much.