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

717 replies

EggTheParrot · 27/09/2023 12:42

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!

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14
Buffypaws · 30/09/2023 18:03

Finished. I found the apathy towards the cult’s activities very depressing and realistic.

Wasn’t the Bijou pregnancy announcement quite a long time after her affair with Strike? Do we think Strike is intelligent enough to rubber up? Surely he is.

Minuscule progress between Strike and Robin. It was basically the same as last book. Presumably she’s now going to ruminate on what he said and decide he was just telling her what Charlotte thought, not what was true and nothing will happen.

EmpressaurusOfCats · 30/09/2023 18:35

Do we think Strike is intelligent enough to rubber up? Surely he is.

Yes but if Bijou really nicks used condoms…

LentilDoll · 30/09/2023 18:41

Another one re-reading rather more slowly, after racing to the end the first time round 😁

Anyone else noticed there’s a socking great clue the first time Strike meets the baddie? (sorry, I know this is spoiler thread, but still paranoid!!)

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the80sweregreat · 30/09/2023 18:54

I've not finished it yet, but Robin bought condoms for Ryan and I've a horrible feeling they may fail.

the80sweregreat · 30/09/2023 19:17

Jo tends to drop hints to future developments
The general chat about contraception was well thought through and relevant I think

ShedHermit · 30/09/2023 19:42

LentilDoll · 30/09/2023 18:41

Another one re-reading rather more slowly, after racing to the end the first time round 😁

Anyone else noticed there’s a socking great clue the first time Strike meets the baddie? (sorry, I know this is spoiler thread, but still paranoid!!)

What was the clue?!

TheHorneSection · 30/09/2023 20:24

What was the clue?

I hadn’t picked up on the multiple mentions of contraception in that way but now I think that could happen, though that might be a bit soap opera? I’d rather Robin got to choose Strike and her career, there isn’t much suggestion that Robin wants a family of her own.

Prrambulate · 30/09/2023 20:27

Robin's mum was so annoying in this book..I'm hoping for a her vs. Strike showdown at some point. The sniping is relentless. I love how Robin was like 'yes I know he can come back to MY flat' and just marched off with him.

Then she asked Strike for crisps at the pub and he bought six packets. Ugh so cute.

uuughhhshsh · 30/09/2023 20:53

This was definitely the best one yet!!

@LentilDoll what was the clue?!

I spent ages trying to figure out how they did the 48…was the number 48 mentioned or shown in the church the first time Robin visited there to implant it in the congregation’s head? Then when they singled out Robin as an attractive candidate, they got a member to follow her wearing a 48 top? It might need a reread.

I did find it a bit baffling that really intelligent, educated recruits like Amandeep and Will fell for a few Paul Daniels style magic tricks. But I guess that’s the point of cults, break you down emotionally and physically until you’ll believe anything…

What exactly did Abigail say to Cherie and Jordan on the phone to get them to attempt/commit suicide?

SirSamVimesCityWatch · 30/09/2023 20:56

I don't think the 48 was mentioned before (could be wrong though) but it's a fairly standard con - there's all sorts of random information all over the place all the time that we don't notice. But if we are on the lookout for a particular word or number, the chances we'll spot it are actually pretty high. Set something like that out in a audience of hundreds and you get a good chunk of them who see their number or whatever.

BernardBlacksMolluscs · 30/09/2023 21:12

finished this evening

cor that was a cracker. the sense of menace at chapman farm, the total explanation of why the cult members don't 'just leave'

the partners desk annoys me too. the idea of sitting directly opposite someone right in your eye line while you're trying to work? no thanks

I am disappointed to find I don't have a crush on strike anymore. I think it's because of the tiny hands of the actor who plays him in the BBC series

TheFirstStraw · 30/09/2023 21:50

Really enjoyed it. Possibly my second favourite after Troubled Blood. Definitely heads and shoulders above Ink Black Heart - toxic fandoms and online misogyny are fairly well publicised already, so there didn't seem much new to learn for me, and the audiobook was unbearable to listen to. I knew very little about cults and how they operate so this was much more of an education. My pet theory was that the jogger on the beach was part of the UHC and had taken the little girl away, and she'd grown up somewhere else. I did think she was alive.

As PPs have said, the part where Robin is inside the cult was so stressful to listen to. Normally, in Strike books you don't really hate the villains because, while they might have done bad things to others, they have no long-term power over Robin or Strike. But in this one they did (over Robin), and I just loathed them. It was kind of a Harry Potter and Umbridge situation. I wanted to see the moment they got their comeuppance, and realised it was all over for them. That's my only grumble - I wanted to see them breaking down in court etc.. Maybe I'm just vengeful though - I'm still wanting a snapshot of Matthew having a terrible life with Sarah Shadlock.

Loved the ending, though it was ambiguous: Strike saying Charlotte thought he was in love with her. Can see Robin deciding to interpret it that way if Strike doesn't make it very clear. And to be fair, Strike did seem very clear about what he wanted by the end. He'd decided their business and friendship was no longer a good enough excuse not to be honest about his feelings. It's whether that will continue into book 8.

Prrambulate · 30/09/2023 22:04

I wonder if the testimony against the cult will be in the next book? I really hope we don’t get another massive time jump at the beginning.

SirSamVimesCityWatch · 30/09/2023 22:13

I wonder if with this personal cliffhanger we'll get less of a time jump. I suppose the time jumps are in part to make it more realistic - Strike and Robin don't bounce straight from one massive high profile case into the next, it's just that we only see them for those bits. But this declaration from Strike is huge, we haven't seen Robin processing it at all yet, and we surely get to see what Strike does next with this?? His "we'll see" to Pat when she says Robin and Murphy seem a good couple, and the bit about happiness requires effort and it was high time he put some effort in, that to me all suggests a more active pursuit of Robin. Which I want to read!!

Lancelottie · 30/09/2023 22:28

Loved it, but some details are bugging me.

Why did Will's university ring his parents to say he wasn't attending? They're usually pretty hot on confidentiality. Thinking about it, didn't Gus's tutor also phone the parents in the last book?

The baby farming -- how would you actually export unregistered passport-less babies? Asking for a friend...

And Ted's dementia -- how were they planning to sell his boat and house without power of attorney?

I may be overthinking some of this.

Runningoutofusernamestochange · 30/09/2023 23:05

I’m sure Ilsa could arrange something in lieu of POA for Ted’s affairs. Lots of stolen passports to get the babies out I assume. I feel as if this was possibly the most horrific case yet, so many crimes against children.

Runningoutofusernamestochange · 30/09/2023 23:07

Lots of universities these days invite students to sign something giving permission for parents to be contacted if tutors have concerns. I imagine the parents of Will and Gus would both be the type to press for something like this, and fret about their socially awkward child being ready to cope.

Runningoutofusernamestochange · 30/09/2023 23:11

JKR’s own kids must be uni-ish age now, too. I wonder how she’s coping with an emptying nest…

ChocolateCakeOverspill · 01/10/2023 06:13

Lancelottie · 30/09/2023 22:28

Loved it, but some details are bugging me.

Why did Will's university ring his parents to say he wasn't attending? They're usually pretty hot on confidentiality. Thinking about it, didn't Gus's tutor also phone the parents in the last book?

The baby farming -- how would you actually export unregistered passport-less babies? Asking for a friend...

And Ted's dementia -- how were they planning to sell his boat and house without power of attorney?

I may be overthinking some of this.

There’s a data protection / information governance process called legitimate interest assessment. If it is assessed that sharing information is in their vital or legitimate interests the information can be shared. If he was a missing person that would fall under this category.

Boring but that’s probably why they did it.

Lancelottie · 01/10/2023 08:06

That'll do nicely, thank you!
(As one currently mired in both student and elderly care admin, I'm probably just envious of their better success rate at getting any bloody info out of anyone, even if fictional.)

LentilDoll · 01/10/2023 10:16

If someone can reassure me it is definitely ok to name the killer in this thread I will share the clue 😂

EmpressaurusOfCats · 01/10/2023 10:42

LentilDoll · 01/10/2023 10:16

If someone can reassure me it is definitely ok to name the killer in this thread I will share the clue 😂

The spoiler warnings are big enough. Anyone who hasn’t reached the end is reading this thread at their own risk, so do it.

MargotBamborough · 01/10/2023 11:02

I'm intrigued by Mazu now. I was so sure that it would all have more to do with her because she seemed so evil, but it turns out that where Daiyu was concerned she really was just a young bereaved mother.

I'm not saying she wasn't horrible, but if you think about her timeline, she grew up in a completely fucked up environment with paedophiles, got pregnant at 16 (unclear whether she eyed up the rich Alexander Graves as her baby daddy herself or whether someone else encouraged her), then she got groomed by a man 20 years older than her who used her daughter's inheritance to found his cult, and then she lost her only child in her early 20s without even a body to bury.

Even though she was undoubtedly a sadist, she does seem to love her own children and also plays mother to the new baby Yixin and who knows how many others over the years. I don't think she's a straightforward villain, I think she was an abused child who was groomed and suffered a huge loss in her youth.

BabyStopCryin · 01/10/2023 11:11

I don’t know why Robin didn’t eat the rock notes. Kills two births with one stone (haha) surely (disposal and food-ish).

BabyStopCryin · 01/10/2023 11:11

Birds not births…