STRIKE 5 - TROUBLED BLOOD - bbc 1 9m sun and mon - TV PACE ONLY. NO SPOILERS

[Blondeshavemorefun]

Yah no 5 of the strike series starts on Sunday

BBC
Based on the 2020 novel, the second most recent in the Strike series, Troubled Blood sees Strike tackling his first ever cold case.

The official synopsis the season says: "Private detective Cormoran Strike is visiting his family in Cornwall when he’s approached by a woman asking for help finding her mother, Margot Bamborough, who went missing under mysterious circumstances in 1974.

"Strike’s never tackled a cold case before let alone one 40 years old, but despite the slim chance of success, he’s intrigued and takes it on, adding to the long list of cases that he and his partner in the agency Robin Ellacott are currently working on. Robin herself is also juggling a messy divorce and unwanted male attention as well as battling her own feelings about Strike.

"As Strike and Robin investigate Margot’s disappearance, they come up against a fiendishly complex case with a psychopathic serial killer and witnesses who cannot all be trusted. They learn that even cases decades old can prove to be deadly

I just don’t think theyve done justice to her. In the book Robin really grows to admire her. Maybe we just don’t get to see enough of her because there is so much to get in to 4 eps

Yea they’ve definitely missed the sense of Robin getting to know Margot and the fact of them both being 29. The sense of her personality not coming through in a black and white photo but being uncovered through the investigation.

Irene’s house wasn’t nearly “swaggy” enough.

Also the mystic. “She lies in a holy place”, Wasn’t it a strange that my Margot Fontaine shattered?” Etc

Margot Fonteyn I mean

Isn't this a No Spoilers Thread ?
I haven't read the book.
I wish I had now. It sounds great.
I don't like reading a book after seeing its adaptation on tv/film.

I'm watching this and decided to re read the book as well. Interesting to note that the book mentions the upcoming Scottish referendum, so it's set around 2014?
I

Although they've probably just set the TV series in the present day.

@LadyEloise1 there haven’t been any spoilers?

You might be able to skip further ahead on iPlayer but I might not have heard right as I was building Lego 😁

Who was Irene ?
Did I miss a bit ?
I saw Oonagh, Margot's friend.
Was she Irish in the book ?
The actress who plays Oonagh, Fionnula Flanagan is a very well known actress in Ireland.

Checking in, I haven't read the books so just enjoying the series.

If anyone is new to the books , I'd really suggest starting from book one
They are long and often complex stories , but the two main characters are brilliant

Yes, all episodes are available on iPlayer but it wouldn't be fair to watch them post stuff on a tv pace thread.

Irene is one of the GP’s receptionists, at the Xmas party. We haven’t seen much of her yet though.

Yes, Oonagh is Irish in the book.

I've read the book but never watched any of the series or read any of the other books in the series. I'm wondering how they're going to fit it all into 3 episodes, it's a long complicated book!

Is the actress who plays Margot the same one who plays Krystal in The Casual Vacancy?

Talking about episode 1 only - there was one man in the office, looking over Robin's shoulder, so I'm wondering if they are making one staff member out of the two in the book. Well, one way to find out - look at IPlayer and stop the cast list and have a good look at it. I have not looked at more than episode 1 yet and am following on TV at present.
It was also good to see that they found time for Strike's half-sister and half-brother. A quick conversation with them gives us quite a bit of information. No time in an adaptation to include his nephews and his attitude to them!

Absolutely was

Talking about episode 1 only - there was one man in the office, looking over Robin's shoulder, so I'm wondering if they are making one staff member out of the two in the book.

I wondered that too although I think they’d need to have at least 2 male staff members to make it work.

I thought Pat was spot on. I suspect we will get more of the essence of Margot as the episodes go on. I hope so.

Thank you @NancyJoan
@Shortpoet wrote that Irene's house wasn't nearly "swaggy" enough.
I must have missed that bit.
The one house I remembered was Oonaghs.

Apologies. I watched episode 2 last night and have got them mixed up in my head.

Does anyone know how much input JKR has into the scripts etc?

When Robin has watched the film (which she doesn't in the book), and Strike checked in with her, I felt like I was hearing JKR herself when she said 'Ive never been so angry in all my life.'

I did notice that JKR is one of the directors and so is Susan Tully ( original Michelle in Eastenders)

Love love Linda Bassett in this!!

Yes she is the same actress.

I’m a massive fan of the CS books and have enjoyed all he BBC adaptations. Loved last night’s first episode!

Thank you, I think JK must like her as an actress.