Strike: The Ink Black Heart - airs 16 Dec

[KiIIingMeDeftly]

Seems like we've been waiting ages for this but it'll finally be shown on BBC One on the 16th.

I don't think the book was as good as Troubled Blood or The Running Grave but I'm still looking forward to it. I wonder what they did with the numerous online chats that appear in it?

I had to give up on the book, it was too dense and longwinded for me, trying to get in to my first Strike book. I'm looking forward to this Christmas' adaptation and also curious how they will deal with the written element.

I love the Strike series but this one defeated me. All the emails, messages etc were just too much.

I think it's my favourite so far of the Strike books! JK was spot on with her representation of online communities and as usual her characterisation was perfection. My mum and my auntie couldn't get on with it though - they too found it difficult to navigate.

Looking forward to seeing in on TV. I agree that it'll be interesting to see how they deal with the 'chat'.

A rare occasion where lots of time spent jumping around online platforms and scrolling too much paid dividends. I could easily manage all the group chat back and forth.

Can’t Wait for the series.

@theseriousmoonlight I really enjoyed it too.

Once you get into the online community then it is very clever.

The Running Grave is even better but I still think this one worthy of praise.

I'm really looking forward to it.

I thought TIBH was the best book the the series to date - once I figured out how to read the conversation bits on my kindle which involved forwarding a few pages and then a readable version was further along. Weird layout but that worked fine. Can't wait for the TV version, absolutely love those 2 actors together.

I loved the Ink Black Heart. So well observed. The Running Grave was unputdownable. Can't wait for the TV series for both.

I am also getting impatient for the release of the next book. The title has been revealed - The Hallmarked Man - but no word on when it'll be out. Come on JKR, don't go George RR Martin on us!

I found it difficult to read on my Kindle but I will watch and see how they manage the online stuff.

I am excited for this!

I read it in hardback when it first came out. I imagine it was a lot harder to read on a Kindle. I'm guessing that an imaginative bit of direction might make it a lot easier to follow in a dramatisation than it was in print. I enjoyed the book but The Running Grave was fabulous, best one yet for me.

The Running Grave is definitely the best.

Your first? Did you watch the other TV adaptations or are you completely new to Strike & Robin?

I didn't love The Running Grave either, Lethal White is my favourite.

I found this book really hard going to read but that was mostly to do with the format - I read via the kindle app on my phone and it was really hard to work out who was talking / the concurrent typing just didn’t work on a small screen. I’m interested to see what the tv series will be like

Here's the cast. Katya, Eddie and Josh look particularly well-cast, as does Murphy. The Barclay actor, who was also in TB, is more good-looking than I pictured him when reading the books. And Kevin Bishop!

https://strikefans.com/the-cast-of-the-ink-black-heart/

I read The Ink Black Heart on Kindle and it was a horrible experience. The layout of the chat sections was incredibly bad. Put me right off.

The one out of the series I found hard going and I haven't reread it !
Love the characters though

More great news. Going to be a good month for tv!

Ah, yes 😂

I loved the book, just as all the others. I’m currently reading all of them again (I’ve lost track of how many times I have read them). I rarely re-read any book. I love the characters whatever they are investigating! For me Holliday Granger and Tom Burke (who is so bloody sexy in the role) are perfect in the TV series. There is no jarring between what I ‘saw’ in the books and the TV series.

Oh I’m looking forward to this! I absolutely love this series of books and this was the first one I listened to on audible before I read it. Sadly it’s almost impossible to listen to due to all the hashtags etc. such a shame.

I also read it on my kindle and it was painful. V much looking forward to the adaptation!!

Love the TV adaptions, looking forward to this!

I've started the book three times - on Kindle, Audible and then on Kindle for Ipad. I found it unreadable. I even took notes and had a massive diagram showing all the characters and the various pseudonyms/tags plus a timeline. Still couldn't hold it all in my head long enough to make sense of it.

Hopefully the tv version will finally make it all make sense.

i found the next one in the series (The Running Grave) absolutely riveting. I can't wait for the adaptation of that one!

Kevin bishop as wally cardew, excellent casting! I can totally see it. He'll be great