Troubled Blood - *Spoiler-laden discussion*

[EllacottObsessive]

Setting this up for Strike and Ellacott fans to talk about spoilery things.

EO, when you've got your new website that you're definitely doing up & running, can you have a Strike-themed shop, please? & can it sell a set of samples of all the different women's perfumes? I really want to know what they smell like but I know literally nothing about perfume except that going through the perfume area in shops makes me cough. I looked into samples of Narciso but there seem to be about 4 different types for women & I've no idea which one to pick & I couldn't set foot in a perfume dept long enough to sniff anything, even if there wasn't a pandemic making people stare at you if you cough...!

I tried to listen to your podcast but I've discovered that podcasts freak me out - it's like there's an invisible person in the room... I also can't listen to the radio unless I'm in the car & it's mostly music. You have a lovely voice though!

She's very careful to remind us that his army discipline kicks in and he always showers though.
The fags though. Yuck.

I also wonder what he’d be like hygiene-wise if he lived in a proper flat/house with decent bathing facilities.

Yeah, I mean, let's not over egg it. Anyone can pong a bit if they're not taking care of themselves properly.

My parents smoked, as do many of my friends, and even as someone who never has, I can't really say that people who smoke always reek offensively. I mean sure, you can tell, especially if someone has just nipped out for a fag a few minutes before, but it's not like having to live with a constantly farting dog or anything.

AGnu, fwiw, I always felt really odd listening to talk radio as a kid, like I was eavesdropping and was about to get told off, so no worries!

im rather liking the idea of an invisible EO in every room....

I listened to the podcast and I am thoroughly ashamed at how much thought you've given it all in comparison to me. I was listening to it and thinking "god I need to read it again!!" and yes in some ways the clue to the murderer was literally in the title, the cuckoo booting others out of the nest to take everything for themselves

It hit me in the reread that he pushes everyone he kills off something. It's slightly obscured on telly because Rochelle dies differently.

I agree with EO on the hygiene. We need to keep things in perspective. Everyone would recoil from him if he was that smelly. I think he keeps to the right side of decent. Maybe not to the my high standards I expect from my partner in personal care but good enough.

The main issue with the fags is probably that he won't have a great sense of smell and therefore realistically the subtleties of Robin's perfume will pass him by.

As a smoker and kisser of smokers in my misspent youth I don't mind a manly smell of tobacco.

@EllacottObsessive

It hit me in the reread that he pushes everyone he kills off something. It's slightly obscured on telly because Rochelle dies differently.

Had never noticed this before. So really the killer should have been absolutely obvious to us all.

I wonder if Rowling has read Josephine Tey's Brat Farrar, which contains elements of fratricide, inheritance fraud and a child being pushed off into a quarry, iirc.

I bet she has Parental! She and I are of an age and we'd all read it at school

@Biscuitsanddoombar

im rather liking the idea of an invisible EO in every room....

I listened to the podcast and I am thoroughly ashamed at how much thought you've given it all in comparison to me. I was listening to it and thinking "god I need to read it again!!" and yes in some ways the clue to the murderer was literally in the title, the cuckoo booting others out of the nest to take everything for themselves

agree Biscuits, it's embarrassing how much I miss when reading stuff, especially stuff that's got a good plot or characters I'm invested in . However, this discussion, and EO's podcast means I can pretend that I can come up with all this kind of thing myself .

However, as DD is cramping my TV watching (she's got online uni lectures but feels the need to sit at the dining table rather than in her room and SHARE with me [sigh]), maybe I'll start a reread of the books, so that I can legitimately join in.

Narciso is gorgeous, btw.

Here I am right now, drenched in Narciso

Finally made it to John Lewis, and am doing a little circuit looking for Flowerbomb and Fracas, etc. All in the name of literary research, of course.

I didn't think I'd like it. Not keen on florals, but it's got lovely base notes.

I'm going to let it settle in for a while. It has something quite potent beneath the floral that I need to mull over.

I'm probably naturally more a Philosykos kind of girl.

Ok, off to find Flowerbomb. What was Charlotte's perfume? Shalimar? Unlikely as it seems, I'm not carting Troubled Blood around John Lewis just at this moment...

I normally wear Ambre which is a L'occitane one.

Not a fan of Flowerbomb. 😁 Shalimar is exactly as I imagine Charlotte smelling, expensive and exotic.

I generally cycle round Chanel scents, although not Chance. I've got a bottle of Coco going at the moment.

Should say I haven't made a special trip to John Lewis to smell Troubled Blood perfumes. Because that would be embarrassingly invested. I'm just killing time waiting for DD to finish her thing so I can take her home.

Biscuits Brat Farrar is one of my favourite Tey novels. However eccentric some of her work is, she rarely repeated herself, which I think is impressive within the genre.

I didn't make a special trip either. But Debenhams is closing and I used to love whipping in for a cheeky spritz of Chanel Allure so I went for a last go and couldn't resist seeing if Narciso was there.

It's dried down and settled to quite a clean scent, actually. Very nice. Very Robin. Grown up, but not showy or heavy.

Allure was my last Chanel bottle. Live it.

Ok, so Narciso status report - much much better having worn it for a couple of hours. The harsh undertone has gone, and I'm smelling warm skin, bruised flowers... Might be a birthday present option, actually.

Snap!