Troubled Blood - *Spoiler-laden discussion*

[EllacottObsessive]

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

The woman serial killer juxtaposition was good, yes - because obviously a woman serial killer will keep a run of the mill bloke one off the front pages, you raving narc no-mark Creed. Because women committing that kind of crime are something of a rarity.

The case was so satisfying, too.

Whereas as sadistic male serial killers are sadly pretty common. God I found the description of what he did to his victims so hard to read

Tom Burke is brilliant in everything ever! Given that they were not going to cast someone who really looked like strike, it is odd when you read the books and are reminded he’s really tall, fat, with hair like pubes and a broken nose, and then you watch the tv show....

It was well done, though. I found The Silkworm hard going with the ick factor, but I loved the way she created whole human beings out of everyone - no one was just there to provide salacious and gratuitous violence to salivate over, and the descriptions of what the victims endured did exactly what it was meant to - because it was attached to their names.

I loved loved loved this book. And I’m now desperately waiting for the next instalment 😁😁

Burke pads out with the coat and jumper, but even when he's in shirtsleeves and clearly not a 'fat bastard' he carries himself a certain way that gives the impression of bigness. He does crumpled and worn in well too. Plus he lights a cigarette with the exact amount of coolness that should have died out years ago...

When Strike was interviewing Creed and Creed was spouting off, but JKR kept what he did to the women to the front of our and Strike's mind by telling us (in parenthesis) each time he talked.

At the risk of fangirling 😆 his ability to convey “big & heavy plus walking on a prosthesis” when he is none of those things is brilliantly done because Tom Burke!

I think that’s one of the things I love most about her writing. People are rounded out properly, (with the occasional exception), no one is cartoonishly awful or ridiculously perfect.

I also love how she subverts a lot of the standard tropes. It’s strike who’s been abused in a relationship not the other way around, it’s Robin who does so much of the physical stuff because strike literally can’t

@WhereIsMyMojoGone

When Strike was interviewing Creed and Creed was spouting off, but JKR kept what he did to the women to the front of our and Strike's mind by telling us (in parenthesis) each time he talked.

Yes! And I noticed she did the same thing in the conversation with Janet. It's so easy for the victims to get sidelined by the killer (see Peter Sutcliffe), but I thought this was a really appropriate way to deal with that problem.

I also like how in TB she goes into how hard it was back then as a woman to be a GP - working ft and having children, how much that was frowned on.

And the attitude towards domestic violence - how there was no point even thinking of reporting it (sadly doesn’t feel much different now :/)

@EllacottObsessive

I actually think Robin can't fathom why she's interested. Traumatic sexual violence and a boyfriend/husband as bland as a plank of pine. Robin hasn't quite awakened to the fact that she finds Strike attractive. She does, but she doesn't know what to call it.

Yes, but I’m not sure what it would do to the series if they actually did get together.

Well, eventually the series'll end. There is no way on Gods green earth that Rowling has created a perfect foil relationship, with strong themes of growth and healing, where the two main protagonists are almost belabouredly said to feel something they are frightened to name, and not intend a satisfying conclusion. It's one of the most delicious slow burns I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

I refuse to accept any reality which doesn't have them getting together.

In that sole respect, I am like TRAs who believe saying TWAW makes it so, and my youngest DS, who thinks if he tells me he's not going to bed, it will be true, like some sort of Jedi mind trick.

(Sorry, I know this is not FWR )

I am a Strellacott zealot, but only because it's in the text.

These are not the unhappy endings you're looking for...

That was a Jedi mind trick.

Sorry. Had wine.

Literally just finished it. I'll sleep happy tonight now. So glad you started this thread EO, so I can come back to it tomorrow.

Loved the dinner party. The most gripping part. I texted my friend while reading simply declaring that I was at that section and couldn't control myself I had all these feelings and just didn't know what to do with them.

I also found the descriptions of the various men's violence against women hard to read but there was some truly satisfying moments. The dinner scene were JKR brings up multiple feminist issues at once, the dick-pick wanker getting fired, Strike's interview with Creed. The ending! Yes!

Did anyone correctly guess who the murderer was?

I had no idea who the murderer was!

For me it's the way the books, particularly TB, convey so vividly what it's like to move through the world as a woman, the fears and pressures and adjustments. I am no detective but I think I would be seriously wondering if the books were written by a woman if I didn't already know who Robert Galbraith was!

I called the murderer fairly early then got side tracked by the red herrings for a while. 😁 loved the bit with Creed and the dinner party, and just Robin in general. This was my first Strike book so now I’ll be going back for the rest.

I read all the books back to back recently and the story arc is so satisfying- the growth of their personalities, the development of their relationship, the growing complexity of the themes.

I really enjoyed the deepening sense of Margot Bamborough as a person and the overlapping threads of relationships of everyone around her.

Something no one has mentioned yet (possibly because it's not really a big part of TB) is Robin's driving skills. I love that.

The student dinner party scene was completely brilliant - I wonder if that will make it in the TV adaptation though.....

Robin is such a great character. JKR has made her completely relatable - kind, smart, attractive, increasingy confident without making her a 'Mary Sue', she's just bloody great