Troubled Blood - *Spoiler-laden discussion*

[EllacottObsessive]

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

The plus side of Insomnia is that I’m coming up with ever more outlandish ideas for tje next book

At the end of TB, Charlotte says she & jago are splitting. What if jago turns nasty & Charlotte hires strike to dig up something on him?

(Also I read that dolokhov fic that was recommended & oh my lord it was brilliant!)

There's an intetesting question of dynamics in why Barclay doesn't speak up, yes. We often discuss female socialization, but male socialization is also a touch more complex than just 'men matter more than women', so yes, I suspect Barclay's motives for keeping schtum are a mix of not noticing because the behaviour of blokes like Morris is ubiquitous, and what he does notice he's unsure about raising due to his place in the blokey hierarchy.

Biscuits so glad you liked the Dolokhov one, it's so well written and cracks along at a fair old pace.

I wondered about Barclay too Parental & EO. He clearly thinks Morris is an arse but doesn’t say anything until he’s sure Strike who is the alpha (urgh hate that term!) thinks the same

It’s a fantastic fic 😃 great example of character development within fic & a brilliant OC too

Or blended in with that it might be Barclay not wanting to imply to Robin that she can't deal with Morris on her own, or assuming she has already shared it with Strike. These things are always a bag of mixed motives and unknowns.

I liked that Dolokhiv fic too, although I'm coming close to making a NY resolution not to read any more fanfic of any fandom because it is messing with what is canon in my head, and that's not worth it when the writing and characterisation are... not great.

Re Barclay; what made me think about it was his comment that he "never liked him" so, yes, it could be a question simply of authority and hierarchy. But there's also when they don't quiet down and respect Robin on her own. Barclay could have led the way in that respect but the personality of Morris is the overriding one.

I love these subtleties and await what's next, there's questions there, as you all say :)

You're spot on about the male socialisation EO

biscuits im nearly won over now with the mention of Dolokhov

parental I've finished my read of TB now and am bereft!

Ismelllikerobin so cool you're giving the writing a go, I hadn't twigged about Hutchins, I must skim read too fast.

parental, I know what you mean wrt fanfic and canon getting mushed up, and the variable quality of fic anyway. As much as it's scratched an itch over the last few weeks, and I've enjoyed what I've contributed, I think I shall do better with my energy on the podcast and my own original writing.

The Dolokhov fix is gorgeous because she really gets the character and the way she brings him on is quite believable, and doesn't mess with canon because Tolstoy isn't planning a sequel as far as I know. Plus there wasn't nearly enough of him in the bbc adaptation, and more Dolokhov is never a bad thing.

But with Strike, there's more coming. As fun as it's been to do the dialogue especially, I've got to the stage of feeling I'm a bit over it from my own imagination and want Rowling to do it now.

What?! No War and Peace sequel? Gutted.

EO You know I have a very high opinion indeed of your own writing, and there are some other excellent writers on the fandom too, that I linked to before. So my negativity is much more about how I'm absorbing it and how I don't want it to spoil my enjoyment of the real thing. Conversely, the fanfic has made me appreciate Rowling's work even more. Please, scratch the fanfic itch whenever you need to! Always happy to enjoy your fine work.

Bebe you know you can always start back at The Cuckoo's Calling, right?

Lots of love for Troubled Blood on the 'Best books of 2020' thread, I'm pleased to say. And I sent a copy of The Ickabog to a friend's son for Christmas the other day, as a penance for DD believing internet rumours about JKR's horribleness

parental whoop, that's my xmas treat sorted

Here's the article about JKR's book shelves that I have wanted to read for ages, but haven't found until now: www.hogwartsprofessor.com/rowlings-admitted-literary-influences/#more-23004

The fourth best-selling fiction book of the year, according to the Sunday Times.

It's really prominent in many of the 'books of the year' lists.

It’s great to see it so high up 😃

I've seen it in lists in the Times and the Telegraph, but not in the left wing press. And given how negative the US reviews were I don't know if it will appear in any 'best of 2020' lists over there.

The reading public, however, loved it, so hurray for us.

Well deserved to be so high, thanks for the link too parental, interesting reading :)

Why am I not surprised the USA reviews were negative....🤦🏻‍♀️

The US reviews I read were ridiculous, though. I gave up reading new ones when it became apparent that the reviewer was using the review as a forum to display that they were part of the acceptable people who scorn the witch, and had clearly read the book (if they actually read it all, which I seriously doubted in some cases) through the lens of that stupid initial accusation of the killer being a TW.

I'm sure I've seen TB referenced in more book lists than just The Times and The Telegraph, but I can't recall where if the top of my head, and a lot of Syrike related content whizzes past me on the daily.

What I thought worked in the favour of those driving the negative publicity was that this is a crime fic with a serious twist: so their "trans killer" couldn't even be properly argued against without spoilers.

Liars do tend to do very well for themselves initially, because a lack of integrity will allow you to push lies quite far indeed, as many of us know. But eventually, people love a revelation of truth - which is precisely why books like TB are so satisfying and do so well.

... And why liars double down, become aggressive etc as their hold on the narrative slips

I finished reading this last night, I saw last night but it was closer to 2am, after starting the series in November.

Oh my fucking days, I loved it so much, particularly the final one. I deliberately haven't watched the TV series so I didn't pollute the characters JKR had built. And was actually praying 🙏 at the end they wouldn't get together, just nearly, because once they do I think the series is over and 5 is a funny number to end on. 6 is much more satisfying and we can have their relationship grow through book 6 with a grand finale.

Then in 10 years she can come back to it, have given them a couple of kids, we can skip the domestic drudgery and get straight back into solving crime.

@BebeStevens

What I thought worked in the favour of those driving the negative publicity was that this is a crime fic with a serious twist: so their "trans killer" couldn't even be properly argued against without spoilers.

Yes! I've had to say a number of times that if you actually read the book you'll understand why the accusations are...misguided.

Having said that, the most quietly subversive thing is the line

'like the women who'd climbed willingly into Dennis Creed's van, he'd been hoodwinked by a careful performance of femininity'.

Add that to the book's exposure of the A-Z of misogyny that women face, and you can see JKR's agenda. It's just that it's a lot more subtle than 'never trust a man in a dress', a point that seems to have gone right over the heads of the negative reviewers.

Too bloody right parental her exploration of it is utterly devastating in its accuracy and the pay off with the reveal is perfect

Hi Frouby! Now watch the TV! 😉