*SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS INK BLACK HEART *SPOILERS*

[TheInkBlackHeart]

Right I hope the title gives it away. Spoilers ahoy after / during reading Galbraith's The Ink Black Heart.

I swear if someone complains about spoilers now I'll lose it

But there was a serial killer in a pink coat...

Yep, a man who used male pronouns and never claimed to be trans. Actually, he pretended to be gay. And wasn't. Based on two real-life cross-dressing serial killers because such people do exist in reality.

Hate, I tell you. HATE!

There's a trailer for Troubled Blood on The Tottenham Instagram page.

Based on two real-life cross-dressing serial killers because such people do exist in reality.

Did you know Stuart MacBride has also written at least one detective story featuring a cross-dressing killer (who specifically claimed to be trans in order to entice a victim) but there doesn't seem to have been much of an outcry about that?

Trailer

Is that Sophie Ward as Margot's daughter?

Off the top of my head, I can think of detective stories by Josephine Tey, Ellis Peters, Dorothy L Sayers and Ruth Rendell that have a cross dressing suspect or hero(ine) or victim. Disguise and misdirection is a pretty standard feature of detective fiction, really.

Val McDermid has an actual transwoman murderer (with intact penis) in one of her early Carol Jordan and Tony Hill books!
I haven't read it for years but I think there is some actual transphobia in it.
Funny how she hasn't been vilified - and she has never stood up for JRK.

And the book is called “the Mermaids Singing” IIRC

It's definitely Sophie Ward.

Took Troubled Blood out of the library today for a re-read. Exciting!

There’s a trans character in The Silkworm who isn’t a suspect and is written very sympathetically. Funny how that never gets mentioned amid all the hyperbole but whole articles were written about transphobia in Troubled Blood by people who had never read it.

Pippa does get mentioned. People think she's the killer. They make a lot of the fact that she tried to stab Strike even though a) there was context and b) Strike and Robin both agree she never really intended to hurt him, she was just very upset because she thought Strike had stitched up her adopted mother figure. They don't report her and she's later helpful in the investigation. And she's never misgendered by anyone in the novel, including the third person narrator.

And of course, the only person who did express any transphobia in the book was the killer!

They all need to get in the bin, seriously.

So finally we see who Pat is! Did anyone watch the trailer on BBC breakfast this morning?

I've always pictured Pat as Pat Butcher from EastEnders. I'm going to be slightly disappointed in anyone else! 😂

I picture her with a jet black bob, clearly dyed. I don't remember if that's the description of her but it's how I think of her.

😀

I always pictured nurse Phylis from Call the Midwife. She's playing his Aunt Joan!

Who is it???

It's me obviously 😆

It's Ruth Sheen

Perfect casting!!! Ruth Sheen was on my list of contenders!!!!

Yes!! That's exactly who I had in my head, so glad they got this right!

She'll absolutely nail it.

I’ve not come across Ruth Sheen before but loving her as Pat.

Pat’s line about what merits a stamp (at the end of last episode) was fabulous. As was the Janice the nurse actor. Really enjoyed the show. DH reckons it is better as JKR not precious about hacking up her books to make a better show. But definitely captured spirit of the book very well.

I was disappointed that they cut one of the best lines from the book though. When Strike visits an ex-prostitute and she asks him a certain question.