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*SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS INK BLACK HEART *SPOILERS*

455 replies

TheInkBlackHeart · 31/08/2022 10:34

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 Grin

OP posts:
the80sweregreat · 31/08/2022 21:58

Half way through and impatient to know who did it !

EmpressaurusWitchDoesntBurn · 01/09/2022 06:27

the80sweregreat · 31/08/2022 21:58

Half way through and impatient to know who did it !

Warning - this is the spoiler thread where it’s ok for people to say who did it! You might want to stick with this thread until you’ve finished.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/what_were_reading/4579275-is-it-too-early-to-start-an-ink-black-heart-thread?page=3&reply=119658712

ArticSaviour · 01/09/2022 08:55

DS13 came to me yesterday with some shit articles he had seen online about the book, claiming that transphobia is a major plot driver. I wondered if I had read the same book as they were referring to. It seems they are referring to the Worm - FFS, not even much of a plot point let alone a plot driver!

the80sweregreat · 01/09/2022 11:19

All finished and I'm actually crying. Loved the ending.
It was a complex novel , I had an inkling it was this person too!
The chat feeds I found hard to follow ( kindle )
Looking forwards to other people's views, but I did enjoy reading it.

mogtheexcellent · 01/09/2022 11:28

Also read on Kindle. Hoping my 2nd read using the actual book makes the online chats more clear as it was frustrating to read on Kindle. No idea how that works in the audio version. I havent listened to any of them but was thinking of investing for long car journeys my new job requires me to take.

I pondered on the killer in Whitstable.

I also found the word Anomie jarring to read, like Kinvara in Lethal White. No idea why Confused

Graffittiunderpass · 01/09/2022 11:47

Loved it. Thinking of immediately re-reading.

the80sweregreat · 01/09/2022 11:52

The red herrings are hard to pick up on.
I had a feeling of who it was from one of their visits early on , but I kept going back to someone else.
Charlotte Campbell was even more vile / evil than normal :( I think that having those poor babies has really messed with her head even more than usual tbh. Deranged character
Hope she is left out of book 7.
Loved to have met Pru. Maybe next time.

tribpot · 01/09/2022 12:09

Finished yesterday, wish it had have been released on the bank holiday as I reckon I could have got most of it read in a single day then!

The web chats were super painful on the Kindle, I can't even imagine with the audio version. Even writing them must have been a nightmare.

I think Charlotte was there purely so that Strike could finally be free of his obsession with her. She needed dealing with before anything could happen with Robin. I thought it was a shame more didn't happen with Robin, given in the last book they came quite close to sleeping together. Lots of teasy opportunities for it to happen - he stays at her flat, they stay in hotels together - but basically nada. I definitely hope Charlotte is left out of book 7, she is the biggest pain in the arse imaginable. I did think her sub-plot was going to link back to the main plot in some way, but would much rather just have her out of the way.

The rest of the crew were brilliant, Midge was great and Pat fantastic in dealing with them all.

I didn't guess the murderer, he didn't seem very developed as a character (esp compared to some of the red herrings).

Some interesting themes for Rowling - fandoms, internet abuse. Makes me extremely glad my ds has never shown any interest in social media, given some of the stuff written to and about young teens.

the80sweregreat · 01/09/2022 12:21

The sad thing about Campbell -Ross is she is putting her poor twins through the same childhood she had , money and privileges galore , but not a shred of love or stability :(
The cycle continues.
Even Strike , who I like a lot , has that dismissive attitude sometimes , cold hearted. He would never be as bad as her , of course , but their upbringing has defined them both to appear unfeeling ( she is, he does it to protect himself )
Both are a physiatrists dream patients when it comes to childhood and background and how it shapes you.
You could write a stand alone book about Charlotte. A kind of human Voldemort!

the80sweregreat · 01/09/2022 12:23

Love Pat , such a vivid character.
I know someone who is like her a lot
We get on, but nobody is that close to her really
Too brittle for many people.

OrianaBanana · 01/09/2022 12:25

I felt the same about the opportunities - when they went to the hotel I thought, oh no, surely there won’t only be one bed!! And there wasn’t. But then he went into her room when she was wearing pyjamas and I thought, ‘Here we go!’ But nothing..

the80sweregreat · 01/09/2022 12:39

There are four more books to go , so I think we will need to wait for these two to get their act together.
I wonder if the lockdowns will feature at all later on in the series? It's 2015 now.

Graffittiunderpass · 01/09/2022 12:47

I liked how Charlotte was depicted this time. In previous books she was beautiful, gorgeous, husky voice, funny etc. because that's how Strike still saw her.

This time she's just flat out awful as if he finally sees her for what she is.

I think we're done with her now.

Tlolljs · 01/09/2022 12:52

Yeah think the penny dropped for Strike when she offered up the twins to Ross. Sharing custody with him when she knows what he’s like.
But I’ve said it many times on these threads they need to solve his mother’s murder. Maybe that will be the last book and the case that finally brings them together.

the80sweregreat · 01/09/2022 12:52

Charlotte , She was still described as gorgeous though ( the two teens gawping at her and
Strike thinking ' I don't blame them ' ) and Robin comparing her own clothes to her designer ones , she felt a bit like Cinderella there.
Despite being evil and all the rest of it , she'll always get by on her looks and connections and old money.
Nothing much will affect her really :(
People like that get away with it all.

the80sweregreat · 01/09/2022 12:56

Ted wasn't mentioned, only one or two sentences and Shankar too , just one ( funny ) text !
I Hope that book 7 is more traditional although all the books have complex storylines.

parentalhelpline · 01/09/2022 13:18

We got yet another trailer for Strike's hideous Norfolk childhood experience, which I think will be significant on Book 7.

the80sweregreat · 01/09/2022 13:23

Nothing much about their families in this book : the Rokeby crowd didn't feature or Robin's family that much. It was much more brisk in its writing than TB. Less faffing about presents and perfume buying this time too!

Graffittiunderpass · 01/09/2022 13:23

Poleworth didn't do well in this book either, I suppose the Cornish connection was very well covered in TB. Still I would've liked a bit of St Maws.

I wonder is Matt gone forever or will he surface again down the line?

Seainasive · 01/09/2022 13:23

I’ve just returned the Kindle version and have ordered the hardback. Just impossible to enjoy, peering through a magnifying glass!

the80sweregreat · 01/09/2022 13:28

Polesworth was good with Ted and Jean , but J K has gone off him and his wife it seems !! It was only a brief mention at dinner though to be fair
Plus Robin isn't your typical mumsy sort so other women may find her hard to relate to a bit ? She has a different life to other people now

tribpot · 01/09/2022 13:33

I'm hoping Matt will be back in a later book when he gets his comeuppance from Sarah running off with someone richer and (apparently) better endowed.

the80sweregreat · 01/09/2022 13:34

I bet Matt rocks up in book 7.
The new baby and Sarah giving him grief.
Hope she tells him to sod off!

the80sweregreat · 01/09/2022 13:36

Yeah, I noticed the small penis bit with Matthew !! Lol
Pez calling her gorgeous made me feel gooey ( even if he was a bit of a creepy one)
Sarah doesn't deserve anyone nice, she deserves all the heartache in the world

tribpot · 01/09/2022 13:42

Yes Sarah is rather like a pound shop version of Charlotte! So I expect her to move on to someone with bigger assets <ahem> but not to be happy as a result. I guess the appalling Jago is available now but I wouldn't wish him even on Sarah.

Pez needed a plunge in the sheep dip.