SPOILER ALERT Hallmarked Man (Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott)

[Civilservant]

Spoiler thread for posters who have read or listened to The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith (J K Rowling) and would like to discuss it!

I’ve always wondered if Spanner knocked up their website. They ought to have one.

In TRG, I worked out that Abigail had killed Abigail when she rang Strike en-route to see Cherie/Carine. Strike told her where they were going and Carine was swiftly dispatched.

In IBH I strongly suspected Gus. There was a comment about him being closed away in his room. Potentially not playing music but a recording.

Didn't work out THM at all.

Huh I never noticed that with Abigail

Oops, didnt mean to say she killed herself- killed Cherie/Carine!
It was actually disappointing to work it out early.

https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1975119520483487815?s=46&t=R8lbgugSDFu9UAWd3OTT3w Someone tell me what this means!

Hmm, so either there are going to be further toilet-related traumas, or it will take us even longer to recover from the reading experience?

Penultimate books in Rowling's world are where: the hero gets it together with the girl and then they split up again; someone very close and important dies; the final mission is set up, or is it...

I find it very convincing that the final book is investigating Leda's death, probably in conjunction with a related modern-day crime. Possibly something happens to Whittaker which implicates Strike?

So: at the end of book 9, Robin and Strike have a massive toilet-related row and split up both their relationship and the agency, then Strike in a foul mood encounters Whittaker or his father and has a massive row with them too, they are later found dead and he's arrested. Intrepid Robin feels crap about the row and vows to investigate. Curtain book 9. Readers hide traumatised under the bedclothes for a further year till book 10 is produced.

Bookmarking your theories for the future

i have no clue

Lol, me neither. But we've got to fill the wait with something.

Waiting for the next episode is an under-rated joy. With so many box sets and series being dumped all at once on streaming services it's easy to gulp things down all at once.

I am not a member of X and can’t see the tweet or retweet: what does it say?

Also can’t remember any bits of the series involving toilets!

@thirdfiddle your theories seem compelling but I hope you’re wrong with some of it!

I’d love Leda’s murder to be book 9 and have an almost entirely happy book 10.

I think I’m the only reader who doesn’t really care about Leda’s murder. As far as I’m concerned we covered it in Career of Evil, Leda was killed by Whitaker for her money and the ‘thrill’ of it and unfortunately he got away with it. It’s an important bit of Strike’s backstory but what else can be proven? He’s already been tried for it so can’t be again.

I just don’t see what new ground there is to cover. Although I do think we’ll meet Switch and I’m keen to know in what circumstances.

My feeling is that we’ll be encouraged to start caring about Leda’s murder. The affect on Strike will become more prominent, titbits will be sprinkled about inaccuracies or misunderstandings about her life/death. Then evidence of something explosive and unavoidable will be presented and Robin and Strike will re-bond over the most important case of all. Just a thought 😅

But we did all that in Career of Evil and we get a bit more about her life in each book. Rehashing her murder is just going to be a waste of plot time.

I’m waiting for Leda’s murder to pop up again too. We were reminded (told?) about Switch, the third child who went to live with Whitaker’s parents. If Strike was at uni and Switch was 3, that makes Switch about 25 now - old enough to be a player in the book

I just don’t see what new ground there is to cover.
If it is Leda's murder it won't be Whittaker -he was just talking crap to get a rise out of people. That's why I'm casting him as first victim.

I'm talking such a lot of bollocks. If i theorise enough theories I'll score some random hits, right?

We did get a whole lot of new info about Leda's life in THM - talking about her childhood, life with grandmother, & then Rokeby talking of her humour and being a fun women etc. This makes me feel there will be more about Leda in the next book.

Whitaker could kill again, perhaps?

Seems plausible. The way he was treating that girl he was with in Career of Evil was really abusive. Like others on the thread, though, I feel as though Rowling covered that ground in CoE and I'm not sure she'd return to it in quite that way again. I think something involving Switch is highly plausible, though. Presumably the grandparents who raised him are going to die at some point (that hasn't happened yet, I don't think?) and Switch may then seek out his famous older brother, which might possibly bring his dead-beat, abusive father into the story again. I can imagine a storyline in which Switch receives (or should receive) an inheritance from his paternal grandparents and Whittaker tries to muscle in on it, resulting in Switch contacting Strike for help.

Great ideas so far for possible storylines.

Has there been any hint as to when book 9 will be released? Somebody upthread said 2 years but that would be more than the average so far.

JKR posted a couple of weeks ago she had just finished writing Part One of book 9

This seems fairly plausible as well. The only thing that could potentially reopen Leda’s murder as a storyline is a piece of actual evidence (barring a confession). I’d have thought that could only come via Switch, can’t think what it might be though. I can’t see it being much of an investigation though, maybe a side plot.

This seems fairly plausible as well. The only thing that could potentially reopen Leda’s murder as a storyline is a piece of actual evidence (barring a confession). I’d have thought that could only come via Switch, can’t think what it might be though. I can’t see it being much of an investigation though, maybe a side plot.

Switch was a baby when Leda died, I'm not sure he'd have a recollections to add to the investigation, unless it comes via his Grandparent's. I'm sure he's going to turn up in the books at some point though, I thought it would be THM as he was mentioned very clearly in TRG, but it turned out to be Rokeby's turn.

I wonder if Robin will accept RFM's proposal and her and Strike will struggle on as partners but not friends. Strike will meet someone and Robin will split with RFM and despite some thawing in their friendship, Strike wants to commit and settle with new partner perceiving that Robin didn't love him and not wanting to get hurt. Last book they get together.

I hope not. I feel like we did that once already with Matthew.

True but I just can't see Robin binning RFM at this point and Strike is pragmatic and will move on.