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!

Harry was lame.

Not sure why, but this really gave me the giggles

I was down dogging in yoga this morning giggling to myself about all the times strike is inconveniently interrupted in THM - phone calls at wrong time etc - and it’s always midge.

I don't think I really want to think about sexual chemistry in the HP series 😂

Don’t look at any of the dramione fan fic then!

I’ve just noticed Strike telling Rokeby ‘I’m just like Ted’ & straight after that Rokeby calling Strike a ‘proper man’, paralleling Polworth at the wake saying the same thing about Ted. It’s a nice loop.

I'm one of those readers who gallops through a book then can’t remember much of it, I just want the story and the sheer entertainment value. I can’t believe your in-depth knowledge of the previous books, I can’t remember the stories, never mind the characters and the meanings. No wonder I can’t learn anything new these days.

And I want to know more about the Land Rover.

And I want to know more about the Lake District hotel they were planning to stay in (I got married in a Lake District hotel so I like to think it was the same one ☺️)

I've just finished it for a second time and i am still not sure how the murder was done. (I know this is a spoiler thread but all the same I am going to remove actual names just in case.)

The murder
The murderer was in the box, right? Then they jumped out and attacked William Wright? Then pretended to be him, went home then came back later to mutilate the body? If so why did his size not show on CCTV, just the issue that showed his feet were too small?

Oz
Who was Oz? Was it the man who attacked Robin or the murderer? If the latter why didn't anyone mention his size?

Strike and Robin
I thought that Robin did want to kiss him but only said no because she hadn't broken up with Murphy. She said she did not want to do to him what Matthew had done to her.

The murderer was in the box, right? Then they jumped out and attacked William Wright? Then pretended to be him, went home then came back later to mutilate the body?

I thought this - why wasn't the murderer's return to mutilate the body caught on the CCTV?

As I recall ..... the murderer was in the biggest box - the one the Oriental Centerpiece was meant to be in.

He was let out of the box in the vault by his accomplice, hid downstairs and then killed WW.

He was only pretenting to be WW for the very blurry cameras so I guess camera angle may have obscured his height. I can't recall exactly but I had the impression the camera was up high. They turned the CTV off as they left - so when they returned to hide the silver and mutilate the body the CCTV was already off - once they finished their deeds they turned the CCTV on again. Pamela opens up on Monday morning & she doesnt question how the cameras/alarms etc were turned on as when she left on Friday she didn't lock up or set alarm etc due to the guys still being there and she has her family emergency to attend to.

I've reread/relistened several times now and I'm still picking up threads & details. Just gone abck to IBH & I'm doing the same. So much is laid out in the opening chapters but only makes proper sense on a re re re read.

I think the victim was also quite small- and height can be difficult on CCTV due to angle.

yes, Robyn wasn’t going to cheat on Murphy, but I imagine angry Strike didn’t understand that.

Oz was the name the murderer was using online, which he’d stolen from a real musician (Osgood)

All of the potential victims were around 5ft6 I think. The cctv showed WW appearing to trip over something as he left the shop (and the murderer limps/trips all the time, but was also wearing shoes too big for him).

Oz was one of the murderers personas, one he used to groom young girls. The man who attacked Robin was Wade King, someone in the trafficking ring but not the murderer.

Yes but the murderer was only 5'. You would think that one of the girls taken in by him would have mentioned to their friend they were confiding in: "He's really really short, but . . ." That's why i wondered if Wade King also played the part of Oz, actually he must have done because he went to get the weights with the girl, that was him wasn't it???

So was the murderer Oz online and Wade King Oz in person?

They turned the CTV off as they left - so when they returned to hide the silver and mutilate the body the CCTV was already off - once they finished their deeds they turned the CCTV on again.

Ah, this is the detail I missed, thanks!

I have come very late to Strike and have enjoyed reading them all this year one after the other so it will be torture to now have to wait for the next book! Thank you for all your insights, looking forward to re-reading them all again and picking up the bits I missed.

One question though, is it worth watching the TV versions?

Yes, I would say so - the two main actors are both very appealing, the casting is generally spot on, and the production is good.

They do mess with the written narrative - it’s TV so they prioritise visual action, whereas the books are driven by the internal monologues and shared conversations of the protagonists. And given the complexity of the novels’ plots, there are places where the TV adaptations don’t properly hold together because they miss so much out.

So you have to be prepared for them to be an altogether different beast - but fun, nevertheless.

I am reminded that when I started reading the book I was struck by the fact that some of us had been speculating in the month or so before publication about the extent to which police enthusiasm, particularly in Scotland, for protecting trans identifying men over women might be linked to common membership of the Masons or other male-only secret societies.

So was interested to see JKR having Freemasonry and a feature in this one.

Interesting thought - I hadn’t considered that.

My thoughts exactly. It’s like you read my mind . I think Robin will save Strikes life only for him to save hers right back then die in the act .

Well another book that makes me give DH the side eye because he's not a gruff one legged detective. Thanks jkr, marriage destroyer 😂

I also work near Freemasons hall and may have taken a detour to work the other day to check out any potential silver shops in wild court and pretend I am Robyn.

Oh dear now you have depressed me no end. Does JKR usually kill of her main characters. Have only read the Robert Galbraith books so didn’t know this might be a likely scenario. Was it her usual go to in HP books?

It’s not so much the killing off as that she doesn’t really follow people into happy and fulfilled married life. It’s either comedy cosy like Ron’s parents, or comedy evil like Harry’s uncle and aunt. The fully evolved couple - Harry’s parents - only exist in the past. (At least that’s how I remember HP.)

I very much take it that Robin and Strike are still in childhood / puberty character-wise. I’m not hopeful they can look forward to a long, fulfilling life together as both professional and conjugal partners.

I'm very lucky that, apart from possessing both legs, DH always reminds me very much of Strike. Both physically imposing (but carrying a bit too much weight). Both extremely sharp. Both very much 'red blooded males.' Both a bit scruffy. Both don't suffer fools gladly. Both very much 'gruff' (DH's staff affectionately call him The Bear).

Mine was but he lost weight. So annoying!

Now I'm stuck what to listen to. I can't wait another few years before another audiobook.