Who's got their copy of Robert Galbraith's (JKR) latest?

[ParmaVioletTea]

Just picked mine up from my local bookshop. And my local Waterstone's had a whole window full of the book, with a special half-price offer.

I have started reading it; slipping into another story of characters who feel like old friends.

(Heretical opinion: I think Ms Rowling is a better writer in the Strike series than Harry Potter, but she still needs an editor.)

Oh god, that’s such an exciting thought. I’m going to go and read the menu.

Just bumping this thread as the kindle version of The Hallmarked Man is only 99p today https://amzn.eu/d/iyudj4E

Bumping up to say that The Hallmarked Man is a NewYears Day daily deal on Amazon. 99p for a Kindle copy.

Got it for Christmas. 300 pages in. Loving it

I really enjoy the Strike books. But this one is just too complicated. The frequent reminders of who’s who, who they’re related to and how they fit into the investigation tells you that JKR or her (underemployed) editor recognise how convoluted the story is.

I’m also getting a tiny bit bored with the never-ending romance theme. Get on with it man!

Is that the restaurant that Robin goes to with Pru, in TRG?

I'm only on the second book, but I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I don't usually read crime fiction, but I love the way she writes. She is so good at character development.

I've been wondering, her books seem to have mainly positive reviews on Goodreads. I'm surprised TRAs haven't flooded them with loads of one-star reviews. Or does Goodreads have things in place to prevent this?

I was surprised in THM when Linda tells Robin that she and Michael never really liked Matthew.
Well, she kept that quiet!

Robin could have done with that information when she was umming and ahhing about the wedding. She might have found the strength to call it off.

I seem to recall an interview for the Harry Potter books in which JKR said that there was a bit of an editing problem for the later books (door stoppers that they were) and that was that nobody had the faintest idea why the books had gone stratospheric.

Which makes for a very nervous editor because the bit you edit out, or the subplot you cut, might be the very bit that makes them so successful.

True. I also wonder whether JKR is so big a name that editors hold off in a way they wouldn’t with less famous writers.

None of that is to criticise JKR, by the way. She’s a fabulous writer and the country’s best campaigner.

I just wish THM had been tighter!

I think part of the problem with editing is the serial nature of it.

There are things which seems totally irrelevant that crop up later. I'm putting Midge's date with Ellen and the stuff about Martin in the category of 'wouldn't be surprised if that turns out to be significant'.

I wasn't a fan of all the Charlotte stuff but the scene in the church in TRG is one of my favourite bits of writing in any of them.

While I do agree it can be a bit hard to follow, I find I often work out other books because of the superfluous character or plot and so she buries it deep and even when I've suspected, there's always been more to it.

That’s fair. They are books that demand concentration and attention, which is relatively unusual in that genre, I think.

I think one thing with late-series Rowling is that there are a large number of recurring characters we need to catch up with. At the beginning the cast-list is relatively sparse, but alongside a new plot-relevant cast we have all the established friends and family members who have to be somewhere doing something.

& For this series in particular, the agency is supposed to be growing and being successful - so that almost necessitates more plot strands to keep everyone busy.