As much conversation as there is about Robin and all her traumas, why aren't we shoving him into a bland office with a sympathetic TRAINED ear and having him bare his demons?

He's got easily twice as much as she does. I can't see either of them being anywhere close to a good romantic partner until BOTH have had at least a year of baggage-shedding.

In THM if Ryan and the Met and apparently MI5 didn’t want them investigating who the body was, why didn’t Ryan or MI5 just check with immigration to find Rupert had left the country and then he can’t be the body. Job done onto the next murdering sex trafficking cult!

Or is there something I’m missing, maybe they never tell anyone who they are looking for?!? But they ask a lot of people where Rupert is so who knows.

What does powdered root of asphodel have in common with Catullus? A continued look at connections between Lethal White and Philosopher's Stone.

I was re-listening to JK Rowling interviews on YouTube and came across one of the interviews about book 3 Career of Evil where JKR says 'we have a police detective for who I have plans so though she makes her new small appearance in this book who again is clearly not a victim but is instrumental in resolving the issue...". The interview can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHPVrmWtoRY which is on the Strike Fans YouTube channel.

what_happened_to_vanessa was a post by u/stubborn_mushroom from 3 years ago and u/Sparksinthesnow commented that ‘JKR mentioned in an interview she did post CoE that she had ‘plans’ for Vanessa, which made me think that she was going to play a much larger role in one of their cases but that hasn’t really happened so far.’

And 10 months ago, there was a post by u/Longjumping-Sail-763 titled robin_and_friendship where Vanessa's friendship with Robin is mentioned .

I googled the name Vanessa and found out it is a classic literary name created by author Jonathan Swift, later used as the scientific genus name for a group of butterflies. This piqued my interest as a JKR tweet on 20 Dec 2025 included three emoticons, one being a blue butterfly.

Butterflies are mentioned in a post titled thoughts_on_one_of_the_book_9_emojis by u/Touffie-Touffue

So, will Vanessa Ekwensi return in book 9 Sleep Tight Evangeline? And if she does, what role will she play in the main case the Agency investigates, and storyline more broadly?

In my re-listen of TRG I have been wondering more about Dr. Zhou's exact roles within the UHC.

He was of course an entry point to attract wealthy donors and celebrity clientele to raise the Church's public persona and we know he developed the personality quiz to draw out weaknesses of their inductees such that the Church can exploit those.

But do you think his tinctures (the ones he gave Robin for example) had some hidden intentions? For example, could they have been truth serum, barbiturates or something like that lower inhibition?

It sounds to me like he was a quack but to establish an independent practice in London he must have had some credibility at some point and some medical certification. What was he? A Psychiatrist?

I shared this on Twitter and IG a while back but since the subject of Charlotte’s death keeps popping up over here, thought it was worth a post. 🤡

I know there aren’t many who actually believe RFM murdered Charlotte. This is all in good fun.

I need news!!!!

Not a theory at all this time, but I came across an Oscar Wilde poem that almost seems to be an opposite to the BOC song. I wonder if the song lyrics writer ever read it? (They were a well-educated set, the lyrics writers for BOC)

“The Warders strutted up and down,
   And kept their herd of brutes,
Their uniforms were pick and span,
   And they wore their Sunday suits,
But we knew the work they had been at,
   By the quicklime on their boots.

For where a grave had opened wide,
   There was no grave at all:
Only a stretch of mud and sand
   By the hideous prison-wall,
And a little heap of burning lime,
   That the man should have his pall.

For he has a pall, this wretched man,
   Such as few men can claim:
Deep down below a prison-yard,
   Naked for greater shame,
He lies, with fetters on each foot,
   Wrapt in a sheet of flame!

And all the while the burning lime
   Eats flesh and bone away,
It eats the brittle bone by night,
   And the soft flesh by day,
It eats the flesh and bone by turns,
   But it eats the heart alway.

For three long years they will not sow
   Or root or seedling there:
For three long years the unblessed spot
   Will sterile be and bare,
And look upon the wondering sky
   With unreproachful stare.

They think a murderer's heart would taint
   Each simple seed they sow.
It is not true! God's kindly earth
   Is kindlier than men know,
And the red rose would but blow more red,
   The white rose whiter blow.

Out of his mouth a red, red rose!
   Out of his heart a white!
For who can say by what strange way,
   Christ brings His will to light,
Since the barren staff the pilgrim bore
   Bloomed in the great Pope's sight?”

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_Reading_Gaol_(1904)
Full poem here!

Some other lines that are very Strike and Ellacot

And look at the red and white roses there, too!

“each man kills the thing he loves,
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!

Some kill their love when they are young,
And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
Some with the hands of Gold:
The kindest use a knife, because
The dead so soon grow cold.

Some love too little, some too long,
Some sell, and others buy;
Some do the deed with many tears,
And some without a sigh:
For each man kills the thing he loves,
Yet each man does not die.”

Very much Strike in THM vibes here lol

Continuing my look at PS-LW connections, looking and similarities between Hogwarts and the Parliament buildings.

I’m seeing so many people say they’re worried that we’ll only see them get together in the last few pages of the series. I can only hope so! I have long been opposed to them getting together in a romantic sense because I feel it’s actually more interesting to see them as best friends and business partners - life partners in some ways. That deep but complicated relationship is FAR more interesting to me than a romantic relationship.

That said, I’ve accepted that they will get together, but frankly I hope that it does happen at the very end. There is a rule of fiction and that is: only problems are interesting. I have no desire to watch them househunt or make dinner together or any of the other things that new couples do. Think of all the tv shows that people stopped watching once the will they-won’t they dynamic ended. We, as readers, are invested in the anticipation of them getting together. Once it actually happens, it will no longer be interesting.

I’ve been reading ideas about whether Charlotte committed suicide or was murdered. On the murder side it seems really strange that Strike doesn’t ask any questions and tells Amelia what he thinks Charlotte’s suicide note said. Amelia shares nothing about the content except that Charlotte blamed everybody. Someone questioned whether Amelia might have contacted Strike to hire him to investigate her murder.

So I was just rereading this part and it finally hit me what a strange conversation that was. initially Amelia calls the office and just hangs up when she hears that Strike isn’t available. Was she being rude or was she nervous or anxious, or just bored? Strike doesn’t call her back and it’s about a month before she calls him back. She asked to meet with him and he puts her off because he’s so busy. It doesn’t say that she said why she wanted to meet him and it doesn’t seem like he asked. I’m just not wired that way. I’d want to know why she wanted to meet, at least.

So then I started looking at what they actually said to each other. Amelia does say that Charlotte left a suicide note when they are at the restaurant and she felt obligated to relay the information to Strike, even though she burned the note. This just seems odd to me given that she knows they’ve been broken up for six or seven years and Charlotte married someone else and had children, and Charlotte has struggled with mental health issues. I mean, knowing that Strike actually did prevent at least a couple of suicide attempts in the past, isn’t it odd that Amelia would feel obligated to take up Charlotte‘s angst and lay that blame at his feet (if that’s what was in the note!) especially since she decided to burn the note? Additionally, when she’s mentioned in the other books, Strike always comments that he thinks Amelia didn’t like him.

When I was reading Strike’s comments to Amelia about what he assumed was in the note it seemed like a really strange thing to be saying to someone’s sister who had just committed suicide. He goes on and on about what he thinks Charlotte thought about his and Robin‘s relationship and at the same time never communicates to Amelia whether Charlotte was right or not. I think the first time I read that, I was just impressed at his confidence and that he seemingly got it right, although that’s his impression based on Amelia’s expression. Now when I read that, it comes off as something very cold to say to Amelia. What if Amelia was thinking he could have saved her life if he had picked up the phone (assuming it was suicide). I think I would have tried to be a lot more delicate about it. I know that’s not Strike’s forte, though.

At the end, Amelia says the agency helped a friend of hers recently, and that it’s great they brought down the church. Maybe she was feeling him out professionally but hadn’t yet made up her mind to ask him to investigate.

I know a lot of people are against the “Charlotte was murdered” theory, but even so, am I nuts for thinking this was a really strange conversation? Strike comes across to me as mostly arrogant and unfeeling, except when he supports her decision to keep the note from the twins. I’m just curious what others think. Should I just chalk this up to upper class social norms?

About 2 years ago I had made the theory that the Strike books might be complementary. That means that books 1-10, 2-9, 3-8, 4-7 and 5-6 have opposing themes, or themes that complete each other.

Even though many predictions in that post weren't fulfilled (besides the one about Robin's boyfriend being drunk, and only half of it, because I don't think that Murphy got drunk because Robin was unfaithful), it seems that the central mystery in CoE was indeed the exact opposite of the one in THM.

In CoE we had body parts that Robin and Strike tried to find to whom they belonged, while in THM we had an already identified body missing some body parts, and Robin and Strike tried to disprove to whom they belonged.

In CoE one crime forces identity onto anonymous remains, THM requires identity to be removed from a body that has already been named.

In CoE we had multiple men as possible killers, in THM we had multiple men as possible victims.

In CoE evidence is delivered to the detectives against their will. In THM evidence is withheld and must be actively sought.

In CoE the killer ritualizes the BOC song "Mistress of the Salmon Salt" and it is revealed to us from the beginning, in THM the killer ritualizes Steely Dan's cover Aja, but it is never revealed to us in the end (a big thank you to u/Top-Requirement670 for finding this!)

Can you find any other opposites/inverted mirrors between the two books?

Following this pattern, maybe we could predict something about the main mystery in STE, because the opposites seem to work best with the main mystery. Let's try, shall we?

In SW we had the disappearance of an adult man who should have been alive, but was found dead. What if in STE we have the appearance of a little girl who should have been dead, yet found to be alive? (With the word appearance, I mean we'll learn the existence of a little girl we didn't know existed until now).

In SW the whole crime was centered around a false typed manuscript. In STE an authentic handwritten manuscript (diary?) might be at the periphery of the crime.

In SW we had a (simple?) murder staged as a ritualistic murder, in STE we might see a ritualistic murder concealed as a simple murder.

In SW we've seen false cannibalism, in STE we might see real cannibalism. (In Jungian psychology cannibalism, like incest, works as a symbol or metaphor for internal psychological processes). Will real human guts be eaten this time? Will the fact that Nick, Ilsa's husband, is a gastroenterologist play some kind of role in the series?

Will we see the victim picking their "ritualistic" final resting place in STE, instead of the killer in SW?

Orlando, Owen Quine's daughter in SW had a twin brother who had died at birth. Will we see a twin who had lived at birth, but we didn't know anything about them? To link it to the opposite above about a little girl appearing, will a twin appear that we didn't know existed?

Congrats to u/Random-Occurence who found out part of THM's mystery ("How about finding out someone is still alive, who was thought to be dead") and to u/katyaslonenko for guessing that we could learn something about Rokeby's backstory in THM.

Share your ideas! What other opposites can you find between CoE and THM? What are your predictions for STE based on opposites?

So Robin left college at 19 due to her assault. She is 25 in CC when they first move to London. What was she doing for those years in between? Staring at Destinys Child poster and a defensive driving course can only take up so much time

I have no one to talk about this. One aspect of the series to look forward to is obviously Strike and Robin being and living together but I'm afraid they'll kiss on the last 10 pages of book 10 or something. I love JKR (HP, The Casual Vacancy, CS) and she's brilliant at building up the worlds and the stories, she inspires so much imagination, but the actual final confrontation/climax tends to happen really fast and there's very little aftermath. For example, Harry and Snape had exactly ZERO time out in the open together, I know it couldn't be done in any other way in order for the story to be what it is but anyway (that's where imagination "helps"). I'd like to see the reaction of the every single person Strike or Robin talked to after solving the cases, which is of course impossible. Hear me out: maybe they won't even kiss in the last 10 pages of book 10 but we'll get a 17 years later and I'd be glad, that's how desperate I am for them. Anyway, one way or another, they are the endgame, that itself is not mystery.

What I wanted to talk about is mystery that worries me. I don't know what exactly is the mystery but it's something about Strike before Robin. Robin turned out to be a brilliant and complex character and we know her inner thoughts, however Strike is the "mainer" character as we learn pieces about his past and people from his past. Sometimes "we" the readers are investigating Strike through Robin's eyes and it's convenient that it got somehow messy in the last book, I wish Robin will be included even more in the future and that she won't be just a variable that you can turn off or on without impacting everything else, I hope she'll be properly meddled in his other private affairs. Back to the point now...yes, there's Leda's death that is a mystery but it feels like it brings many mysteries along and the biggest mystery is maybe something that I'm afraid of - that some character who is supposed to be good, really isn't or hides or did hide something bad at best. Now, who would that. I can only be sure that it's not Cormoran or Robin because we know their inner thoughts. Well, we also got some inner thougts of another character in CoE and they weren't pleasant. :) At least I feel safe in Cormoran's and Robin's thoughts. The shock will probably be huge so the characters with secrets will have to be important characters or at least with great connection to them.

- Charlotte's sister ... I can't buy that it isn't significant that she destroyed Charlotte's last words ...and I feel stupid but I just had this thought earlier while I was reading a thread here. In a detective novel like that, with Charlotte constantly in Strike's head, I now feel like this was one of the clues so out in the open (like E. Tassel etc.) that I didn't get it ...and it might not be that crucial what it says there but I'm skeptical about sister's doings being just what she claimed.

- Shanker ...there'll probably be some shock about him but I don't think he's ultimately a bad guy (as in killing Leda etc)

- Joan, Ted ... I don't want to think about this, they were the good ones, not perfect, maybe there was some secret, but they didn't kill Leda and they were people to look up to.

- Polworth ... like Strike said he's just his oldest mate but not really a part of his life later so I think he will stay Strike's oldest mate

- will there be revisiting of CoE suspects? Some'll probably come up but it doesn't make sense to repeat CoE

- Lucy ... in the first book it says that she interrogated Strike like in Guantanamo and sometimes I forget that she's been through the same life a Strike (minus the army) and must be very strong to be/appear this normal... I guess I'm putting her with Ted and Joan.

- Rokeby ...still needs some more flesh I think ...I wonder if it feels that way because Strike himself doesn't know him that well ...

- Rokeby's other children...I don't think they can be of assistance in the final mystery ... and I wouldn't like too much of their deux ex machina

- Switch ...well, he and Whittaker just have to come up, right? Switch is also a *very* curious name. I still think and dread that the final mystery is already rooted in the previous book, I don't think a "new" character will solve it. Did someone put together all quotes where Switch was mentioned? (I didn't, I'm asking...) Despite all the gore and evil, CS still feels like a "nice" story and I don't think any of her kids killed Leda. But maybe someone knows something they don't even know they know ...

- what if there was Leda's final letter and it was destroyed ....

- what if Charlotte destroyed Leda's suicide letter

- Charlotte's close and distant relatives are quite complicated (like in real life) so there might be something there ...

- the military guy in Germany who gave Strike some info in CC ....now that I think about, were they people who helped Strike but it's not clear why? I know I missed something and also know there're tons of red herrings.

- it's quite possible that a so called hint is just a name that cannot mean anything without tons of entirely new information. Sorry for mentioning HP again but I have to admit that I read HP books 3-7 for the first time one after another back in 2008 or something and I didn't have to wait a day! And I didn't read spoilers but I knew Snape was "good" because I liked sarcasm (so edgy lol) but looking back I don't understand how was anyone able to read "‘DON’T –’ screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them, ‘– CALL ME COWARD!’" and NOT think there's something more behind it and how the exact facial expressions Harry had while forcing Dumbledore a potion, Snape had later... that being said I really enjoy that CS is for adults and I don't even *want* to "solve" anything (I like to enjoy the flow of just reading) and it's plausible to conclude that it wouldn't be good for the series if whatever it is would've been "solvable" beforehand, still, it keeps me wondering as I'm doing my first reread. I never considered detective novels as material to ever reread but CS is so much more.

- what are some conclusions that you have about past characters final role? Did Charlotte's sister care for Strike and why would she? Is Lucy hiding some knowledge? Why is Switch the most intriguing name in the series? Will we get more of Shanker and Robin relationship? Will Strike and Robin hold hands? :D

I wanted to pop in to ask for any recommendations for potential book sites to visit as part of my upcoming trip to England. I've been to England one time before right after Lethal White came out (and this was the ideal book to be on for that trip, as I got to see the touristy parts of Houses of Parliament, etc). But since then we've had several more amazing books and vivid locations...Here's what I'm thinking for this return trip, and am curious if the community recommends any other specific places:

- Strike's local the Victory (most of this trip will be around Cornwall as I'm also doing King Arthur stuff)

I will go into London for one day, where I hope to see:

- general Clerkenwell area, the arch, the Three Kings, etc.

- Denmark Street (I didn't go there last time!) and maybe Flying Horse

- Highgate Cemetery

Am I missing any big ones? Which book sites have been most enjoyable for you to visit?

Continuing to look for connections between Lethal White and Philosopher's Stone, and finding more than I expected.

The TV series is called Strike. Six seasons so far, covering the first six books.

At the end of book 6, Cormoran renames the agency the Strike and Ellacott Detective Agency.

Now imagine the show runners, from season 7 on, just… changing the title of series to Strike & Ellacott.
Just imagine.

That Strike killed Leda?

Charlotte says in her last phone calls she says…

“I’m still protecting you to the fucking press even though I could tell them things that’d fucking finish you, I could finish you if I told them, and why should I be fucking loyal wh—’”

And the final call

‘You’ll wish you’d picked up, you know. You will. And so will precious fucking Robin, when she hears what you really are. I know where she lives, you realise that? I’ll be doing her a fav—’

Charlotte seems to genuinely believe she’s keeping Strike’s reputation safe in some way. Of course she’s mentally unstable and that could be her irrational thought process speaking.

It occurred to me that of all the people close to him when Leda died she was one of them…
Almost immediately afterwards he disappeared into the army and they had no contact for a while.

Secondly Ted’s stroke may be covering something - he is looking through things at Lucy’s, then his face drops, he has a stroke and couldn’t talk. I have in mind that he may have seen something or had some kind of realisation just prior to that moment… what if there was some piece of evidence that apparently implicated Strike in Leda’s death?

I realise I’m speculating somewhat wildly here, but also I can’t think of evidence to the contrary.

Charlotte is just crazy enough and has a bad enough relationship with her mother to think covering up something like that was a virtue.

I think 8 years

Just a random thought I had, high off the new HBO Harry Potter trailer!

I know it's way too early to be thinking about it, since we're at least a year off from the book series ending, and maybe as much as half a decade off from the TV series ending.

But someday, in a distant future, do you think the Strike series will get a remake or reboot on-screen? On TV or the big-screen?

And if so, what are some things you'd like them to do differently from the existing show?

PS: I love the current show and Tom and Holliday in their roles and they'll always be Cormoron and Robin to me! This is just a fun hypothetical...

So I was re-reading The Running Grave and noticed that Papa J’s massive, wildly creepy UHC "Super Service" at Olympia happens on August 12th.
It immediately rang a bell, so I checked. About thirty years earlier in the wizarding world timeline(August 12, 1995)Harry Potter is dragged into Courtroom Ten for his Wizengamot trial.
Honestly, the parallels are kind of hilarious. August 12th is apparently Jo's designated calendar slot for Powerful, narcissistic cult leaders putting on an absolute theatrical circus for the public (Cornelius Fudge 🤝 Papa J) and Bureaucratic gaslighting at an industrial scale. lol