So why do I read the Strike books if I’m not a fan of her
writing? Easy. Tom Burke plays the lead in the TV adaptations and with it he
has brought an interesting, complex character to life, one full of charm, charisma,
and sparkle. I’ve become invested in the character; I want to know what the
next instalment is about and what the future holds for Strike. So, for me to
keep up with Strike, and to not feel like I’m wasting any of my day, I turned
to Audible books for both Lethal White and Troubled Blood. This way I could go
for a walk or do chores and “read” at the same time.
Chekov
or Hemingway?
Anyone familiar with Chekov will undoubtedly remember his
principal “If in Act One you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must
fire in the last act.” As we enter Strikes world for the fifth time, we find
him in Cornwall, visiting his terminally ill aunt, and catching up with his
oldest friend Dave Polworth in the pub. The
question of marriage arises, and in the defence of marriage, Polworth quotes
from another Russian literary giant, Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. With Strike coming back to his childhood “home”
Cornwall and all the people he loved there, Robin dealing with a long and acrimonious
divorce, and Strike’s ex Charlotte causing him no end of emotional reckoning,
surely the poignant quote must have a bearing by the end of the novel. Or is
JKR following Hemingway, whereby inconsequential details are just part of the
plot?
In a departure for Strike and Robin, they take on the 40-year-old cold case of a doctor who mysteriously vanished one night. The client gives Strike a year to solve the case, and what a year it will be for both Cormoran and Robin. Many of the original witnesses for the case are dead, and for those still alive, how accurate will their memory of events be? Looking through the notes of the original chief detective on the case, it was apparent he was suffering with his mental health. Were his notes a sign of madness, or was there something more to his readings of tarot and astrological charts?
Of course, whilst this is the main plot
of Troubled Blood, other cases still need to be undertaken by the agency and so
we meet a couple of new characters who are now working for Strike. Robin’s
position has been elevated; a necessity required as Cormoran has family
troubles which need to take priority over his business.
This was the first time I felt any real affinity with Strike,
and as I listened to Robert Glenister’s words, I found myself picturing my own
version of Strike rather than the one I see on my TV. Cormoran has figuratively
shed some layers of skin, not baring his soul in its entirety, but allowing the
reader a quick peek in. In those first few chapters, JKR painted a great family
dynamic and a portrait of Strike’s life in Cornwall. This was where attention
to those little details mattered; the prized dried flowers in a vase which Strike’s
bulky frame had to tip toe carefully around. The plates hung carefully on the
walls of Ted and Joan’s house – that feeling of nostalgia to times gone by –
which make you automatically warm to both characters.
I laughed out loud towards the start of the book when Strike
told his half-sister his true feelings towards his nephews. I loved his bravery
and brutal honesty. There are times where I have wanted to scream at parents
who let their children run riot in cafes, to those who are too busy chatting,
or just couldn’t care less about what their little darlings get up to. Those
entitled folk who are left aghast when the final straw snaps and someone gives
them a dose of reality, that really their precious child is a precocious brat who
wouldn’t be harmed if they heard the word “no” from time to time. I wished I
could take on board Strike’s ‘couldn’t give a toss’ manner. It was so refreshing
to hear someone say that, actually it’s not alright, when something you care
about has been broken. Whilst a broken object might not be the end of the
world, its more about what that item signifies which is important, and the
earlier that children understand actions have consequences, the better. I could
have given Strike a massive bear hug during both scenes!
“an
angry bald looking monkey”
The humour continued as Strike’s patience was further tested
as he interviewed two witnesses who had worked at St John’s medical practice, Janice
Beattie and Irene Bull. Irene was the mouthpiece, totally unstoppable, she wanted
to be the centre of attention, talking over her friend despite Strike trying to
put questions to Janice. A vision formed in my mind of who Irene reminded me of
and I couldn’t stop laughing. As the conversation was interrupted by a bad case
of IBS, my mirth turned into hysteria and I needed to find somewhere to rest to
gather my senses back together.
Just when I didn’t think I could love Strike anymore, Robin
became an aunt, and as she proudly showed off the new baby pictures, Strike
thought it looked like “an angry bald looking monkey,” although this time he
was sensitive enough not to actually say it. And as Strike lost his temper in a
bar, I was torn between laughing at the horror of it all, and the pain and embarrassment
of Robin who found herself stuck in the middle of the mayhem. This scene
allowed for Strike and Robin to have a candid conversation with each other
afterwards, which became a defining moment in the book and one I look forward
to watching when the TV adaptation finally airs.
As well as immense joy, the book gave way to pain, and as
Strike sat with his dying aunt I was transported back to being a child,
refusing to go to bed because that was the night I felt my mother would die. As
I remembered that prophecy coming true, I shared Strike’s pain of sitting
helplessly beside a loved one’s bedside. Aunt Joan, and my mother, strong women
who were adamant they would spend their last nights in the home they loved, and
I wept with him as the inevitable happened. It had taken until the fifth book
for me to get emotionally involved with both Strike and Robin, I laughed when
then did, and I shared in their pain. All the scenes in this book had been
carefully constructed; all of the characters fully formed whether they were
loathsome or not. For once I was gripped by a JK Rowling book until the bitter
end because it felt as though time and care had been devoted to it.
Petty
with an axe to grind.
I’m not saying the book is perfect though, and as I listened,
I still had my imaginary red pen in hand deleting lines that were unnecessary
and causing me annoyance. I was pleased that there was a lot less “editing”
required in Troubled Blood than Lethal White which had my hackles up from the
very start!
I do appreciate that JKR issues reminders of what has gone
on in Robin and Strike’s past histories; it serves as a reminder from one book
to the next and also benefits those who may have not read a Strike novel before.
What I don’t need is to be constantly reminded about the same things throughout
the same book. Did we really need reminding about that gorilla mask as many
times as we were? Did we need to be spoon fed that whilst Strike sat in his BMW
(surely the amount of times that was mentioned a deal must have been cut with
the car firm) reading passages from a book, he was still continuing to monitor
the suspect he was sat watching and that they hadn’t passed him by? These instances
grated, but not sufficiently to put me off the book, indeed I found the book addictive
and rather wish I’d joined the masses and read it on the day it was published!
In the past I had tried to read the Harry Potter series, but
I gave up halfway through reading book four. I was lazing down the Warwickshire
ring on a narrowboat at the time. I had all the time in the world to read,
sitting on the roof of the boot with a beer in hand, but still the book nearly
got flung into the canal. It was tedious, it was repetitive, it had too much description
of inconsequential characters. I thought of writers like Ursula K Le Guin and
her Earthsea fantasy, or Susan Cooper and her fantastic The Dark is Rising
series of books which I still go back to and read nearly 40 years after they
were bought for me. I never really understood Harry Potter. It was the same
with the Strike books. What was JKR trying to achieve? Was she writing a
detective novel, a romance novel – what genre and audience was she trying to
reach? Reading Troubled Blood, I realised that question didn’t matter anymore.
The books are about Strike and Robin – they just happen to be detectives; so
whilst that aspect is important, so is their relationship, and Troubled Blood
is the book that finally defines how integral they are to each other’s success.
This was an intriguing book on many levels, and I was genuinely surprised that my hunch over the culprit was correct. Whilst the book finished, on what for me was an apt ending, I couldn’t help but realise that in a split second of the story ending, I had turned into one of JKR’s millions of fans - desperate to know what book 6 held in store. More importantly, I want to know when it will be released. I never thought I’d hear myself say that! It also made me think I’d revisit the book properly in due course, and by that I mean I might treat myself to a copy of the paperback when it comes out (even if I won't be waving it under Tom’s nose to sign like I did with books 1-3!)
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