I’ve been with this series from the start and with the exception of one of the books I’ve loved them all.
This is book 8 and quite possibly the best so far.
The hallmarked man in the headline is the body of a man found in a silver vault. His hands, ears and…….well other body parts are either missing or have been deformed.
Each of the missing or deformed parts could have been used to identify him but have been conveniently removed. Coincidentally several men could be the victim, all of which would have been identified by one of the missing, mutilated parts.
The police are convinced they’ve identified who the man is but his, but haven’t said they are 100% sure it is who they say.
The “alleged” victim has left behind a girlfriend and a baby. She wants to be sure it is him, because she can’t bear the thought that he’d just upped and left her and the baby.
It’s the girlfriend who employs Strike and Robin’s agency to prove that it was him in the vault.
The more the detectives investigate the more they become convinced that the body is not the woman’s boyfriend.
The victim had been killed during a silver heist. The police haven’t had any success in finding the perpetrators or whether the victim was part of the gang or just somebody who got in the way.
By digging deeper Strike and Robin start to uncover a very complex plot which makes up the main crime in this book.
The plot is excellent.
The other hook in this book is the ongoing will-they-won’t-they between Strike and Robin.
I would usually say this was tedious and irritating, usually. But I’m that engaged with these characters that I think it was actually this part of the book that kept me reading late into the night.
When I wrote about Ink Black Heart, the book I really didn’t like, I called the blog, Ink Black Heart. An Honest Review By A Fan, because I really didn’t want to sound like one of those haters who jump on the band wagon.
In the spirit of balance I should really say, as an honest review from a fan, this book is really good
It follows Galbraith’s usual formula. The agency is busy and the other investigations are a nice distraction from the main plot.
The main investigation is basically tagged onto an ongoing, or recently closed Police investigation, that realistically gives Strike and Robin the legal ability to take on the investigation.
Galbraith is very clever at pitching the story believably on the fringe of a proper criminal investigation
And of course there’s the ongoing Strike and Robin relationship. He, with his past has finally admitted he’s in love with his business partner Robin, but she’s in a steady, and growing relationship with with a senior Police Detective.
But, although she looks happy on the outside, in reality it’s not all happy families and roses.
As readers we begin to hear her doubt in her own mind. We begin to hear the inward battle she’s having with herself about the way she actually feels about Strike.
This book will have fans of the series on the edge of their seat for more reasons than one.
And the ending, well …………….
Pages 912 pages. Publisher Sphere. Audiobook length 31 hours 7 minutes. Narrator Robert Glenister
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