A place to discuss the latest Robert Galbraith Strike novel, The Running Grave, without having to use spoilers.
EDIT: I've asked the mods to remove the 'Running Threads' tag!
EDIT: I've asked the mods to remove the 'Running Threads' tag!
New to Tattle Life? Click "Order Thread by Most Liked Posts" button below to get an idea of what the site is about:
So pleased Pat got fleshed out in this book.
Also liked the concern the subcontractors had for Robin. Made the relationships a lot more plausible.
Also liked the concern the subcontractors had for Robin. Made the relationships a lot more plausible.
Me too! Although now we probably have to wait 18 months to find out her response. I hope she dumps Ryan, he's waving all sorts of red flags for me.
As I finished the book at gone 4am and my head was a bit fuzzy by that point - am I correct in thinking Becca was Papa J's daughter and that's why she was the only spirit wife he didn't sleep with?
No, they weren't blood related. Becca knew too much, she had all the evidence there of what Abigail had done (although she didn't know it) so he wanted to keep her onside so she wouldn't tell anyone else what she knew. It's explained that he never slept with her so Mazu wouldn't dislike her like the other spirit wives. Very much a "keep your enemies close" thing is how I read it.
Yeh Strike was just using the line of Becca being related to Papa J to keep Amy interested while he waited for the Police
I loved Strike's confession scene at the end. How he drops the bomb of "..I was in love with you" and Robin waits for him to add some disclaimer to it and he just sits there looking at her! I think that will be important later on because we know Robin will be obsessing over that, trying to make sense of it and the fact that he deliberately didn't give her any thing to try and cause doubt over it is huge.
I know there's a lot of theories that Robin will go on the weekend away with Murphy and then break up with him (as a parallel to her Honeymoon with Matthew) but I'm seriously hoping it doesn't even go that far. I'd love for her to get to the bottom of the stairs and realise she can't keep going with Murphy at all and run back up to tell Strike how she feels. Why bring up the "I regretted it within an hour of saying I do" thing if she's just going to repeat the honeymoon scene with Murphy? I wanna see Robin breaking the pattern!
I know there's a lot of theories that Robin will go on the weekend away with Murphy and then break up with him (as a parallel to her Honeymoon with Matthew) but I'm seriously hoping it doesn't even go that far. I'd love for her to get to the bottom of the stairs and realise she can't keep going with Murphy at all and run back up to tell Strike how she feels. Why bring up the "I regretted it within an hour of saying I do" thing if she's just going to repeat the honeymoon scene with Murphy? I wanna see Robin breaking the pattern!
Yeh it would be lovely for Robin to admit her feelings and take the lead a bit
I'd also love to have a scene where Strike just kisses Robim with all abandon in front of all their friends and family. I want jaws dropping! I want Ilsa losing her goddam mind! I want Jack cheering on his uncle in the background. I want Barklay and Midge to have made bets on it, I want DRAMA.
Even better if Strike just comes out with the "I love you" in front of them all aswell.
Even better if Strike just comes out with the "I love you" in front of them all aswell.
I’m so glad this thread exists - I absolutely devoured the book and immediately lent my copy to my mother. I’ve been impatiently waiting for her to finish it too so I have someone to talk about it with!
It’s just so clever. I didn’t see the twist coming, but I want to do a reread at some point to see if there were any clues I missed. Everything about the way the cult was written was so well done - from the reader losing track of time to all the little set ups and tricks…
Strike admitting his feelings for Robin was so tantalising. I hope she plucks up the courage to take the lead with him in the next book.
It’s just so clever. I didn’t see the twist coming, but I want to do a reread at some point to see if there were any clues I missed. Everything about the way the cult was written was so well done - from the reader losing track of time to all the little set ups and tricks…
Strike admitting his feelings for Robin was so tantalising. I hope she plucks up the courage to take the lead with him in the next book.
We usually get a time jump of at least a few months between books, don't we? For once I hope she picks up where she left off!
Thanks for starting this thread @Falkor
Have to admit I didn't think it was going to be Abigail so that was a surprise. I did guess early on that pigs might be involved to possibly eat a body. The sheer scale of the deaths at the end was really horrible and the horror of the woman who had to sow carrots over the body of her child
The whole cult thing was so weird. Why would you just hand control of your life to someone else? There was something really sad about it and they were all sucked in and assimilated so quickly. No friendships seemed to be allowed so everyone lead a lonely existence while living in a strict commune which made it bizarre.
Have to admit I didn't think it was going to be Abigail so that was a surprise. I did guess early on that pigs might be involved to possibly eat a body. The sheer scale of the deaths at the end was really horrible and the horror of the woman who had to sow carrots over the body of her child
The whole cult thing was so weird. Why would you just hand control of your life to someone else? There was something really sad about it and they were all sucked in and assimilated so quickly. No friendships seemed to be allowed so everyone lead a lonely existence while living in a strict commune which made it bizarre.
I can quite easily see the allure in handing control and stress of my life over to someone else in the name of doing good. Haven't we all wished we could just be a kid again just a day even and not have to worry and make any decisions? I know I have.Thanks for starting this thread @Falkor
Have to admit I didn't think it was going to be Abigail so that was a surprise. I did guess early on that pigs might be involved to possibly eat a body. The sheer scale of the deaths at the end was really horrible and the horror of the woman who had to sow carrots over the body of her child
The whole cult thing was so weird. Why would you just hand control of your life to someone else? There was something really sad about it and they were all sucked in and assimilated so quickly. No friendships seemed to be allowed so everyone lead a lonely existence while living in a strict commune which made it bizarre.
I can never guess who the killer is at the end but I can always see the clues that I've missed on reread. IBH had me going "how did I not get this?!" In hindsight it was obvious. It'll be interesting to see if this is similar.
One thing I've seen a lot of people kind of skip over is that taking down the cult wasn't ever their job. They were only ever paid to get Will out if possible. Dismantling the cult and finding out what happened to Kevin and De-whatshername was an added bonus (at least at first)
Jesus bleeping Christ. That was unreal. I think it's probably the best yet. Some random thoughts. Apologies if I get name spellings wrong, I was listening to this one.
- Up until the final scene, I was a bit annoyed that the Robin-Strike relationship hadn't been progressed enough in the book. However I do appreciate how the final chapter was done, and that maybe Strike couldn't go for it fully till he had full closure with Charlotte.
- Ryan Murphy is a bit of a straw man at this point, he is behaving a lot like Matthew did, and his only role now is for Robin to break up with him. I do love though, how Strike keeps internally referring to him as "that prick Murphy" even though he has done nothing wrong!
- Robin inside the cult, and the whole cult world-building was impeccable. I can't imagine the research she must have gone through.
- There were some absolutely shout out loud moments in this book. As I said in the main thread, when Robin jumped the fence and Strike clattered Taio with the wire cutters I was literally roaring encouragement as I drove. The same when Robin was driving and escaping from the shooter. I love that Robin got to show off how amazing a driver she is.
- I think the bravery that Robin shows throughout the entire book is amazing. She's so brave. In ways she's a lot like Harry Potter, in that she knows that if she can't succeed, no one will, and even though she is scared stiff, she does it anyway.
- I literally gasped when Charlotte died. I thought she would always be around, needling in from the sidelines.
- Love how Pat was given such an important role. She's an absolute treasure. Robert Glenister's voicing of her borders on the pantomime, but it always makes me smile.
- The unwinding of the conspiracy with Abigail was done so well. I love how Strike totally teased the Daiyu- Becca switch theory, and then once he had what he needed, he revealed the truth. Also there was a false trail laid that Graves' sister and her husband were strongly involved but it turns out they were just being disruptive.
- At one point, I thought Graves sister had arranged for Daiyus disappearance / murder because of the inheritance.
- I'm really sad Becca didn't get her comeuppance. Robin had said she thought Becca was as evil as Mazu I really wanted to see her dragged off the cells kicking and screaming.
- Has anyone any notion how many books there are meant to be? Is the next one the last one ? I will not be bleeping pleased if Robin and Strike only get together in the last page of the last book .
- Up until the final scene, I was a bit annoyed that the Robin-Strike relationship hadn't been progressed enough in the book. However I do appreciate how the final chapter was done, and that maybe Strike couldn't go for it fully till he had full closure with Charlotte.
- Ryan Murphy is a bit of a straw man at this point, he is behaving a lot like Matthew did, and his only role now is for Robin to break up with him. I do love though, how Strike keeps internally referring to him as "that prick Murphy" even though he has done nothing wrong!
- Robin inside the cult, and the whole cult world-building was impeccable. I can't imagine the research she must have gone through.
- There were some absolutely shout out loud moments in this book. As I said in the main thread, when Robin jumped the fence and Strike clattered Taio with the wire cutters I was literally roaring encouragement as I drove. The same when Robin was driving and escaping from the shooter. I love that Robin got to show off how amazing a driver she is.
- I think the bravery that Robin shows throughout the entire book is amazing. She's so brave. In ways she's a lot like Harry Potter, in that she knows that if she can't succeed, no one will, and even though she is scared stiff, she does it anyway.
- I literally gasped when Charlotte died. I thought she would always be around, needling in from the sidelines.
- Love how Pat was given such an important role. She's an absolute treasure. Robert Glenister's voicing of her borders on the pantomime, but it always makes me smile.
- The unwinding of the conspiracy with Abigail was done so well. I love how Strike totally teased the Daiyu- Becca switch theory, and then once he had what he needed, he revealed the truth. Also there was a false trail laid that Graves' sister and her husband were strongly involved but it turns out they were just being disruptive.
- At one point, I thought Graves sister had arranged for Daiyus disappearance / murder because of the inheritance.
- I'm really sad Becca didn't get her comeuppance. Robin had said she thought Becca was as evil as Mazu I really wanted to see her dragged off the cells kicking and screaming.
- Has anyone any notion how many books there are meant to be? Is the next one the last one ? I will not be bleeping pleased if Robin and Strike only get together in the last page of the last book .
I agree with everything you said. Haha.
There's 10 planned books. I hope there's more though! I'm not ready to say goodbye yet
I was wondering whether JKR went for a cult or maybe had some idea about it because she was approached for something like this?
I know Emma Watson was also targeted in the past by some weird sex cult thing but didn't go luckily. I suspect given JKR wealth, she would be in the eyes of many who want her funds and I bet she has had many people claiming to be the best thing since sliced bread.
I know Emma Watson was also targeted in the past by some weird sex cult thing but didn't go luckily. I suspect given JKR wealth, she would be in the eyes of many who want her funds and I bet she has had many people claiming to be the best thing since sliced bread.
Im so glad this thread was made!! I loved the book well audio book for me. I love Robert Glenister who narrates it sooooo good.
I think in the next book Ryan is going to have some kind of relapse of the alcohol and become violent. Robyn will hide it from strike.-
- also glad Charlottes gone too. She was annoying at times.
- as i said in the other thread there wasnt much connection about strikes time in the commune,there wS loads in the previous books about the worst time of his life. I thought he might have got spme more flashbacks or Mazu would have remembered. I wanted more justice for Lucy.
I think in the next book Ryan is going to have some kind of relapse of the alcohol and become violent. Robyn will hide it from strike.-
- also glad Charlottes gone too. She was annoying at times.
- as i said in the other thread there wasnt much connection about strikes time in the commune,there wS loads in the previous books about the worst time of his life. I thought he might have got spme more flashbacks or Mazu would have remembered. I wanted more justice for Lucy.
Did anyone else think Robin was going to end up indoctrinated and would need saving?
Yes!! I was really worried this would happen
At the beginning yes, especially when she started to chant - I can see how easy it would be to fall into this habit of numbing your mind when you're hungry and tired.
I would have liked a bit more of Lucy after learning about that assault and also about Ted - it was probably deliberate that we didn't see much of them, because the book focused on Robin being away so much, everyone worried about her, so that Strike not only had to run the agency single and do the work with one person less (plus all those trips to Norfolk!) but also to show that Strike really had no time for them. I want justice for Lucy!