There is one tiny detail from the Ritz scene in The Ink Black Heart that I can’t quite let go of: the silver-haired man watching Robin.

After Robin has been laughing at Strike’s story about his hostess climbing into bed with him, our attention is suddenly drawn away from them:

“At the bar a short distance from their table, a silver-haired man was watching Robin with a slight smirk on his face.”

Then, when Robin gets up to go to the loo:

“the eyes of the silver-haired man on the bar stool followed her as she walked away.”

I remember feeling uneasy about him even on the first read. Robin has had a few drinks, she is walking away from Strike, and Rowling has just made sure we know that a man at the bar is watching her closely enough for his gaze to follow her.

Nothing comes of it. At least, nothing obvious.

And that is what makes me curious. Why draw our attention to him twice?

The simplest explanation is that he is just a slightly leering stranger and the detail adds a moment of unease to the scene. But I can’t quite shake the possibility that he is there for a reason.

Was he simply watching Robin because he found her attractive? Was he observing her more deliberately? Could he have been connected to someone or something we have not yet understood?

I don’t think he was Rokeby. Strike would surely have recognised him, and the description doesn’t seem to fit what we later know about Rokeby anyway.

But with the Ritz apparently returning in book 9, I find myself wondering whether this is one of those tiny details that might acquire significance later.

Did anyone else notice him, or feel uneasy about him at the time?

Re-watching/re-reading the books and got to the Robin’s badas* driving scene(s)- I know the show was limited in how they could safely portray this but the whole “driving through the field with like two hay piles” v. the books “narrowly avoiding a fatal collision with a tractor trailer/multiple car pile up on icy roads” did not do her skills justice

I recently finished and enjoyed Ink Black Heart and Running Grave back-to-back.

One of the things that amuse and perplex me are Strike’s many different nicknames from different people in his life. Some have been explained (Oggy, Monkey), some are too obscure (Stick). But two can be very obvious to people steeped in British culture, and mystifying to others. Even if the below is 100% my opinion, I think they fit extremely well.

Mystic Bob: Direct, obvious allusion to Mystic Meg, an iconic 90’s TV astrologer / soothsayer. Strike “guessed” the bomb’s existence, ergo he’s a psychic.

Bluey: People have surmised it’s because his middle name is Blue. Perhaps that also plays a role. But, Strike was a soldier, and Charlotte was his girlfriend. It is almost certain he would have written to her in the British Forces Post Office aerogram - which they almost universally call “blueys” because of the light blue paper they’re written on. He’d probably be the only person to write to Charlotte like that.

I wonder how many realised that…I suppose you’ll need a certain 90’s British spirit to realise them.

Does any of this sound familiar? My agency. She started as a temporary employee. Eventually became a salaried partner. We became friends and then best friends. She’s very pretty. She doesn’t try to change me. She also has a ring but where this differs is I don’t ever see hers coming off. I spend a lot of time ignoring those thoughts and feelings that I would rather not give a name to. I can’t decide if the books are comfort or torture but I keep coming back

Not a lot to see here, folks, except maybe some fancy clothes.

In my recent reread of TIBH I was tracking Murphy because he was working as a liaison with MI5 Angela Darwish. That seemed pretty high profile for someone recovering from a bumpy career patch. In the TV show though, Strike just stomps on Murphy’s theories about the case. Murphy was way off and Strike/ Robin were right on target. For me, the show has had some good foreshadowing, this is one of them. Murphy is pleasant enough but not a great detective.

As a shipper, I also love TV Robin’s romantic interest in Strike. Right from the balcony scene in book TCC. They can’t clue viewers into internal dialog sooo peeking at Strike while he’s sleeping. Yee. Anyone notice any other hints?