This is my favorite detective series of all time and I am super sad that it's winding down. The Hallmarked Man is book 8 out of a series of 10 (from what I understand). Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott are my favorite "partners" couple, right behind Mulder & Scully! :)
Strike & Robin meet with a woman (Decima) who wants them to confirm that the unidentified - or misidentified - man found brutally murdered in the safe of a silver shop is her boyfriend and father or her baby. The silver shop specializes in Masonic silver and is located next to a Freemasons' Hall. The murdered man is missing all the parts of a body that could help authorities accurately identify him, which is part of the problem. Decima believes that the man murdered is her boyfriend because he had recently stolen a large piece of silver from her father, which is another story in and of itself. She doesn't believe that he would ever leave her or their child and can only believe that he must be dead. Strike & Robin reluctantly take on her case.
Meanwhile, the detective agency's latest hire, Kim, is causing a stir at the office. She's a player and she has her sights set on Strike. This actually bothers both Strike and Robin, but for different reasons of course. Robin's afraid that Strike will sleep with her and Strike simply finds her annoying. Robin doesn't understand that of course. Then there is Robin's kind, handsome boyfriend, Ryan Murphy, who loves Robin and wants to marry her, but also resents the time and energy that Robin spends with Strike. To add to all of these relationship "issues", Ryan makes a grave error in his own job which sends him spiraling down - which in turn affects Robin who doesn't want to abandon him.
The agency is busy with a variety of cases they are working on. The story is complex with a lot of different people, names, places, events to keep track of. It's not always easy to remember who everyone is and how they are connected. I think I've commented on this before but Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling must have a HUGE storyboard to keep track of everyone when she's writing. The main story is the murder in the silver shop, but that story alone leads Strike & Robin to several different people and groups of people, which in turn leads to several different theories of what really happened and why. Add in their "regular" cases of tracking cheating spouses; exposing the underbelly of the seedier parts of life; relationship issues; lack of upfront communication between Strike & Robin; the reappearance of Strike's past girlfriends, which always cause problems; the lies of the media; Strike's famous father; Robin's family; Robin's relationship with Ryan; and Strike & Robins unending "pining" for each other but not wanting to destroy their friendship; well, it's a lot. And I loved every single minute of it!
Wendy's Rating: *****
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