The Hallmarked Man, latest Robert Galbraith.

I listened to this book on Audible and was gripped by it.

There are a lot of characters in the story and it is quite intricate in its construction, but I am in awe that at number 8 in the series she has maintained excellence throughout.

My daughter has been listening to it and her daily texts have basically just been OMG OMG OMG! Now she's finished it she says she'll have to listen again because she was so involved with Strike and Robin that she missed a lot of the actual crime!

I’ve just finished The Hallmarked Man.

I could have completed it so much sooner, but have deliberately made it last!

The actual story and crime I found rather convoluted, it was the Strike/Robin relationship that hooked me in, as usual.

Only two more books in the series to go though.

🥲

I have posted on here twice already and am on about the third or fourth attempt at trying to work the plot out. I have ended up reading it as an E-book with the audio in my headphones. So I'm being 'read to' by Robert Glenister. I should have just bought the book! The plot is a bit too complicated I think. The reasons for the things that develop are in my opinion( I realise not everyone might agree) bit too far-fetched. I think the Running Grave was better. Hope the next one will be a tad less complicated.

I’ve never read any of this series.
If I bought Running Grave on my Kindle would it make sense to me as just a ‘one off’? ie would it work as a stand alone, or not? Thank you.

I had missed the publication of The Running Grave and when Hallmarked Man came out I realised I needed to ‘catch up’.

There are references to previous happenings and they remind readers of a situation with an explanation so if you haven’t read previous books you are not cast adrift.

I think the books do stand alone and could be read without going through the back catalogue.

Happy reading

After a good start I started to plod my way through it, not really caring who it was in the vault , or who dunnit!
I do love the side stories though, of the relationships between Strike, Robin, Ryan, their families, and the rest of the agency staff.

The benefit of reading it on a Kindle, is, if I can't remember a character and what they did. I do a search on their name and it will come up with all the times their name is mentioned. A god send to a foggy brain like mine.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

I’ve never read any of this series.
If I bought Running Grave on my Kindle would it make sense to me as just a ‘one off’? ie would it work as a stand alone, or not? Thank you.

I think you need to read them in order to really ‘get’ the story lines and most of all, the characters.

Start with The Cuckoo’s Calling, and carry on from there.

Long books, (some are 1000pages) but very readable.

Ah.
No I don’t think so, but thank you Calendargirl for answering my query. I don’t fancy 8 books circa 6,000 pages to enjoy what some of you have described’the best in series’.

I prefer stand alone books to be honest. Chopping and changing genres and authors.

Apologises for derailing this thread somewhat. I’ll leave you now to continue your discussion. 😁

FGT

It does sound daunting I know, 6000 words, but honestly, you just get hooked and before you know it, that’s about 200 pages gone in a flash.

I had been waiting for the price of this book to go down as £15 is far too much, so I was thrilled to be offered it for 99p on Kindle. Naturally I downloaded it at once! I don’t know if it’s still the same price.
I am 3/4 of the way through and am just about getting my head around all the different characters but the best part for me is the relationship between Robyn and Strike, will they, won’t they? I am struggling to see how this book can be transferred to TV though as much of the dialogue is in their heads.

Well, ‘The Ink Black Heart’, in my opinion by far the worst of the series, transferred to tv ok, so don’t think the latest will be a problem.

They are filming The Running Grave in Norfolk at the moment, something to look forward to.

LadyBridgerton

They are filming The Running Grave in Norfolk at the moment, something to look forward to.

Yes it certainly is although it probably won’t be out until late next year.

I’ve now finished the Hallmarked Man and I enjoyed it more for the relationship between Strike and Robin than the actual story. Hopefully this will continue into the next book which I do hope is being written now.

My main worry is that I am 79 now and, with the 2 years it is taking her to write each book, I wonder if I will live long enough to see them get together.

Oh bless you Deedaa, of course you will
😘

Deedaa

My main worry is that I am 79 now and, with the 2 years it is taking her to write each book, I wonder if I will live long enough to see them get together.

If indeed they do! I really want them to, I think J K Rowling will have a lot of very unhappy readers if they don't. Is the next book the last or the penultimate? I know she maps out her entire journey for the characters at the very beginning.

And yes Deeda you'll still be here to be glad or sad

Next book is penultimate.

10 in the series.

Thanks Calendargirl, I had a feeling that was it, good to get it confirmed.

I love the books,however do agree that the amount of characters in The Hallmarked Man means I have to keep looking back check the events...I haven't watched the series, I know in my head how the characters look

I love the TV series because the characters are exactly as I pictured them in my head when reading the books.