This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience.(November 2023) |
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Author | J. K. Rowling (under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith) |
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Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Genre | Crime fiction, mystery |
Publisher | Sphere Books |
Published | 4 April 2013–present |
Media type | |
No. of books | 7 |
Cormoran Strike is a series of crime fiction novels written by British author J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The story chronicles the cases of the fictional British private detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott. Seven novels have so far been published in a planned series of ten. [1] The seventh novel, titled The Running Grave , was released on 26 September 2023. [2] As of February 2024, the series has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and was published in more than 50 countries, being translated into 43 languages. [3]
The novels are adapted into the television programme Strike , which began airing on BBC One in the United Kingdom in August 2017. [4] [5] [6]
On 15 March 2024, Rowling revealed the title of the eighth book as The Hallmarked Man. [7]
This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed.(March 2024) |
In 2010, Cormoran Blue Strike (b. 23 Nov. 1974)—private detective, ex–Royal Military Police Special Investigation Branch investigator and the illegitimate son of famous rock star Jonny Rokeby (the result of an affair with a notorious groupie, Leda Strike)—is broke, and his birth father's business agent is calling in the loan that he gave to Strike to open his agency. Strike lost the lower half of his right leg in an attack in Afghanistan. He had previously studied at Oxford but left in his second year to join the Army following the death of his mother.
The first novel, The Cuckoo's Calling, begins with Strike being hired by John Bristow, the brother of adopted supermodel Lula Landry, who had fallen from her balcony three months previously. Bristow wants Strike to investigate his sister's supposed suicide. Strike also meets Robin Ellacott (b. 9 Oct. 1984), who has been sent to act as his temporary secretary despite the fact he can barely afford her. Robin has just become engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Matthew, and their wedding is set to happen later that year. Although Strike only hires her for one week, she turns out to be much more competent (and useful) than he first expects, and they extend her stay.
Strike's personal life is complicated. He has just split from his long-term partner and fiancée, Charlotte Campbell, who became engaged to her ex-boyfriend, Jago Ross, shortly after the split. Strike is closest to his half-sister Lucy (his mother's second child), with whom he grew up, though he has seven other half-siblings (the other children of Rokeby) and one half-brother who is the son of his mother and her last husband, Jeff Whittaker. Even his relationship with Lucy is somewhat fraught, and Strike becomes closer to Robin, who has always wanted to be a detective than he initially feels entirely comfortable with.
Near the first book's end, after solving the Landry case and before Robin is ready to leave for a permanent position elsewhere, Strike gives her the gift of a green silk dress she had previously tried on at the Vashti boutique as part of their investigation. This dress is significant to both of them, though its importance is unspoken by each. Finally, the two decide that Robin will stay on.
The second book, The Silkworm, begins around eight months after the conclusion of book one. Leonora Quine approaches strike with a plea to locate her husband, notorious writer Owen Quine, who has seemingly disappeared without trace. Owen once hailed as a literary rebel, has struggled for years to recreate the success of his original novel and has fallen out of pur. Strike discovers that his disappearance coincides with the leak of a manuscript for his latest novel, Bombyx Mori. The London literary community considers Bombyx Mori to be unpublishable: an unpleasant mix of rape, sadomasochism, torture, necrophilia and cannibalism, the hero is eventually tricked and eaten alive by various characters who are thinly veiled caricatures of people in Owen's life whom he considers responsible for the destruction of his career. The investigation soon takes a different and altogether more gruesome turn when Owen is found dead. During the investigation, Robin faces personal difficulties as her fiancé's mother dies, and she must make some difficult decisions about the balance between her career and her personal life.
The third novel, Career of Evil, begins with Robin receiving a package from a courier, which she discovers contains the severed right leg of a woman. The package is accompanied by a note quoting from the Blue Öyster Cult song Mistress of the Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl), a lyric Strike's mother Leda had tattooed above her pubis. Because of that link, Strike told the police that he believed that the package had been sent by someone from his own past with a grudge against him.
Strike and Robin work out that the sender of the leg is also responsible for a number of other brutal attacks and reaches public infamy as the Shacklewell Ripper. Strike identifies four potential suspects from his past whom he believes would be capable of such crimes but, as the police want to concentrate on the one Strike believes to be least likely, they set out to investigate the other three. Robin informs Strike that she dropped out of university due to trauma from being raped, and the Shacklewell Ripper then stalks and seriously injures Robin in an attack. Later, Robin makes a decision while investigating one of their suspects that has profound and shocking consequences for their relationship, as Strike fires her and she then heads off to marry her fiancé Matthew. Strike sets a successful trap to catch the Shacklewell Ripper and is driven by a friend early the next morning, arriving at the conclusion of Robin's wedding ceremony at the end of the novel.
The fourth novel, Lethal White, begins right at that point, as Robin learns about Strike's capture of the Ripper and that Matthew had deleted Strike's messages to her, which immediately strains their marriage. Robin accepts Strike's offer of a salaried partnership in the agency, which becomes very busy due to Strike's new-found fame, but she continues to struggle with PTSD from the rape and the attack by the Ripper. A year later, the agency is hired by a government minister to investigate and stop an attempted blackmail against him, although he will not tell Strike or Robin the details of his actions. They find evidence of embezzlement against one of the blackmailers, but then their client dies in an apparent suicide. One of his children then hires Strike to investigate the death, because she believes her stepmother was behind it. Robin finds Matthew cheating on her and leaves him, temporarily going to live with her friend detective Vanessa Ekwensi. When Strike figures out the motive for the murder, he and Robin take their evidence to the police. While reviewing the state of the case at Scotland Yard, the murderer lures Robin into a trap by posing as the now-estranged Matthew. Robin successfully stalls the murderer long enough for Strike and the police to realize the situation and intervene. Robin moves in with Strike's friends Nick and Ilsa before moving in permanently with a friend of Ilsa's.
The fifth novel, Troubled Blood, begins in August 2013 and ends on 9 October 2014. As a result of their previous successes, Strike and Robin (still a salaried partner) now employ three contract investigators and an office manager. Both are dealing with their own irritations: Strike over his aunt's illness, suicide threats from his ex-fiancée Campbell (now a married mother of two) and the attempts of his half-siblings to get him to attend a party honouring his rock star biological father Johnny Rokeby; Robin over Matthew's intransigence in their divorce, her continuing PTSD and her unsettled personal life, brought into clearer focus by her brother and his wife having their first child.
While visiting his dying aunt Joan, Strike is approached by Anna Phipps, who wants to hire his firm to investigate the disappearance of her mother, Margot Bamborough, a general practitioner in London, almost 40 years previously. The police's principal suspect in the disappearance was a then unidentified serial killer named Dennis Creed, now incarcerated in Broadmoor. Phipps gives the agency a one-year contract to go over the case. However, thanks to the large workload at the small firm, it takes several months for them to run down the surviving witnesses and investigators (or their children). During the year, Strike's aunt dies, Matthew grants Robin the divorce because his mistress/girlfriend becomes pregnant, and the heavy work schedule combined with a lack of communication about their issues contributes to several personal misunderstandings and disagreements, including the termination of one of the contractors for repeated inappropriate behaviour toward Robin. In August 2014, although the firm still has leads to pursue, Phipps and her wife end the contract, but Strike and Robin continue to investigate. They abruptly achieve several minor breakthroughs whilst also securing an interview with Creed. Strike induces him to confess to one of the last unsolved murders he was long suspected of, before revealing he has already deduced the identity of Bamborough's real killer. Having tipped off the police about Creed's victim, Robin locates and uncovers Bamborough's remains, whilst Strike apprehends her killer. The agency's investigation thus solves two cold cases, and after the partners shelter from the ensuing media storm, they celebrate Robin's 30th birthday together.
The sixth novel, The Ink Black Heart, picks up in the immediate aftermath of the previous. Following Robin's birthday festivities, Strike attempts to kiss her. Robin pulls away, an instinctual reaction due to past trauma, but Strike mistakes the reaction as possible disgust. The potential budding romance between them is stopped cold and Strike later begins dating another woman. Robin is approached by Edie Ledwell, the co-creator of a popular animated web series titled The Ink Black Heart. Edie wishes the Strike agency to investigate the continued online harassment directed at her by an individual known only as "Anomie", whose online handle originates from a term referring to a lack of usual social or ethical standards. Robin declines the case, citing, among other reasons, the fact that the Strike agency does not specialize in cybercrimes. Ledwell is later found murdered by stabbing, her co-creator Josh Blay badly injured but alive. Robin and Strike then receive a request to investigate the case made by those at the production company who are planning to turn the franchise into a feature film. The company explains that they have already explored all possible normal cyber-investigation avenues and Strike and Robin accept the case.
Anomie is the co-creator of Drek's Game, a free fan-created online game based around one of the main characters of The Ink Black Heart. Anomie seals new registrations to the game, but Robin manages to gain access via a previously created account. She and Strike then dive deep into the world of the game and those associated with the production of The Ink Black Heart. In the course of their investigation, they discover that the game has been infiltrated by members of The Halvening, a far-right terrorist group which mainly harasses left-leaning women online, often with the goal of trying to drive them to suicide. Although their office is bombed by members of The Halvening, their investigation leads them to believe that it is not, in fact, The Halvening that is responsible for Ledwell's murder. They eventually discover Anomie to be the teenage son of one of those associated with the production and capture him in a violent confrontation in which he threatens to rape and kill Robin and seriously injures Strike. Anomie turns out to be a disgruntled fan who was attempting to exert control on the production and was aggravated by the decision to move The Ink Black Heart from YouTube to Netflix and to make a film. As Robin visits Strike in the hospital, he reveals that when he had the office remodelled in the aftermath of the bombing, he replaced the logo on the glass of the door so that it now reads "Strike and Ellacott Detective Agency." Having recently broken up with his girlfriend, he is troubled when he learns that Robin is now dating a police detective, as he still harbours latent romantic feelings for her.
The seventh book, The Running Grave, begins at the christening of Nick and Ilsa's child where Robin and Strike have been made godparents. Here Strike meets lawyer Bijou with whom he begins a short-lived, ill-advised affair. Robin continues her relationship with policeman Ryan Murphy. Robin and Strike are hired to investigate a cult: the Universal Humanitarian Church. Their client's autistic son, Will, has lived in the UHC grounds for four years, emptying his trust fund into their accounts and not even leaving for his mother's funeral. Robin goes undercover at the UHC and finds much unlawful activity and speaks to Will. She learns that he was not informed of his mother's death and that he has fathered a daughter inside the church. Strike's uncle Ted becomes increasingly unwell with dementia. Strike ends his affair with Bijou after she falls pregnant by a wealthy QC. His ex, Charlotte, after calling him several times to no response, kills herself. Will succeeds in leaving the church with his daughter, whereupon Pat the office manager, who is revealed to be 67 and a great-grandmother, lets them stay with her. Strike and Robin report wrongdoing to the police and the church responds by accusing Robin of child sex offences. Eventually they dismantle the church's central myth of the 'drowned prophet' and with the police's help find evidence of several bodies and child trafficking and the charges against Robin are dropped. The book ends as Robin, about to leave with Ryan Murphy, asks Strike about Charlotte and he tells her that Charlotte knew he was in love with Robin.
Cormoran Strike | |
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First appearance | The Cuckoo's Calling |
Created by | Robert Galbraith |
Portrayed by | Tom Burke |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | Private detective |
Family | Jonathan 'Jonny' Rokeby (father) Leda Strike (mother) Maimie (half-sister) Gabriella Rokeby (half-sister) Daniella Rokeby (half-sister) Alexander 'Al' Rokeby (half-brother) Edward Rokeby (half-brother) Prudence Donleavey (half-sister) Lucy (half-sister) Switch Whittaker (half-brother) Jeff Whittaker (stepfather) Jack (nephew) Luke (nephew) Adam (nephew) Sylvie Donleavey (niece) Ted Nancarrow (uncle) Joan Nancarrow (aunt by marriage) |
Nationality | British |
Robin Ellacott | |
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First appearance | The Cuckoo's Calling |
Created by | Robert Galbraith |
Portrayed by | Holliday Grainger |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Female |
Occupation | Private detective |
Family | Linda Ellacott (Mother) Michael Ellacott (Father) Stephen (Brother) Martin Ellacott (Brother) Jonathan (Brother) Matthew Cunliffe (Ex-Husband) |
Nationality | British |
In December 2014, it was announced that the novel series would be adapted for television by the BBC. In September 2016, Tom Burke was confirmed as having been cast as Cormoran Strike. [8] Holliday Grainger was cast as Robin Ellacott later in November. [9] Filming of seven hour-long episodes of the Cormoran Strike television series began in November 2016. [10] The series was picked up by HBO for distribution in the United States and Canada, [11] It premiered on 27 August 2017 on BBC. [12]
Joanne Rowling, known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of Harry Potter, a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has sold over 600 million copies, been translated into 84 languages, and spawned a global media franchise including films and video games. The Casual Vacancy (2012) was her first novel for adults. She writes Cormoran Strike, an ongoing crime fiction series, under the alias Robert Galbraith.
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The Silkworm is a 2014 crime fiction novel written by J. K. Rowling, and published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It is the second novel in the Cormoran Strike series of detective novels and was followed by Career of Evil in 2015, Lethal White in 2018,Troubled Blood in 2020, The Ink Black Heart in 2022 and The Running Grave in 2023.
Tom Burke is an English actor. He played Athos in the 2014–2016 BBC TV series The Musketeers, Dolokhov in the 2016 BBC literary-adaptation miniseries War & Peace, the eponymous character Cormoran Strike in the BBC series Strike, and Orson Welles in the 2020 film Mank.
Rubeus Hagrid is a fictional character in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He was introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) as a half-giant who is the gamekeeper and groundskeeper at the wizarding school Hogwarts. He is a member of the Order of the Phoenix and eventually becomes the Care of Magical Creatures professor. Hagrid is portrayed by Robbie Coltrane in all eight Harry Potter films.
Ronald Bilius Weasley is a fictional character in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He is introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as a first-year student on his way to the wizarding school Hogwarts. During the school year, Ron befriends Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Being the only member of the trio who was raised in wizarding society, he provides insight into wizarding customs and traditions. Along with Harry and Hermione, he is a member of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts and is present for most of the action throughout the series. Ron is portrayed by Rupert Grint in all eight Harry Potter films.
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Ginevra Molly "Ginny" Weasley is a fictional character in the Harry Potter series of novels by J.K. Rowling. She is introduced in the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as the youngest child and only daughter of Arthur and Molly Weasley. She becomes romantically involved with Harry Potter and eventually marries him. Ginny is portrayed by Bonnie Wright in all eight Harry Potter films.
Holliday Clark Grainger, also credited as Holly Grainger, is an English screen and stage actress. Some of her prominent roles are Kate Beckett in the BAFTA award-winning children's series Roger and the Rottentrolls, Lucrezia Borgia in the Showtime series The Borgias, Robin Ellacott in the Strike series, DI Rachel Carey in the Peacock/BBC One crime drama The Capture, and Estella in Mike Newell's adaptation of Great Expectations.
The Casual Vacancy is a 2012 novel written by J. K. Rowling. The book was published worldwide by the Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September 2012. A paperback edition was released on 23 July 2013. It was Rowling's first publication since the Harry Potter series, her first apart from that series, and her first novel for adult readership.
The Cuckoo's Calling is a 2013 crime fiction novel written by J. K. Rowling, and published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It is the first novel in the Cormoran Strike series of detective novels and was followed by The Silkworm in 2014, Career of Evil in 2015, Lethal White in 2018, Troubled Blood in 2020 and The Ink Black Heart in 2022. A seventh book The Running Grave was published on 26 September 2023.
Career of Evil is a 2015 crime fiction novel written by Robert Galbraith, a pseudonym for J. K. Rowling. It is the third novel in the Cormoran Strike series of detective novels and is followed by Lethal White in 2018, Troubled Blood in 2020 and The Running Grave in 2023.
Strike is a British crime drama television programme based on the book series Cormoran Strike by J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The programme was first broadcast on BBC One on 27 August 2017, after receiving an advance premiere at the British Film Institute on 10 August 2017.
Lethal White is the fourth novel in the Cormoran Strike series, written by J. K. Rowling and published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The novel was released on 18 September 2018.
The first records of a detective organization in London began in 1767, with the Bow Street Runners. This consisted of a group of seven men who investigated a robbery gone wrong. They got their name from the Bow Street magistrate’s office, the place where the men all worked. They had been trained to do this kind of work by their boss, John Fielding.
Troubled Blood is the fifth novel in the Cormoran Strike series, written by J. K. Rowling and published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The novel was released on 15 September 2020.
The Ink Black Heart is a crime fiction novel written by J. K. Rowling, and published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It was published 30 August 2022. It is the sixth and the longest novel in the Cormoran Strike series.
The Running Grave is a crime fiction novel written by J. K. Rowling, and published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It was published 26 September 2023. It is the seventh novel in the Cormoran Strike series.