Jayson’s Reviews > The Hallmarked Man > Status Update

- I totally forgot about the last two... the book is way too long to be expected to remember or care about all this, let alone as much as Robin evidently does.
- There's a hundred pages left to answer them all. Which I guess is plenty of time if they're checked off every few chapters.
- I'm just concerned there isn't enough room for Murphy and Robin to break up and we'll have to wait for the next book!
- I've already given up hope Strike will be able to have his long-awaited feelings conversation with Robin.
(2) Murphy: "An hour ago I visited a suspect at home who's just turned out to have what looks like two pipe bombs at the bottom of his wardrobe."
Robin: "Shit!"
Murphy: "Yeah, and the terrorism threat's at 'severe,' so we've evacuated half the street and we're waiting for the bomb squad."
- You know what else was found at the bottom of a wardrobe? Murphy's engagement ring and secret booze... two metaphorical pipe bombs, one yet to go off and one that's already exploded.
- Prediction: Murphy gets blown up! That would certainly end things definitively in the limited pages we have left... hopefully he'll not end up an amputee like Strike, Robin would definitely be in Charlotte's shoes then.
- I guess Robin's "Shit!" is genuine this time.
(3) It's weird seeing "revenge stabbing" and Strike out "to foil a possible stabbing." It all feels very 19th century, like something to do with Jack the Ripper.
- Eventually, it clicked in my head that guns are outlawed in the UK, which doesn't stop people trying to kill one another—hence all the stabbings.
- I suppose British murders are just inherently more hot-blooded, close-quarters and messy.
(4) Robin: "Didn't we have three fish in there?"
Pat: "Travolta died ... [Strike] says he found him floating when he got in this morning."
Robin: "Travolta?"
Pat: "Yeah, we had Cormoran, Robin and Travolta. Yours is the only one that hasn't given any trouble. Makes sense."
- Am I thinking too deeply? Or do the fish symbolize something? In terms of fish, it's just Cormoran and Robin in the tank now.
- We know that Strike took pains to make sure his fish stayed alive when it was clearly dying. So does that mean the tank symbolizes Robin's love (triangle)? I mean, what else involving Strike was at risk of dying? In which case, is Travolta representative of Murphy? Could it be foretelling the future and my prediction about Murphy dying is correct?! Murphy has been described as having movie star looks, albeit Paul Newman not John Travolta.
- Does the tank symbolize the business? In the sense that employees come and go but, no matter what, in the end it will always be Strike and Robin? I presume Pat will get more fish for the tank; does that represent the cycling in of new employees?
- Most likely, it's just a fish tank and none of this means anything.
- Also, what's this business about Robin not giving any trouble? Though, to be fair, I guess she draws more trouble than she creates. Even if "trouble" just means office drama, she's only been in the office every other day since the attack—not being around as much sort of lessens the extent to which someone can cause trouble. Plus, let's not pretend her unspoken will-they-won't-they with Strike isn't the apotheosis of office drama.
(5) Strike to Robin: "'I think there's a possibility we're going to lose Shah to Navabi.'
'What?' said Robin, horrified. 'Dev wouldn't leave!'
'I wouldn't bet on that. He and I had an argument last night ... he had all Kim's arguments down pat ... He also thinks I sexually harassed Kim.'"
- Ah, so it could be that Shah's the dead fish! You could say that his time at the agency is dead in the water!
- Shah's an excellent suspect for Travolta—he's also been described as having movie star looks!
(6) "Unfortunately, unless Strike was at the office with her (she didn't feel like admitting this to herself, but it was the truth) Denmark street didn't make her feel much safer [than her flat].
- Gee, I wonder why? I guess Pat being there isn't doing it for her.
- Romantic intrigue aside, it is understandable. While one-legged, there's a certain pirate formidability to Strike. I mean, I wouldn't mind having an old-timey, peg-legged pirate for a bodyguard.
- Romantic complexities aside, while Strike seeks calm and loyalty from Robin, she in turn seeks security and life affirmation from him.
- At the risk of making this sound all incest-y, I'd be remiss in pointing out the obvious age gap between the two and thus the possibility that the security Robin feels is in some sense paternal.
- Ultimately, Strike's an ex-soldier, and so he has no qualms about getting physical if provoked. Unlike policeman Murphy who, let's face it, probably has it drilled into him to not "shoot first and ask questions later," especially given how litigious the culture is now. Also, Murphy can't really be counted on—to be reliable, truthful, sober, etc.—and is presently an emotional wreck.
(7) "Then an ugly thought flashed through [Robin's] head. Would she have been so terrified and stricken if it had been Murphy who'd been in Westminster [during the terrorist attack], Murphy whom she hadn't been able to contact?
Of course I would, she told herself furiously. Of course."
- Of course, whenever Robin tries to convince herself about anything to do with Murphy and/or Strike, you know she really believes the opposite.
- You know, I wasn't kidding when I said before that Robin would suck at poker. Not only does she have no poker face, she's continually trying (and failing) to bluff herself.
- Though, logistically, no, she wouldn't feel the same way about Murphy because Murphy's the one who told her about the terrorist attack. Had he not, she probably wouldn't have even known until the dust had all settled. I mean, once she's into her detective work, there's no distracting her. As well, I doubt Strike would let her know about it were the shoe on the other foot—they have this thing in their relationship where they like to downplay dangerous situations as not to worry the other.
- Does part of her secretly hope that Murphy gets injured or killed? I'd think not, and so of course Robin would be concerned if it were Murphy and not Strike. Still... concerned isn't "terrified and stricken."
- You know, the possibility that she wouldn't feel the same way were it Murphy didn't even cross my mind until she brought it up. I'd thought it was a given. Questioning whether she would is just all the more confirmation that she doesn't really love him. Once again, her repeated "of course" has methinking she doth protest too much.
(8) Turns out Robin was right to feel terrified and stricken, because Strike actually ran toward the terror attack—his hero instincts kicking in.
- Gee, an he accuses Robin of taking stupid risks—they're made for each other!
- Does Strike have some sort of death wish? Or at least a more cavalier attitude about his own mortality, now that being with Robin seems never to happen?
- It does speak to Strike's inherent bravery and selflessness that his first thought is to provide emergency assistance/aid, albeit with one leg and without a medical kit.
- As an aside, I guess my prediction about Murphy being blown to bits was wrong, though he does seem to find himself in a lot of terrorist-related situations.
(9) Hussein: "Yes, [the weights] were yellow with the face of a black lion on them, or maybe a lioness, drawn like a cartoon ... the lion is my lucky animal. Hafsa's name means lioness cub."
- Gee, how many kids here are named after lions in this book? Well, two... but that's a lot more than you'd find in the wild.
- Could be this is connected to Decima's newborn Lion—the weights, not Hafsa. Could be the lion on the weights is some logo or album cover for the band White Lion, of which he was named. Though, Hussein saying it's "drawn like a cartoon" suggests otherwise.
- Strange, you don't see too many yellow weights, at least outside of color-coded dumbbell sets—in which case, you'd have more than just the one color.
- Funny how Hussein calls the lion his lucky animal since Rupert's lucky shirt was of the band White Lion.
(10) "[Strike] and Robin were still on the call he'd taken on the way to the car, two hours previously. Each had shared everything they'd discovered and deduced..."
- And?! I guess we're not meant to know until another culprit confrontation chapter.
- I hate when they do that! First, because it signals that the case is more or less solved, pending confirmation, and secondly, because it's a blatant tease and denial—which is probably the most widely-held criticism of this series, if you know what I mean.
(11) Murphy books the Ritz for his birthday dinner with Robin.
- Does he know Strike took Robin there for her birthday—her 30th, if I'm not mistaken. Could just be a total coincidence, though if it's intentional: why?
- Does Murphy know Robin and Strike had dinner at the Goring recently, another luxury hotel?
- Add the Dorchester and the Savoy, and there's been a lot of luxury hotels in this book! Could be we've just achieved London five-star hotel bingo!
- Quite possibly, it's meant to be the perfect backdrop for a marriage proposal.
- There's only 80-pages left, is that enough time to even have this birthday scene? Given all the other stuff that still needs to happen?
(12) It just occurred to me that Griffiths and Jones are awfully Welsh names, particularly since they're in the West Midlands. You can throw Dilys and Wynn in there too.
- My guess is that Ironbridge must be near the Welsh border. It's only a guess—I have no sense or clue about UK geography... well, except the "West" in West Midlands, and the like.
- You can generally tell a Welsh name by the abundance/redundance of Ys and double consonants—at least to non-Welsh.