Book info

• Title The Hallmarked Man
• Author Robert Galbraith
• Year 2025
• Genre Mystery

A dismembered corpse is discovered in the vault of a silver shop. The police initially believe it to be that of a convicted armed robber - but not everyone agrees with that theory. One of them is Decima Mullins, who calls on the help of private detective Cormoran Strike as she's certain the body in the silver vault was that of her boyfriend - the father of her newborn baby - who suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. The more Strike and his business partner Robin Ellacott delve into the case, the more labyrinthine it gets. The silver shop is no ordinary one: it's located beside Freemasons' Hall and specialises in Masonic silverware. And in addition to the armed robber and Decima's boyfriend, it becomes clear that there are other missing men who could fit the profile of the body in the vault. As the case becomes ever more complicated and dangerous, Strike faces another quandary. Robin seems increasingly committed to her boyfriend, policeman Ryan Murphy, but the impulse to declare his own feelings for her is becoming stronger than ever.

Thoughts

I could prattle on and on here about how I wrestled with this book - tried not to want to read it, reasoned between boycotting and separating the artist from their work, maybe I should read it and not review it, blah, blah, blah. Ultimately, I HAD to know what the next steps were in the relationship between Strike and Robin, and I did the best I could not to fund anything I don’t believe in by buying this second-hand. Thus, here we are.

Actually, that was the only bit of the book that was interesting to me - the people that we already know. Our main detective duo, their respective partners, families and dramas, and the wider machinations of the detective agency (Pat and the fish!). I couldn’t follow the main mystery very well, it was so sprawling, and probably could only tell you one or two facts about it now that I’ve read the whole thing. But Robin and Strike remain absolutely captivating characters with a charismatic relationship, and that’s what will keep drawing me back in.

Rating: 3 / 5