The Ink Black Heart

Cormoran Strike, Book 6

By: Robert Galbraith

Narrated by: Robert Glenister

Length: 32 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, JULY 2023

When frantic, dishevelled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn't know quite what to make of the situation. The co-creator of a popular cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie's true identity.

Robin decides that the agency can't help with this - and thinks nothing more of it until a few days later, when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in Highgate Cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart.

Robin and her business partner Cormoran Strike become drawn into the quest to uncover Anomie's true identity. But with a complex web of online aliases, business interests and family conflicts to navigate, Strike and Robin find themselves embroiled in a case that stretches their powers of deduction to the limits - and which threatens them in new and horrifying ways . . .

A gripping, fiendishly clever mystery, The Ink Black Heart is a true tour-de-force.

©2022 J.K. Rowling (P)2022 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

'A superlative piece of crime fiction' SUNDAY TIMES

'There can be no denying [Galbraith's] considerable talents as a crime writer' GUARDIAN'

'Fans will be as entranced as ever' DAILY MAIL

Not my favourite but still compelling

I'm not a great fan of hashtag writing - lots and lots of text given over to chats, emails etc. Even in the hands of a master it can get very tedious. But otherwise, lots to love about the Cormoran and Robyn plotline - their agency, their dysfunctional lives, their detecting instincts, their relationship (GET ON WITH IT). And the book does shine an important light on the ramifications for young women who have an online presence or put their heads above the parapet. The narrator, Robert Glenister is a very fine actor and does a cracking job here.

Part Great Part Tedious

Main characters wonderful.
Chapters of texts, tweets, messaging unbearable listening, had to skip heaps! Disappointing.

Cyber crime does not work well on audio format

Since a lot of the clues come in our written format to the detectives, it does not give a good listening experience.

Another CB Strike that keeps you enthralled

The series has not lost any of its humour, great story line, as the side line of romance continues yet doesn’t dominate the story

As the story unfolds keeping you enthralled throughout the whole plot It certainly keeps you guessing as to the culprit and brains behind this web of intrigue in The Ink Black Heart

Can’t wait to read the next book in the series and also watch the forthcoming tv series.

Eish!

Too long, soo complex, such dithering about their obvious relationship (!) - but I couldn’t put it down!

Not my cuppa

Got lost 😞 n translation
Too many game references for me as an older listener.
Loved previous Cormack Strikes but not this one.

Difficult initially - but well worth it!

As many commentators have noted, the chat room messages were (initially) difficult to follow. Once I got used to them, I loved this book; if anything, it is my favourite Cormoran Strike book. Once again, Robert Glenister's narration was 'perfect'.

Too long

This story although clever is far to long and drawn out for a whodunnit. There are far too many undeveloped characters which make the story confusing in the first half, The long online chats are overdone and certainly do not translate well to an Audiobook. The same plot in 350 pages would have been good with less characters remaining in contention. The obsession with smoking and e smoking in virtually every chapter I find totally distasteful and off-putting, Only 15% of UK adults are smokers so I would assume that a large percentage of readers feel the same as me. The narrator,Robert Glenister did a superb job with a difficult script!

Nice as always, pity

For all the internet dialogue much too many for an audiobook.
Anyway loving Cormoran Strike.

Cormoran Strike, is that you?

This audiobook reads like there is a good story with great, familiar characters that is way too often hacked by boring, ridiculous twitter feeds and moderator channels. The narrator did an excellent job of a very flawed book yet he, himself must have been sick of reading long strings of @name @name @name “insert pointless and angry tweet” over and over again. 33 hours of long diatribe. Galbraith / Rowling needs a good, assertive editor who can challenge this rubbish and restore the series before it dies from self-indulgent on-line obsessive and reader-hostile content.