Before you read JK Rowling’s ‘The Hallmarked Man’: A complete Cormoran Strike series recap

The Cuckoo’s Calling (2013)

Even after the weightier books that followed, this first outing of Strike and Robin remains one of the most tightly executed and satisfying.

The debut introduces Cormoran Strike, a war veteran-turned-struggling private detective, sleeping in his office after a breakup and eking out cases to survive. When supermodel Lula Landry falls from her Mayfair balcony, the world assumes suicide, but her brother remains unconvinced and hires Strike to reinvestigate her death. What unfolds is a modern detective story, soaked in London detail, and a portrait of a flawed but brilliant investigator finding his footing. Robin, hired as a temp, proves indispensable, setting up the series’ central partnership. Even after the weightier books that followed, this first outing remains one of the most tightly executed and satisfying.

The Silkworm (2014)

The book is both an intriguing puzzle and a wry commentary on ambition, vanity, and artistic rivalry.

A novelist disappears, leaving behind a manuscript filled with venomous caricatures of real people in his life. The Silkworm turns the literary world into a murder suspect list, blending satirical digs at publishing with a grisly central mystery. For Strike and Robin, the case sharpens their investigative rhythm. Robin establishes herself as more than an assistant, and their partnership begins to take shape. Critics have praised the book’s tightly woven plotting and pointed industry satire. The book is both an intriguing puzzle and a wry commentary on ambition, vanity, and artistic rivalry.

Career of Evil (2015)

The novel’s unrelenting menace makes it stand out as one of the darkest, most emotionally raw installments.

It opens with a shock opening, Robin receiving a severed leg in the mail. Career of Evil is the most viscerally disturbing entry in the series. The killer is tied to Strike’s past, dragging him back through his military service and personal demons. It is a story steeped in dread, less about whodunit than a commentary on the poisonous nature of vengeance and trauma. Robin’s own arc intensifies, as her courage and resilience are tested against both professional dangers and personal crises. The novel’s unrelenting menace makes it stand out as one of the darkest, most emotionally raw installments.

Lethal White (2018)

Galbraith threads the personal through the procedural as Robin’s marriage unravels and Strike’s relationships remain fraught.

Here, a troubled young man’s half-remembered childhood vision of a murder becomes the springboard for a story that zigzags from London’s grimy corners to the halls of Parliament and a sinister country estate. It is a murder mystery-cum political thriller with characters caught between privilege and desperation. Galbraith threads the personal through the procedural as Robin’s marriage unravels, Strike’s relationships remain fraught, and their professional bond grows more complex.

Troubled Blood (2020)

Set in Cornwall, Troubled Blood reopens the 1974 disappearance of Margot Bamborough, a doctor who vanished without a trace.

Set in Cornwall, Troubled Blood reopens the 1974 disappearance of Margot Bamborough, a doctor who vanished without a trace. Strike is reluctantly drawn into the cold case, and the investigation becomes an excavation of memory, bias, and misogyny across decades. At over 900 pages, it is one of Galbraith’s most expansive efforts, layering suspects, witnesses, and astrological symbolism. Some critics found the digressions indulgent, but others praised its ambition. Crucially, it deepens Robin and Strike’s working relationship, showing them as true equals facing the grind of a seemingly unsolvable case.

The Ink Black Heart (2022)

Though unwieldy, The Ink Black Heart captures the unease of modern life better than almost any other installment in the series.

This novel plunges the detectives into online subcultures, following the murder of animator Edie Ledwell in Highgate Cemetery after she sought the agency’s help. What begins as a tragic plea turns into a case mired in anonymous trolling, message boards, and fan toxicity. The structure, with long stretches of chat transcripts, divided readers. Some found it tedious, others praised its realism. But beneath the digital static lies a crime story about obsession, anonymity, and the dangers of blurred identities. Though unwieldy, it captures the unease of modern life better than almost any other installment in the series.

The Running Grave (2023)

The Running Grave traps Robin inside a Norfolk religious cult while Strike battles obstacles from the outside.

The Running Grave traps Robin inside a Norfolk religious cult while Strike battles obstacles from the outside. Commissioned by a desperate father to save his son, the case takes on a slow-burn tension, the claustrophobia of communal living rendered in chilling detail. The book underscores the emotional costs of infiltration. At over 1,000 pages it is divisive in scale, but unforgettable in atmosphere.

The Hallmarked Man (2025)

The Hallmarked Man releases September 2.

The eight novel opens with a body dismembered and hidden in a silver shop’s vault, a grotesque discovery that pushes Strike and Robin back into the orbit of violent organised crime. The police believe it’s the remains of a long-dead armed robber, but Strike has doubts, and the case spirals into dangerous territory where truth and identity blur. The book releases September 2.