The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
jessiejessj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Mental illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, and Violence
sauvageloup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Pros:
- Rowling is an exceptional writer; the complicated but satisfying plot, the mixture of straightforward tone interspersed with moments of lyrical descriptions and reflection, the characterisation and development, the slowly eked out relationship development, the depth of every single side character, how each character's dialogue is made distinct and accents rendered realistically, the research that's clearly gone into it... just so much to admire in the actual writing and her skill.
- I like Robin and Strike and many of the other side characters. They feel real and Rowling puts across their emotions very well. There's a very real feeling of being as harried and pressured as Strike clearly is with everything piling up and then the release at the end.
- the plot was complex but wrapped up very neatly at the end. It was complicated by various characters' mixed motives but it didn't feel forced.
Cons:
- My only complaint about the writing was that it was *massively* confusing at the beginning. SO. MANY. NAMES. Got super confused. Also later on completely forgot who
- Rowling's views... Rowling as a person... that was just in my head the whole time I was reading.
- her views then come through in this book, more than the others I think. This is the first book to come out post Rowling revealing herself as a massive transphobe and I think there's a lot of elements of that that come through in this.
-
Anyway, the book was written excellently, but Rowling is a piece of shit. Unfortunately, I am also very jealous of her writing abilities and wish they'd been given to someone more worthy.
Graphic: Rape, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
Minor: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
andyincolour's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
samanthaxe's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was also wondering whether Rowling would use this opportunity to make a statement about trans people, and she does.
So, trigger warnings for what you'd expect in a gritty thriller, with an emphasis on almost unrelenting violence against women, and I'd also add a trigger warning for Rowling's seemingly benign use of things like cross-dressing to make an insidious and harmful point about gender identity.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, and Torture
Moderate: Cursing, Dementia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
varunob's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
For Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott, the cold case at the heart of Troubled Blood presents an opportunity like no other. Whatâs more â among their suspects, alongside Margotâs husband, colleagues, and ex-lover, is one of Britainâs most notorious serial killers.
The size of the book (at 888 pages [Kindle], Troubled Blood is the longest book of the series, and of JK Rowlingâs career) inspires awe. Initially. The awe soon gives way to a feeling that nobody told Rowling to take it easy. Iâm not saying the book is long; the Nile said so. Any other writer would have been pulled up about a mystery novel this long, but not one who has sold over half a billion copies worldwide.
Troubled Blood is not a rambling mess, but it isnât a focussed novel either. The intention with both this one and the predecessor is to establish a new, sprawling kind of crime novel, the likes that appear once in a blue moon and seldom more than once from the pen of the same author. The trouble is that there are only so many âmomentsâ between Strike and Robin one can take. There are only so many times one of them will do something outlandish without telling the other. There are only so many near misses one can tolerate. There are no more such sentences you, dear reader, are likely to take, so letâs move on.
The decision by Rowling to have the mystery share centre stage with the Strike-Robin relationship mystified me in Lethal White, and it annoyed me here. With the setup of Margot Bamboroughâs disappearance and the work they do, the novel flows organically, only for Rowling to interrupt with Strike pondering over his feelings for Robin and their precise nature, and the similar musings Robin seems to have. Iâm probably one of the few people following the series who would much rather they didnât get together, but even if that wasnât the case, the constant cutaways would make me jump ship hastily.
The book isnât helped by the fact that the character arcs developed over its four predecessors seem to have been forgotten, never more evident than in Strike and Robinâs interactions â personal and professional. No reader would think these characters have known one another and worked together for around four years and, it seems, nor does Rowling.
The mystery itself is extremely compelling. In fact, Iâd go so far as to say it is the best case the duo have had to tackle so far, even if the book as a whole falls smack in the middle of the series. This is old-school proper detective work. The amenities of the twenty-first century are only occasional tools. To get to the bottom of Margotâs disappearance, Strike and Robin have to wade through police reports, the first investigating officerâs strange diary, and a flock of ageing suspects whose memories are fast fading and nearly all of whom have something or the other to hide.
The investigation is what tides over many of the novelâs hiccups, and the only detour I actually thought worthwhile was the sub-plot involving Strikeâs uncle and aunt. When Rowling tried to mine both charactersâ pasts, however, either through side characters or incidents, she failed to keep things interesting.
The book is also laden with several dull, lifeless passages of writing, almost as though Rowling was bored with writing them. Those should have been the first thing to go when the draft encountered the editorâs pen, but maybe, as she has done with the Wizarding World rules in the recent past, Rowling thinks she can turn Galbraith into a below-par writer.
There is also the massive cloud that hangs over Troubled Blood about Rowlingâs transphobia and the way it rears its head in the book. While some reviews claim the novel features a trans serial killer (this is not a spoiler, worry not), said serial killer is actually a cis man who, on a couple of the many occasions on which he took a life, abducted women in the garb of a woman. While I support Rowlingâs right to write a character this way, and though there is evidence that such a technique was adopted by some serial killers in the past, itâs not difficult to see that the outrage is justified. And that Rowling has done this deliberately. She has had time since her rant on Twitter (letâs be clear â it was a rant and nothing more) to think things over. The offending part of the book isnât even a character trait, really, more of a minor aesthetic choice. And yet itâs dangerous. It continues to feed the hysteria that Rowling fanned on social media. It would have done no damage to the novel had the serial killer not been an occasional crossdresser designed in a manner that Rowling could prove her point. Sadly, she chose to take the route she did, and for that, she has justifiably earned the ire of many people.
Troubled Blood has its moments, but it truly is a middling book with a great premise at its core but a haphazard execution around said core. Venture into it only and only if the blurb piques your interest, though Iâd recommend reading the earlier books to understand a lot of what happens in this one in case you havenât.Â
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Terminal illness and Mental illness