This is the sixth book in Robert Galbraith's (aka J.K. Rowling) series about grizzled private detective Cormoran Strike, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who lost his leg during the hostilities.....
......and his pretty, strawberry blonde, business partner Robin Ellacott.
The book works fine as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a plus.
*****
Ever since the Strike Detective Agency solved several high profile cases, it's been inundated with work. Currently Strike and Robin have several cases: a woman wants dirt on her ex-boyfriend for a child custody hearing; a young man is suspected of stealing artworks from his billionaire stepfather; and a middle-aged man is suspected of pursuing a 17-year-old girl. The gumshoes of the Strike agency - including Cormoran, Robin, and four other PIs - are stretched thin trying to surveil all the suspects and can't take on more work.
Still, Robin listens when a woman named Edie Ledwell comes to the agency's office.
Edie explains that, several years ago, she and Josh Blay (her boyfriend at the time) created a YouTube cartoon called The Ink Black Heart, about a disembodied heart that escaped from a corpse in the cemetery. The cartoon, which has all manner of kooky characters, became wildly popular.
Two fans, who call themselves Anomie and Morehouse, developed an online game connected to the cartoon, named Drek's Game. When Edie didn't wholeheartedly embrace Drek's Game, Anomie proceeded to harass Edie online....and to stir up other fans to torment Edie as well.
The bullying has been constant and vicious for four years, and has made Edie extremely anxious. Edie wants the Strike agency to identify Anomie, but Robin says the firm is too busy and provides the names of two other detective agencies that actually specialize in cyber-investigation.
A couple of days later Robin learns that Edie Ledwell and Josh Blay were attacked in London's Highgate Cemetery, where The Ink Black Heart is set. Edie was killed and Josh was badly injured, and Robin feels guilty about the whole business.
Fortuitously, the Strike agency is contacted by Edie's agent and a representative from Netflix - which is making a movie of The Ink Black Heart - and asked to track down Anomie. Having successfully closed the child custody case, Strike and Robin have an opening, and agree to search for the internet troll.
Robin uses a ruse to become a player in Drek's Game, where she 'meets' Anomie, the other moderators, and the players. A good bit of the dialog in the story is contained in Drek's Game chat rooms, where people employ usernames like Hartella, Worm28, Fiendy1, Paperwhite, Vilepechora, LordDrek, and others.
Robin and Cormoran carefully analyze the Drek's Game conversations, and also data mine Twitter, Facebook, and other social media accounts, to see what the suspects are saying there, and to determine their real identities.
Robin and Strike have a list of people who might be Anomie as well as a compendium of suspects who might have attacked Edie and Josh. In addition to Ink Black Heart fans and Drek's Game players, suspects include right wing Nazi conspirators who jumped on the bandwagon to heckle Edie;
residents of an art commune called North Grove, where Edie and Josh once lived;
people in an ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) support group who knew Edie and Josh; and more.
While the detectives are surveiling and data mining Anomie and the possible killer, they're also continuing their other investigations. Thus we observe as the PIs follow the possible art thief and the suspected middle-age predator. Moreover Strike adds another case personal to himself, and the constant work exhausts everyone, especially Strike - whose amputated leg and prosthesis cause excruciating pain when he overtaxes himself. In any case, these tangential inquiries are interesting, and I enjoyed reading about them.
My major quibble with the book is the 'will they/won't they' romantic attraction between Strike and Robin.
The business partners have been circling around each other for five years now, yet Strike keeps hooking up with other women and Robin - who had a bad brief marriage - is reluctant to date. In this book Strike is seeing an attractive jewelry designer named Madeline, and Robin is hurt, but doesn't know what to do. This amorous push-pull is getting old and I wish it was resolved one way or another.
The book is very long (1024 pages) but I read it on the treadmill, so I didn't mind. I'm giving the book four stars, and might have rated it higher but for the abrupt resolution, which doesn't flow smoothly from the rest of the story.
Overall, I liked the novel and recommend it to readers who enjoy mysteries, especially fans of the Cormoran Strike/Robin Ellacott series.
Rating: 4 stars
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