In the interest of being as un-influenced as possible, I have collected my list of Strike novels, ranked from least favorite to favorite, without looking at anyone else’s list. I look forward to seeing how my fellow professors here at HogPro list the books, as I have been scrupulously careful to avoid seeing them yet. As with any list, there is always room for debate. While I always enjoy those countdown lists on the radio, usually around New Year’s, I often find myself shouting at some faceless host who has the gall to rank one of my favorite songs outside the top ten on the list of “Greatest 80s Songs,” so I understand the complexities of lists and personal opinions.

In ranking the adventures of our favorite Denmark Street detectives, I am considering my own tastes and interests, of course, as well as what seem to be more empirical standards. It is worth noting that I do not consider an error (like some we have noticed and discussed here over the years, unsurprising considering the amount of text covered by these books) to be an automatic reason to devalue a book or move it down the list. I find that all the novels are worthwhile, so even my Number 6 is not a bad book; I just like the others better, and there is something I like very much in each book, just as there are aspects I don’t like as much. While my number 1 book has not changed since its publication and is likely to remain my favorite in perpetuity, I have found some of the others shifting position on my list, and they may continue to move about with time. I do look forward to discussing all of our lists to see where we differ and concur. Since  I have not read anyone else’s lists, mine may be more or less detailed. So join me after the jump for my humble (and spoiler-laden)contribution to the Strike Ranking Extravaganza! [Read more…]

We often plumb the literary depths of influence here as we consider the ways in which Rowling/Galbraith draws upon a vast array of texts to weave together the adventures of our Denmark Street detectives. However, some of her influences are delightfully less cerebral, and, in The Ink Black Heart, a wonderful thread emerges, the influence of 1980s romantic detective shows. The 1980s, particularly the latter half of the decade, was a wonderful period for detectives on television.

Rowling has already indicated her knowledge of the world of TV detectives of the period by having Anna Phipps and her wife Kim Sullivan in Troubled Blood own cats named Cagney and Lacey after the titular police detectives from the early 19080s ( the female cats  much to the amusement of their owners, seem to prefer the company of men. Cagney, whose namesake is the cat that immediately takes up with Strike, was involved with a slew of men on the series, unlike wife and and mother Lacey).

In Ink Black Heart, there are some wonderful salutes to some of the great 1980s detective shows that, like this series, include some serious romantic tension alongside the mysteries under investigation. Join me after the jump to take a look at a few fun and fascinating homages to some delightful series, including one that is finally streaming for a whole new generation to love.

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