Strike8: The Charlotte Campbell Murder Mystery

November 28, 2023 by Leave a Comment

In the literary world crafted by Robert Galbraith, readers are accustomed to intricate plots, complex characters, and mysteries that keep them on the edge of their seats. One such enigma unfolds in The Running Grave, where the death of Charlotte Campbell raises, for me, more questions than answers. While the official verdict may be suicide, a closer examination of the details surrounding her demise suggests that Charlotte’s fate is more likely the result of foul play.

In The Strange Death of Charlotte Campbell, Nick Jeffery puts forward the idea that the structure of the series, unresolved questions of Charlotte’s character, and cryptonymic clues suggest that she was murdered.

Am I the only Serious Striker that thinks Charlotte was murdered? Could she turn out to be Snape with her death having been her final sacrifice?

John Granger concurs and further suggests a list of suspects in Strike8: The Charlotte Campbell Murder Mystery. Looking at Rowling’s inspiration, her Lake subject matter that she forms via her Shed construction into the literature we love, John finds even more evidence that suicide as murder, or murder made to look like suicide will be link that joins the book 1-7 as we know it to the 8-10 finale.

For more please visit The Hogwarts Professor Substack:

The Strange Death of Charlotte Campbell

Strike8: The Charlotte Campbell Murder Mystery

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Filed Under: Cormoran Strike, Fourth Generation, Nick Jeffery, Substack Post

Beatrice Groves: Strike’s Church Going

November 25, 2023 by 4 Comments

 Beatrice Groves, Research Fellow and tutor at Trinity College, Oxford, and author of  Literary Allusion in Harry Potter, has written a Hogwarts Professor Guest Post: Strike’s Church Going.  Discussing one of the most beautiful and pivotal moments in The Running Grave, in a post first shared on Hogwarts Professor Substack on the 49th birthday of Cormoran Strike. Find out more, join Prof Groves after the jump:

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Filed Under: Beatrice Groves, Cormoran Strike

Reading ‘Running Grave’ as the End of the Strike Series (A)

November 12, 2023 by 2 Comments

Strike7’s Parallels to ‘Cuckoo’s Calling’ Make it the Completion of a Ring Cycle

Last week I wrote a post saying that it was time to start pretending that Rowling had died or written her last book and move on to the next (and final) stage of literary criticism: ‘Is Rowling’s Best Work Behind Her Now?’ I caught quite a bit of blow-back on that intentionally provocative post, but not for the reasons I expected.

I thought Strike fandom would line-up to say what an idiot I was because the detective series is supposed to be ten books long per the author and her publisher, the Strike-Ellacott romance obviously hasn’t played out, and the last three novels have been the best in the series, no sign of Rowling-Galbraith having lost her touch. Silly me, I anticipated that readers would object to the assertion that Cormoran Strike wasn’t over, rather than quibble at my twenty-five year rule (when I listed significant counter-evidence to that rule).

For more please visit The Hogwarts Professor Substack. You do not need to subscribe to read, but if you choose to, subscription is free.

Filed Under: Cormoran Strike, Ring Composition, Substack Post

Is Rowling’s Best Work Behind Her Now?

November 11, 2023 by Leave a Comment

The Twenty-Five Year Rule of Great Authors

Is Rowling past her prime? With the completion of The Running Grave, in several ways the ‘end’ of the Cormoran Strike series, and at just over twenty-five years since the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, is her best work already on our shelves? Of course only time will tell, but the pattern of history is that the Greats of English literature have a twenty-five year publication window, which, if the pattern holds for Rowling has significant meaning for those interpreting her work.

For more please visit The Hogwarts Professor Substack. You do not need to subscribe to read, but if you choose to, subscription is free. Look out for the Part Nine conclusion tomorrow!

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes, Substack Post

Running Grave: Ring Reading Index

November 10, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Links and Summaries of the Eleven Strike7 Ring Posts, Three Take-Aways, Value of Structural Analysis in Evaluating the Reviews of ‘Running Grave’

Last week I finished my series of eleven ring-reading posts about Rowling-Galbraith’s Running Grave, her latest Cormoran Strike novel, in which series I did a structural analysis of its 944 pages using Mary Douglas’ criteria for chiasmus from her Thinking in Circles. Today I am posting a one-stop collection of links to each of these posts with a short summary of each post’s contents as well as my conclusions and take-away thoughts about the month long project for the convenience of future readers. It is the Strike7 Ring Reading Project Index; enjoy!

For more please visit The Hogwarts Professor Substack. You do not need to subscribe to read, but if you choose to, subscription is free.

Filed Under: Cormoran Strike, Ring Composition, Substack Post