J. K. Rowling has changed her Twitter (X) header and updated her profile picture with dramatic turquoise pendant earrings. The image is of Tower Alley situated at the the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour on the south coast of England, the UK’s largest naval base. The tower in the background is Round Tower. Built on the orders of King Henry V in 1418, it originally housed a defensive chain that could be raised to protect the harbour from enemy shipping. I can’t find an exact match for this photograph online, so it is likely that this is her own creation, and she has physically scouted this location for the next Strike book.
Although most fans are still digesting the wonderfully complex plot of The Hallmarked Man, J. K. Rowling has recently reiterated that her headers are usually clues to future books, it is probably a good time to remind ourselves of the headers most likely to refer to Strike 9. With The Hallmarked Man carrying themes of pregnancy, childbirth and babies, the images of a tree-house and scattered dolls, might mean a childhood theme for the next in the series.
All of J. K. Rowling’s headers can be found here, but the Strike 9 headers are reproduced below:
25th January 2025 View from York city walls showing York Minster cathedral.
4th April 2025 A stock image of a tree house from here.
18th April 2025 This appears to be an AI generated image, judging from the distortion visible in the doll’s faces.
17th September 2025 Tower Alley in Portsmouth. Between the buildings can be seen the Round Tower, a 15th century fortification.
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