Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith

The Cuckoo's Calling
The Silkworm
Career of Evil
Lethal White

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith is the fifth book in the Cormoran Strike series. I like these books, have very mixed feelings about JK Rowling as a creator, and find myself in constant indecision about whether or not to continue reading these books.  This one is a definite mixed bag - some of the character development of Strike and Robin is really good, but the actual nuts and bolts of the crime reminded me of the dreaded book The Luminaries in that the zodiac material went over my head big time. This book is slightly different than previous Strike books because it's a cold case, not a current case. The thing is, Rowling is an excellent author and her style is exactly what I want in a book and I don't know what to do here with my issues with Rowling as a person.

There are some criticisms of this book that it really shows how Rowling dislikes trans folks, aging folks, and people with disabilities. I do not read it that way, I really don't. There is a brief mention of a bad guy who dresses like a woman as a disguise, but that is not really about trans people at all. As for the rest of those criticisms, I guess I don't see it that way, either. She seems nervous about death, perhaps isn't excited about being a caretaker, and, in the end, the disabled people were kind of heroes, or at least partially responsible for helping solve the crime. I don't read into the book the hatred that other people do, but maybe that's because that hate isn't targeted at me.

Read my review of Lethal White if you want more of me gnashing my teeth about this topic of how to not be an asshole to the trans community while still reading novels written by a TERF. 

4/5 stars

Lines of note:
Her insistence on the smooth passing of counterfeit social coin from hand to hand, while uncomfortable truths were ignored and denied, wore him out. (page 14)
Don't we all know someone like this?

The truth was that his feelings contained nuances and complications that he preferred not to examine. (page 14)
Denial about our own emotions is a constant thing, isn't it?

Several barbed comments about the infrequency of Strike's visits had already dropped from his sister's lips during their week of enforced proximity. He'd bitten back all irritable retorts. His primary aim was to leave the house without rowing with anyone. (page 33)
When we do anything, from grocery shopping to visiting family, the number one household rule is not to murder anyone. 

It wasn't that he didn't appreciate people remembering: indeed, he tending to be far more touched when they did than he ever let show, but he had an innate dislike of scheduled celebration and forced joviality, and of all inane practices, having "Happy Birthday" sung to him was one of his least favorites. (page 198)
Does anyone really like to be sung to? What expression should you have on your face? What do you do with your hands?  Why is this a thing that happens?

...all made her want to clutch some kind of fig leaf to her threadbare dignity. (page 339)
Ha!

"People who insist on opening cans of worms, Anna," said Roy, "shouldn't complain when they get covered in slime." (page 424)
Ha ha!

Things I looked up:

St. Piran (page 3) - Patron saint of tin-miners and Cornwall, the latter of which is relevant in this context.

pocket don (page 6) - Oh. This took someone really explaining that pocket = small, diminutive, and don = similar to a mafia boss, as in bossing folks around. 

shufti (page 123) - A look or reconnoiter especially a quick one.

von Willebrand Disease (page 140) - A blood disorder in which the blood doesn't properly clot.

Jane Birkin (page 266) - English-French singer and actress. Incidentally, the Birkin bag is named after her.

The Other Side of Midnight (page 287) - 1973 novel written by Sidney Sheldon that was adapted into a movie in 1977. It's a thriller about a bad lady.

locum (page 288) - British term for somebody who who stands in temporarily for someone of the same profession, especially a cleric or a doctor. It's such a perfect word for the situation in the book!

rota (page 157) - Another British term for a list showing when each of a number of people has to do a job.

tuberose (page 160) - It's a plant. The smell is relevant in the book and I guess it smells like crème brulee! Who knew? 

Macmillian nurse (page 166) - Cancer care nurse specialists in the UK.

ormolu mantel clock (page 421) - Over the top gilt bronze clock. Ormulu is perhaps the most popular material employed by clock makers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Pallas Athena (page 421) - Pallas is an epithet sometimes given to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom.

Asclepius (page 422) - A hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology.

jobsworth (page 426) - A person who uses the typically minor degree of authority of their job in a deliberately uncooperative way.

Fragile X syndrome (page 503) - A genetic condition that causes a range of development problems including learning disabilities and cognitive impairment.

fulsome (page 547) - complimentary or flattering to an excessive degree

bestridden (page 656) - Past participle of bestride (to have or put a leg on either side).  I swear I have never seen this before.

cheongsam (page 711)  - A straight, close-fitting silk dress with a high neck, short sleeves, and a slit skirt, worn traditionally by Chinese and Indonesian women. I had no idea that's what this dress is called.