Month: December 2025

The Hallmarked Man

~ michaeljhealy ~ Leave a comment

It’s that time again. The time when a 900-page novel from Robert Galbraith (aka J. K. Rowling) lands with an audible thud. A novel with a mind-twistingly convoluted plot and scores of characters and with an update on the “will they, won’t they” romance between London’s two best known private detectives, Cormoran and Robin. (Stop reading here if any of this requires explanation).

I suspect Rowling/Galbraith might have a slightly unhealthy interest in secret societies. Previous novels in the Strike series have featured dark dealings in a religious cult and in the more shadowy parts of the online gaming community. (She also seems fascinated by the English upper classes and the clubs where they congregate). For The Hallmarked Man we’re in the company of the Freemasons. A mutilated corpse is found in the vault of a London antiques dealer that specializes in the sale of masonic silverware. Strike’s newest client, a well known chef working in a fancy members’ club, is convinced the body is that of her missing partner. As he starts to investigate the identity of the victim, Strike discovers quickly that it’s not quite as clear as his client thinks and that powerful interests don’t want him interfering.

Loyal readers of the series will recognize all of this. Whether they will welcome it, I’m less sure. For my own part, I started to lose interest half way through and I am finding the meandering, slow advancing, and intricate plots a little bit tiresome. Perhaps someone with influence could have a quiet word with the author and suggest she picks up the pace a little. The Strike franchise, entertaining and successful as it is, might lose even some of its most dedicated followers if she doesn’t.

This House of Grief

~ michaeljhealy ~ Leave a comment

I read “true crime” books very rarely. In fact, I can only think of a few. Capote’s In Cold Blood, of course, and one or two others. My aversion to the genre is simple enough to explain. Many such books, at least in my experience, are badly written and are motivated by a ghoulish and sometimes prurient interest in the misfortune and misery of others. They are, more often than not, the literary equivalent of slowing down to watch a car accident.

This House of Grief is something very different. It is mostly an account of the trial of Robert Farquharson who stood accused of the murder of his three sons on Father’s Day, 2005. The crime and the trial captivated Australian society at the time, but I was entirely unaware of them, and of the book (first published in 2014), until I started to get interested in its author, Helen Garner. Garner recently won the Baillie Gifford prize for her diaries, How to end a Story, and it was those that led me to look at her earlier work. On a visit to The Brick Lane Bookshop in London, This House of Grief was displayed prominently and I snapped it up. I am glad I did.

I think the book has become a classic for several reasons. As an account of the drama that can unfold in a courtroom, it is hard to imagine anything better. Garner has a very sharp eye for the peculiarities of human behavior and the trials gave her a great opportunity to train it on the lawyers, spectators, and witnesses. It is also a deeply disturbing report of the depths of wickedness into which a person might descend. It is a story that could have been recounted in a sensational and vulgar way, but in Garner’s hands it is all done with such humanity. This House of Grief is a truly brilliant and compassionate piece of reporting. Garner’s award winning diaries are now top of my Christmas reading wish list.