Strike on BBC: what is the Ink Black Heart about? Book synopsis and critical reception
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- BBC’s Strike is back for its sixth season tonight.
- It will adapt The Ink Black Heart from the Cormoran Strike book series.
- The show is based on the books by Robert Galbraith.
A brand new series of Strike will start on BBC tonight (December 16). It marks the return of sleuthing duo Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott after two years.
Fans of the popular mystery series will be treated to four brand new episodes in the run up to Christmas, including one on Xmas Eve itself. The show previously ran during the festive season in 2022 and is back to provide another dose of murder this year.
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Hide AdFor the brand new season, Strike is adapting the sixth book in the series written by Robert Galbraith (the pen-name of JK Rowling). But what is The Ink Black Heart about - and how was it received?
What is The Ink Black Heart about?
The book is the sixth in the Cormoran Strike series - and was first published in 2022. It follows Troubled Blood and in the synopsis on goodreads it says: “When frantic, disheveled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn’t know quite what to make of the situation. The co-creator of a popular cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie’s true identity.
“Robin decides that the agency can’t help with this—and thinks nothing more of it until a few days later, when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in Highgate Cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart.
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Hide Ad“Robin and her business partner, Cormoran Strike, become drawn into the quest to uncover Anomie’s true identity. But with a complex web of online aliases, business interests and family conflicts to navigate, Strike and Robin find themselves embroiled in a case that stretches their powers of deduction to the limits – and which threatens them in new and horrifying ways . . .”
The TV series is set to follow the plot of The Ink Black Heart and will see Cormoran and Robin attempt to uncover the true identity of Anomie.


How was The Ink Black Heart received in 2022?
The book is the sixth in the series and has the second lowest rating on goodreads. The Cuckoo Calling, the introduction to the world of Strike, actually has the lowest at 3.89 out of 5, followed by The Ink Black Heart with a rating of 4.12.
It is also the longest book in the series at over 1,000 pages and this led to some criticism from reviewers. In a 3 star review, the Daily Telegraph wrote that the added pages “[does not] seem to have more depth, or to cover more emotional territory, than the earlier ones did”.
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Hide AdThe Times review also criticised the length, and the Kirkus Review called it “Long, loose, and lax”. However the Irish Independent published a positive review, hailing the “dozens of characters, multiple plotlines and, most crucially, lots and lots of things going on".
Is The Ink Black Heart based on JK Rowling’s life?
A plot point from the book revolves around a comic being accused of being racist, ableist and transphobic - the latter of which mirrors the backlash JK Rowling has faced in the 2020s. With the once-beloved author becoming a divisive figure due to her frequent comments on social media, particularly X (formerly Twitter), facing accusations of transphobia.
However People Magazine reports that JK Rowling denied the claims the book was based on her own controversies, stating: “I had written the book before certain things happened to me online.”
Are you planning to watch the new series of Strike - and have you read The Ink Black Heart? Share your thoughts on the show and the book by emailing me: [email protected].
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