The Ink Black Heart is the sixth installment of the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling.) Robin Ellacott and Cormoran Strike are business partners in a private detective business started by Strike. Edie Ledwell is a co-creator of a cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, and has become a celebrity with a large following of show fans. Edie arrives at the private detectives’ office, explaining a mysterious person on social media, with the handle Anomie, is tormenting her online. Edie is desperate to learn the identity of Anomie. Robin turns down the case as she and Strike don’t handle cases from an online source. Robin and Strike become involved in the case following Edie’s murder a few days later. Edie is murdered while her co-creator is seriously wounded when they meet in Highgate Cemetery, the setting of The Ink Black Heart, to discuss the identity of Anomie. 

The audiobook is more than 32 hours long, which means there is a lot of sleuthing for Robin and Strike. Robin inserts herself into an online game-themed The Ink Black Heart, where she interacts with fellow fans and moderators of the game. The detectives interview family and friends while going undercover in social situations common for cartoon fans. 

This is my least favorite book in the series. First, I don’t care for adult cartoons such as the one depicted in this novel, so this primary source for a detective was not appealing and made it hard to hold my interest at times. Secondly, this book contains A LOT of online communication between characters. For me, I dislike reading typed communication in a book, in print, or in an audiobook. In an audiobook, it’s choppy and repetitive to hear the names of the people talking back and forth. This book has a lot of that communication.

Fortunately, other aspects of the novel held my interest very well. The relationship between Robin and Cormoran continues to keep the reader in suspense. Will they get together, or won’t they? Charlotte, Strike’s former girlfriend, continues to insert herself in the picture by causing problems for Strike. In more ways than one this time. 

Despite not liking the core story of this book, I did enjoy enough of the book to keep me listening. It got better with time and the ending was satisfying. 

I listened to the audiobook through iBooks, and Robert Glenister’s narration was outstanding.

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