Breaking News: The fifth Cormoran Strike novel has a name and a release date!

The fifth crime novel from J.K. Rowling’s alter-ego Robert Galbraith will be called Troubled Blood, and it will be released on September 29, 2020.

The fifth Robert Galbraith crime novel, TROUBLED BLOOD, will be published on 29th September! Are you excited for the next chapter in #StrikeandRobin’s story?

— Robert Galbraith (@RGalbraith) February 19, 2020

According to The Rowling Library, the title “Troubled Blood” has been in consideration for a year.  I wonder if there were a variety of titles registered on spec, what they were, and why this one won in the end?  There also seems to be some speculation about the length of the book compared to the previous one.  Judging by the Harry Potter books, Rowling tends to write longer and more sophisticated stories as she moves through a series, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the longest Strike novel thus far.

We don’t have an image of the jacket yet, and the black placeholder cover currently being used by the publisher, Little, Brown UK, lends an air of exciting mystery to it.  I expect the cover art is still in the design and approval phase, and we’ll post it as soon as it’s released.  In the meantime, you can pre-order Troubled Blood on Amazon or from your favourite retailer.

We are extremely excited to be publishing the fifth @RGalbraith crime novel, TROUBLED BLOOD, on 29th September! More details to come very soon, including the final jacket. #StrikeandRobin next instalment… pic.twitter.com/MBLyAe9Ygo

— Little, Brown UK (@LittleBrownUK) February 19, 2020

Troubled Blood, hmmmm.  Mudblood, pureblood, Half-Blood Prince—Methinks there is a bit of a history to Rowling’s interest in bloodlines and what they mean for identity in society.  It wouldn’t surprise me if this novel’s mystery revolved around a questionable heir or a family’s bloodlines—perhaps Strike will have to rattle some skeletons in a family’s closet having to do with illegitimate children or marriages that were frowned upon because the spouse didn’t have the “right” bloodlines in their view.  One assumption we can make is that there will be no resolution to the romantic tension between Strike and Robin.  Rowling has said that she has ideas for many Strike mysteries so we can bet that she isn’t going to let them get together yet.  That’s frustrating for those of us who read the novels primarily because of this relationship, but understandable that of course she wants to keep us waiting until the end.  

September 29 feels like a long wait from mid-February.  What are you going to do to pass the time?  Re-read the first four Strike novels?  Watch the TV series?  Write some fanfic or draw some fan art?  Tell us in the comments.