Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Spoilers welcome discussion for part two chapters 36-47 of Robert Galbraith's Lethal White.
If the first to post please briefly summarize to guide the discussion.

Chapter 36 (aftereffects of Chiswell's murder, seeking Billy and a murderer) Robin is holed up at home, Strike at Ilsa and Nick's.
An injunction keeping the blackmail quiet.
Chapter 37 (Forgiveness from Lorelei, Jack is recovering)
Strike insists Robin stay away from the office with the press sniffing around. He unhappily mulls over Lorelei's apparent acceptance of a more casual relationship and spends time with his sister and nephew Jack.
Chapter 38 ( Izzy pays up and wants something else...)
Izzy reveals details of her father's death. It wasn't suicide, and she wants Kinvara charged with murder, hiring Strike. Kinvara wrote a letter she was leaving, Jasper was drugged. Kinvara and Jasper hadn't been getting along for a while but Izzy doesn't want to share secrets.

Chapter 39 (Robin, miserable at home with angry Matthew)
Robin brokers a forensics information exchanges through her police friend Vanessa and is "fine"

Chapter 40 (Robin determinedly eludes the press for the forensics meeting)
Matthew and Tom, his co-worker pal and Sarah's fiance trades angry barbs with Matthew. Domestic bliss is definitely missing. With Strike trading information about a criminal obtained from Shanker, Vanessa's friend Oliver shares forensic report details, phone calls, fingerprints. They'll drive to Chiswell House to meet with Izzy the next day.

Chapter 41 ( Lorelei is not happy, Strike and Robin drive to the country home)
Strike is on the phone with Izzy and then Barclay at Lorelei's place instead of sharing a cozy dinner at home to rekindle their romance. He escapes early to be pickedup by Robin to drive to Chiswell house in her battered Land Rover. Their discussion of the case was easygoing and relaxed, the will and lack of money left by Jasper and an undercover opportunity for Robin in a shop working with Flick, Jimmy's girlfriend. As they arrive they spot the prehistoric chalk horse carved on the side of the hillside. Robin received a text from Matthew, sent by mistake.

Sorry its taking me so long to get these summaries written. :)

Ann wrote: "Sorry its taking me so long to get these summaries written. :)"

This was a long, involved story, Ann. No apology necessary!

Chapter 42 (Chiswell House, Kinvara's horses, family and contentious questions)
Family secrets are not easily revealed but some are shared; the issue Jimmy Knight wants money for is not to be discussed. Kinvara gives details of the house in Ebury Street, keys, cleaning help, her note. The phone call to Raphael the morning of Jasper's death was to "keep an eye on" Kinvara providing an alibi.

Chapter 43 (Robin snooping finds old photographs, a rough walk over the hill to the dell)
More questions. what is the significance of photographs of Freddie and Rhiannon Winn? a sullen Raphael confronts "Venetia" and Robin takes a plunge into the dell where they suspect Billy "saw" a child strangled and buried. A white cross in the brambles.

Chapter 44 (a pub, more clues, )
Strike and Robin make their plans for more interviews and her new undercover job; knowing more but not enough.

Chapter 45 (paperwork, an email from Lorelei)
Strike avoids responding to Lorelei's request to meet.

Chapter 46 (Robin's new job, Aamir Mallick spotted with Della Winn)
Aamir enters a house just down from Della Winn's; Strike questions disturb him. Strike finds a crude carving on the inside of the bathroom door. Aamir takes a swing at Strike when he mentions Aamir appears to have been disowned by his family.

There is a lot of background information in this set of chapters. I particularly like the inner dialogue when Strike thinks about Lorelei or Robin and it was interesting to learn that Strike's leaving the army was as a result of, but wasn't directly from the loss of his leg, but because he loves investigation work and the army offered a desk job.
Robin's troubles with Matthew are more disturbing but the inner dialogue is still fascinating as their marriage spirals further and further out of control.

Ann- thank you for the summaries!

Agree- the inner dialogue strike has about Lorelei and Robin is really quite fascinating. There are many more details being added in that it just keeps adding layers and layers to the case and the relationships at play here. Particularly I was intrigued by the carving on the door and Aamir reacted.

Karly: I wonder if Strike would have seen the carving on the inside of the bathroom door behind the hanging robe if Aamir had run some water in the sink to add credence to his cover story. I like to think he would have anyway. 😀

I don't understand so much attention given to Rhiannon. She turns out to be so much of a red herring. I'm just not understanding most of the time given to the Winns and Aamir. Or am I getting ahead of myself?
Is Robin willfully ignorant of the meaning of the mis-sent text?

(I'm once again a latecomer-took me awhile to get the book from library and then the three days to slog through it)

Ann - agree!

Maureen - I also felt similarly about Rhiannon. Seems like there is a lot of attention placed there but the connections keep side stepping her involvement in things.
Also, seems like at this point Robin is just so frazzled and trying to focus on the case that she is simply not putting two and two together with clues in her own life, perhaps focusing on her detective skills on her work where she wants to be solely focused. Though you would think that after all their fights and the stage they are in, any little thing would tip her off. Ugh I hate Matthew so much lol

Yeah, Mathew is a skunk of the first degree, but when you think about it Strike is an idiot concerning Charlotte, 12 years with that scum bucket? What a sucker for punishment. Plus he pretty much treats Lorelei like crap. He wasn't honest with her, being honest would have been "I'm just spending time with you while I'm waiting for my true love. You are just a convenient sperm depository."

LOL all true! Strike is so stubborn and definitely needs to work on how he handles relationships because he’s hurting everyone in his wake. Nothing ended well from each entanglement he’s been in from each book in the series.

I seem to have skipped giving a brief summary of chapter 47 (Robin's jewelry store job; Billy is found)
Robin is quite adept at camouflage, her appearance fits in with the Wiccan shop and she meets Jimmy when he visits Flick at work. Billy is found on the street and hospitalized.

Karly wrote: "LOL all true! Strike is so stubborn and definitely needs to work on how he handles relationships because he’s hurting everyone in his wake. Nothing ended well from each entanglement he’s been in fr..."

You are both (Karly and Maureen) so right about Strike. Which leads me to the unlikely fantasy that should he and Robin get together it will all be smooth sailing and he will be open and honest with no understandings. That isn't what happens in the real world, but definitely does in the fictional world (or so we are led to believe). And the same for Robin, she's had her share of staying silent when she should speak up, and putting things aside because she doesn't want to deal with them.

I'd like to comment more but i've now finished the book and can't quite keep straight what falls in what section despite Ann's excellent summaries. Or maybe it's that i want to comment on stuff that happens later, LOL. I'll move on. ;-)

Glad you enjoyed it carol!!!

Carol: As I read, the book was such a fast pace and I galloped along not making any notes until the end. At that point I was just as you said, no longer clear (summaries or not) exactly when my thoughts had coalesced and I was unable to be sure I was timely in a segment on how it made me feel — and this book really stirred up emotions for Robin and Strike — and Billy.

Good point about the likelihood that either Cormoran or Robin would be forthcoming about sharing their feelings and establishing an open healthy style of communication in a relationship; a lot of baggage here and as friends and mutually respected coworkers precedence shows the secrets and misunderstandings prevail.
The other characters really didn’t merit much emotion; but the investigation and its trajectory was very compelling.
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "I'd like to comment more but i've now finished the book and can't quite keep straight what falls in what section despite Ann's excellent summaries. Or maybe it's that i want to comment on stuff that happens later a..."