The Honorable James ‘Jago’ Murdo Alastair Fleming Ross, described as an “Adonis”¹ and “handsome in the manner of an Aryan prince”² (as well as an “outstanding cunt” by Strike³), is Charlotte‘s previous boyfriend from when they and Strike attended Oxford University. Jago Ross hails from the Scottish aristocracy with quite a pedigree: “twelve generations of well-documented lineage,”⁴ including being the son of the Fourteenth Viscount of Croy.⁵ He attended Eton College boarding school.

Jago Ross at the time of The Cuckoo’s Calling is reported as having been divorced once with children⁶, as well as having had “a succession of high-flying jobs, … a persistent drinking problem” and a temperament that is “vicious in the manner of an overbred, badly disciplined animal.” Jago Ross and Charlotte are connected through a network of aristocratic families, “through generations of interbreeding and old-school ties,” ⁷ a connection that sees them eventually marrying in The Silkworm. ⁸

Jago Ross is mentioned again in Lethal White when Strike runs into Charlotte at a Paralympian event, where Jago’s niece is a participant. Charlotte is pregnant with Jago’s twins — a boy and a girl. Charlotte says that Jago is “pleased about the boy.” ⁹ 

Through Charlotte’s texts to Strike in Troubled Blood, she implies that her marriage to Jago is an unhappy one, even telling Strike that Jago calls her “evil”. ¹⁰ As Charlotte’s texts become increasingly worrisome, Strike decides to reach out to Jago if necessary. ¹¹

In The Ink Black Heart, we meet Jago in person. We are told that his full name is the Honourable James Murdo Alastair Fleming Ross.¹² He has three daughters with his first wife, the eldest of whom is fourteen years old and named Christabel¹³, the younger two are named Ari and Tatty¹⁴.  He also has twins with Charlotte, a boy named James and a girl, Mary, but he and Charlotte are now divorcing¹⁵. At the time of this book, he is living in a “palatial” flat in Kensington that belongs to his parents, and the merchant bank for which he works is based in the Walkie Talkie building on Fenchurch Street.¹⁶

Overall, Jago’s behaviour in The Ink Black Heart does nothing to contradict Strike’s original description of him.

^{1: The Cuckoo’s Calling, Part 3, Chapter 7
2: The Cuckoo’s Calling, Part 4, Chapter 6
3: The Cuckoo’s Calling, Part 4, Chapter 5
4: The Cuckoo’s Calling, Part 4, Chapter 6
5: The Silkworm, Chapter 23
6: The Cuckoo’s Calling, Part 4, Chapter 5
7: The Cuckoo’s Calling, Part 4, Chapter 6
8: The Silkworm, Chapter 42
9: Lethal White, Chapter 33
10: Troubled Blood, Chapter 54
11: Troubled Blood, Chapter 24
12: The Ink Black Heart, Chapter 38
13: The Ink Black Heart, Chapter 43
14: The Ink Black Heart, Chapter 54
15: The Ink Black Heart, Chapter 87
16: The Ink Black Heart, Chapter 38}