| Chapter | Date | Key Milestones |
| 1 | 07/08/2013 | Joan receives a diagnosis of advanced ovarian cancer. |
| 2 | 16/08/2013 | Charlotte leaves a message with Robin for Cormoran to call back. |
| 1 | 17/08/2013 | Dave Polworth’s 39th birthday. This date has been chosen over the 15th, as it falls on a Saturday and Cormoran would leave for London the next day in time to begin a working week. |
| 1 | 17/08/2013 | Strike meets Anna Phipps and Kim Sullivan. Anna mentions her missing mother Dr. Margot (Margaret) Bamborough. |
| 2 | 17/08/2013 | Robin solves the Tufty case. |
| 6 & 7 | 18/08/2013 | Cormoran and Robin visit Anna and Kim at Woodhouse Terrace, Falmouth. On their drive back, they receive a call from the couple, saying that they would like to give the detectives a year to crack the case. |
| 8 | 20/08/2013 | After taking Monday off, Cormoran and Robin visit Mrs Tufty to break the news about her husband. |
| 8 | 03/09/2013 | Cormoran is in the tabloids due to Tufty and his three women. |
| 8 | Mid Sept | *Unable to nail the exact date: George Layborn meets with Cormoran at a pub near Scotland Yard and offers to find Dr Bamborough’s case files |
| 9 | 09/10/2013 | Robin’s 29th birthday. |
| 10 | 09/10/2013 | Cormoran meets with Dr Dinesh Gupta, the first witness who knew and worked with Dr Bamborough at St. John’s Clerkenwell Practice. |
| 11 | 09/10/2013 | George Layborn informs Cormoran that he has the files and will drop them off at Denmark Street the next day. |
| 13 | 11/10/2013 | The 39th anniversary of Dr. Margot’s disappearance. |
| 13 | 31/10/2013 | Robin and Cormoran meet at 1 o’clock at St. John’s Lane to walk the supposed route Dr Margot would have taken on her way to meet Oonagh at The Three Kings. |
| 15 | 11/11/2013 | Joan’s chemotherapy goes wrong and she is admitted to the hospital. Lucy and Cormoran head back to Cornwall. |
| 16 | 15/11/2013 | Cormoran meets Robin in Notes Café, St. Martin’s Lane, close to the National Portrait Gallery, which Robin plans to visit before heading home. |
| 17 | 16/11/2013 | Cormoran meets Gregory Talbot on a Saturday at The Avenue, West Wickham. Gregory gives Cormoran Talbot’s secret notebook. |
| 18 | 20/11/2013 | Robin meets with her lawyer, Judith, who recommends mediation. She also receives a call from Wilma Bayliss’s eldest daughter – Eden Richards, asking Robin to stay away from her family. |
| 19 | 23/11/2013 | Cormoran’s 39th birthday. He receives his first birthday card from Rokeby. Robin gets Cormoran headphones to replace the ones that Luke had broken. She also makes sure that there are biscuits for the journey. 😊 |
| 19 & 20 | 23/11/2013 | Robin meets Cormoran at Earl’s Court station for their meeting with Irene Bull (now Hickson) and Janice Beattie. This meeting reveals many crucial details that become pivotal to solving the case. |
| 21 | 23/11/2013 | Robin and Cormoran head to The Trafalgar Tavern after meeting with Irene and Janice. While poring over Talbot’s secret diary, Robin recognises the Zodiac symbols, thus solving the mystery of the unrelated dates at the end of Talbot’s police report. Cormoran has the job of finding out all of the witnesses star signs. |
| 23 | 03/12/2013 | Robin gets her copy of Whatever Happened to Margot Bamborough? By C.B. Oakden. |
| 23 | 04/12/2013 | Annabel Marie Ellacott is born. Joan takes a turn for the worse. |
| 24 | 04/12/2013 | Robin and Cormoran meet Oonagh Kennedy at Fortune and Mason, Piccadilly Circus. |
| 25 | 07/12/2013 | Joan is released from the hospital. Cormoran recognises a ring in one of the photos in Oakden’s book. |
| 26 | 20/12/2013 | Barclay falls sick, having caught the flu from Morris. Robin suspects that Cormoran has got the flu as well, which he denies. Gregory Talbot calls to inform Cormoran about the 16mm film and offers to drop it off at the office that day. Cormoran asks Pat to find a suitable projector to be delivered by COB. Cormoran ponders the behaviour and relationship of Shifty’s boss with a lady on Stoke Newington. Robin reveals that she might have a positive ID on Postcard. |
| 27 | 20/12/2013 | Cormoran goes shopping at Hamley’s but, after being confronted with perfume labels like ‘Shaggable Me,´ settles on a box of chocolates for Robin. Cormoran meets Shanker at Shakespeare’s Head for a glass of water. Shanker identifies Nico ‘Mucky’ Ricci and warns Cormoran to stay away from the old gangster and his sons. |
| 29 | 21/12/2013 | Cormoran falls sick. ☹ |
| 29 | 24/12/2013 | Pat Chauncey gets Cormoran soup and lugs the projector and his gifts up to his attic door at 5 o’clock. |
| 29 | 25/12/2013 | Cormoran lays out a detailed outline/synopsis of Talbot’s notebook, as well as a plan of action for him and Robin to carry out, and sends it as an attachment to Robin. No Merry Christmas. ☹ |
| 29 | 25/12/2013 | Cormoran watches the 16mm film on the projector and witness the brutal death and gang rape of a young woman who has a scar down her rib cage. The ring is visible on the hand of the man filming the incident. |
| 29 | 25/12/2013 | Cormoron gets even sicker, this time with food poisoning. |
| 30 | 26/12/2013 | Robin plays Pictionary with her family, and Martin’s drawing of Icarus catches Robin’s attention. The flower that looked like a sun and vice versa. Morris sends Robin a dick pic. |
| 31 | 01/01/2014 | Cormoran spends New Year’s Day watching Tom Waits’ No Visitors After Midnight DVD, Robin’s Christmas gift which he opened on that day. |
| 31 | 04/01/2014 | Cormoran travels to Cornwall to visit Joan. |
| 31 | 11/01/2014 | Joan and Cormoran spend Saturday talking. With the help of Dave and Kerenza, Cormoran gets Ted to go down to the pub. Joan tells Cormoran how she wants her funeral and burial to take place and asks him to ensure that the family carry it out. |
| 32 | 11/01/2014 | Robin informs Cormoran that the Ministry of Justice has turned down Cormoran’s request to interview Dennis Creed. She mentions that she has tracked down Gloria Conti, aka Mary Jaubert, who now lives in Nimes, France. She also informs Cormoran about her theory that the logo on the side of the van could be for a Wholefoods shop. She had tracked down the company and gotten the name of the driver, Dave Underwood. Cormoran informs Gregory that he had to hand over the film to the police. Gregory is not happy with the information. |
| 33 | 17/01/2014 | Barclay is yet to see Postcard at the gallery, which causes Robin to express her concern about Postcard’s sudden disappearance. Dave’s daughter calls Robin and confirms that her father was the one driving the van at St John’s Lane on the night of Dr Margot’s disappearance. |
| 33 | 17/01/2014 | Robin decides to go behind Cormoran’s back and put one of her own ideas into motion. Max lands a new job. |
| 34 | 19/01/2014 | Cormoran is back in London. |
| 34 | 20/01/2014 | Robin picks up Cormoran at Earl’s Court Tube Station, and they travel to meet Cynthia Phipps at Hampton Court Palace. The journey is fraught as Cormoran reveals what he saw on the old film. |
| 35 | 20/01/2014 | Cormoran and Robin meet Cynthia at Privy Kitchen’s Café. |
| 36 | 20/01/2014 | Roy Phipps finds out that Cynthia is meeting with the detectives and orders them back to Broom House at Ham. |
| 37 | 05/02/2014 | Savage storms lash the south, including Cornwall. |
| 37 | 13/02/2014 | Cormoran decides to get breakfast at a café on St Johns Street, Clerkenwell, and spots Samhain Athorn. Robin is blocked from interviewing Gloria by her husband. She also finds Julia Wilkes, who was mentioned in Whatever Happened to Margot Bamborough? and who had drowned at the end of 1985 at a holiday camp. Robin asks Cormoran if he can come over for dinner the next night as Max wishes to interview him. |
| 38 | 13/02/2014 | Cormoran talks to Samhain and Deborah Athorn. He warns the downstairs neighbour (an ironmonger) to stop harassing the Athorns about the sagging wall and leaves a message for Clare Spencer to call him back. |
| 39 | 14/02/2014 | Joan’s condition gets worse and Kerenza mentions that she does not have long. Cormoran assures Ted that he and Lucy will head to Cornwall despite the weather conditions. He rings Dave for help and comes up with a plan. |
| 39 | 14/02/2014 | Robin is late for her meeting with Cormoran – first time ever. Nick calls Cormoran asking for a catchup over lunch. Cormoran locates Oakden, and Robin feels that she has been slightly chastened for her lack of tracking down witnesses in the Bamborough case. Barclay cracks the Postcard case. Cormoran praises him but the Scot mentions that it was Robin’s lead that solved the case. Rokeby calls Cormoran – the call does not end well |
| 40 | 14/02/2014 | Ilsa has a miscarriage; Jonathan and his mates visit; the dinner ends up in a shouting match between Cormoran and the students – a total disaster. |
| 41 | 14/02/2014 | The FIGHT. |
| 42 | 15/02/2014 | Clare Spencer calls Cormoran. Charlotte messages Cormoran that she has been admitted to Symonds House. |
| 43 | 15/02/2014 | Cormoran calls Robin and apologises for his behaviour the previous evening. Robin finds Paul Satchwell. |
| 44 | 15/02/2014 | Cormoran leaves for St Mawes with Lucy. Dave and other school friends meet the brother and sister and help with the journey through fields and flooded plains. |
| 44 | 21/02/2014 | Joan passes away. |
| 45 | 02/03/2014 | Robin heads to Leamington Spa. She checks in at Premier Inn, finds the graveyard where Margot was “seen” by Ramage and discovers Schmidt. |
| 46 & 47 | 03/03/2014 | Robin visits the gallery and meets Paul Satchwell. They go to Roebuck for lunch and a chat. Robin learns about an older sister and the possible reason for the Pillow Dream. |
| 48 | 03/03/2014 | Joan’s funeral is held at a church, followed by drinks at Ship and Castle. |
| 08/03/2014 | A Malaysian airliner disappears without a trace. | |
| 49 | 19/03/2014 | Morris solves the Commodity Broker and Nanny’s case. Matthew postpones the mediation at the last minute. Robin and Cormoran head over to Bar Italia on Frith Street for a breakfast catchup. Robin tries to explain the Bamborough case along Talbot’s line of thought, but Cormoran does not buy it. At the end of breakfast, Amanda White (Laws) calls. |
| 50 | 02/04/2014 | Cormoran pays a surprise visit to Janis at Nightingale Grove. He learns that Oakden had visited her two weeks ago. |
| 51 | 02/04/2014 | Robin calls Barclay to help stop Shifty’s Boss from jumping off Tower Bridge. |
| 51 | 02/04/2014 | Robin meets Brian Tucker at the Star Café in Soho and learns about Kara Wolfson. |
| 52 | 19/04/2014 | Cormoran and Robin meet at 0100 am on Stoke Street and discuss Oakden and his childhood. |
| 53 | 19/04/2014 | Robin and Cormoran meet the Bayliss sisters in Wanstead at a café. They earn about a new lead, Betty Fuller. |
| 54 | 20/04/2014 | Easter Sunday – Joan’s ashes are sent off in the sea. Cormoran receives a call from Charlotte, who had overdosed herself at Symmonds House. |
| 55 | 05/05/2014 | Robin and Matthew’s mediation. Their divorce is finalised, and Robin realises that Sarah is pregnant. Robin receives an email from Oakden offering to meet at the American Bar in Stafford hotel on the 24th May. |
| 56 | 05/05/2014 | Cormoran loses it with Al over the phone, gets shirty with Barclay and manages again to feed Robin’s insecurity. ☹ Robin and Cormoran interview Betty Fuller at Sans Walk located in Clerkenwell. |
| 56 | 05/05/2014 | When Cormoran replays the part of the interview (after Robin had left the room), Robin identifies the girl in the 16mm film as Kara Wolfson. She also gives a medical term to Brenner’s kink: Somnophilia. |
| 57 | 24/05/2014 | Robin spots Mucky Ricci when the residents are taken out of St Peter’s Roman Catholic Nursing Home for a ‘walk.’ Robin calls Barclay with her conclusion about the Shifty case (Autonepiophilia) and, despite Barclay’s protests, convinces him to do what she asks of him. |
| 57 | 24/05/2014 | Robin meets Cormoran at the American Bar to interview Oakden. |
| 58 | 24/05/2014 | Cormoran gives Robin two black eyes, takes her back to Denmark Street, feeds her, gets her drinks and ice and TALKS. xoxo |
| 59 | 24/05/2015 | Barclay barges in with the news about Shifty’s kink. Robin headbutts Morris, confronts him about his behaviour, including the dick pic, and tells Cormoran that she does not wish to work with him any longer. |
| 60 | 26/05/2014 | Cormoran informs Pat that Morris is not coming back. Robin tells Cormoran about her theory of Gloria being pregnant at the BBQ. Cormoran bumps into Marjorie, a physiotherapist at Selly Oaks, outside Ricci’s nursing home where she now works. |
| 61 | 1st wk June | Oakden’s article about Cormoran and Rokeby |
| 61 | 16/07/2014 | *This date is a guestimate, as the Ricci family visits on a Sunday with Ricci’s birthday the following week Robin enters the Ricci nursing home on the pretence of visiting Enid and runs into Luca, who mentions that he usually comes in on Thursdays. |
| 61 | 25/07/2014 | *The date and the day do not match in the book as Luca writes that Ricci’s birthday is on 25th July, but the day mentioned is Thursday. According to the calendar, it is Friday. |
| 62 | 01/08/2014 | Anna and Kim call to inform Cormoran and Robin that they would like to stop the investigation. |
| 62 | 02/08/2014 | Cormoran visits a footballer with regards to a new case. |
| 61 | 15/08/2014 | The contracted last day of investigation. |
| 63 | 28/08/2014 | Robin meets Gemma in the Vintry Bar. Gemma reveals that Shifty is committing insider trading. She also relays Morris’s advice about reporting Shifty’s sexual harassment. |
| 63 | 28/08/2014 | Robin receives an email about Creed. Cormoran tracks down Steve Douthwaite in Skegness. |
| 64 | 29/08/2014 | Robin and Cormoran travel to Skegness to interview Steve Douthwaite. |
| 66 | 30/08/2014 | Robin and Cormoran Facetime Gloria Conti, aka Mary Jaubert, at 1800. |
| 68 | 19/09/2014 | Cormoran interviews Dennis Creed at Broadmoor. |
| 69 | 19/09/2014 | Robin deciphers Dennis Creed’s clue on where Louise Tuckers’s body is buried. |
| 70 | 20/09/2014 | Robin and Barclay visit the Athorns and discover what is hidden in the ottoman. |
| 71 | 20/09/2014 | Cormoran visits Janice and has another chat with her at Nightingale Grove. |
| 72 | 03/10/2014 | Cormoran tells Charlotte that he is changing his number. Robin and Cormoran visit Anna, Kim, Roy, Cynthia and Oonagh at Anna and Kim’s house on Kyrle Road. |
| 73 | 09/10/2014 | Robin’s 30th Birthday |
