Happy April Fools’ Day from StrikeFans! Don’t worry, we’re not going to trick you with fake Book 6 news, but we wanted to celebrate this day by looking back on some funny moments with Strike and Robin that always make us laugh — along with a few fun extras we hope you’ll enjoy! 

The Cuckoo’s Calling: 

“ ’SGreek,” he told her. “Kairos. Kairos moment. An’ it means,” and from somewhere in his soused brain he dredged up words of surprising clarity, “the telling moment. The special moment. The supreme moment.”

“Oh please, thought Robin, please don’t tell me we’re having one.”

It’s funny in itself but it’s also funny when you consider that they may have already had their Kairos moment when he almost knocks her down the stairs. There’s no arguing how much their lives both changed in that (telling, special, supreme) moment. 

The show really delivered the drunk-Strike scene! 

Even the aftermath of drunk-Strike was goooood!

The Silkworm: 

“Then cheer the fuck up and eat your burger.”

Such a cheerful moment when Robin finally tells Strike what’s bothering her and they come to an agreement about her future at the agency! This is a line that always provides a laugh. Also, a very honorable mention to Robin saying, “I don’t give a monkey’s” when Strike says a family is watching their argument. That even made Strike laugh! 

Career of Evil

“They had attracted a significant increase in oddball correspondence since Strike had solved his second high-profile murder case. The most coherent of the writers simply asked for money, on the assumption that Strike was now immensely rich. Then came those who had strange personal grudges that they wished Strike to avenge, those whose waking hours seemed devoted to proving outlandish theories, those whose needs and wishes were so inchoate and rambling that the only message they conveyed was mental illness, and finally (“Now these seem nutty,” Robin had said) a sprinkling of people, both male and female, who seemed to find Strike attractive.”

We love getting glimpses of their growing friendship with funny teasing moments like this! Nutty, is it, Robin? 

We also love this scene below that really shows Strike’s mischievous sense of humour!

Lethal White

“No biscuits?”

“I thought you were trying to lose weight?”

“Nothing eaten on a car journey counts, any competent dietician will tell you that.”

Robin grinned.

“‘Calories Are Bollocks: the Cormoran Strike Diet.’”

“‘Hunger Strike: Car Journeys I Have Starved On.’”

I think we can all agree that anytime Strike and food are mentioned together, we’re in for comedy gold. 

“Brown Panther,” Strike said through a mouthful of burger, as they approached the track. “Except he isn’t, is he? Black mane, so he’s—”

“—a bay, yes,” said Robin. “Are you upset he isn’t a panther, either?”

“Just trying to follow the logic. That stallion I found online—Blanc de Blancs—was chestnut, not white.”

“Not gray, you mean.”

“Fuck’s sake,” muttered Strike, half-amused, half-exasperated.”

The banter between Strike and Robin about horses in Lethal White is not only funny, but ends up being important later on when Strike realizes the value of Mare Mourning. 

Troubled Blood

For as heavy as Troubled Blood is, there are so many funny moments! Here are four of our favorites: 

“Well, I’m no doctor,” said Strike, as they crossed the road back to the Land Rover, “but I blame the curry.”

“Don’t,” said Robin, laughing against her will. She couldn’t help but feel a certain vicarious embarrassment.

“You weren’t sitting as near her as I was,” said Strike, as he got back into the car. “I’m guessing lamb bhuna—”

“Seriously,” said Robin, half-laughing, half-disgusted, “stop.”

This reaction to the, shall we say, explosive interview with Irene Hickson and Janice Beattie is absolutely hilarious! The whole event itself is funny, but becomes rather serious in hindsight when we learn why poor Irene was having trouble in the first place. A great example of hiding clues with humor! 

“Sagittarius, Scorpio rising, with the sun in the first house.”

“You’re—” Robin began to laugh. “Did you just pull that out of your backside, or is it real?”

“Of course, it’s not fucking real,” said Strike. “None of it’s real, is it? But yeah. That’s what my natal horoscope says. Stop bloody laughing. ”

A great and funny moment between Strike and Robin as they explore the inner workings of Bill Talbot’s mind. 

“What d’you think?” Robin asked Strike, when at last she’d succeeded in getting rid of Amanda.

He pointed a finger at the sky.

“What?” said Robin, looking up into the blue haze.

“If you look carefully,” said Strike, “you might just see an asteroid passing through the House of Bollocks.” 

Another moment, after Robin hangs up from a speaker phone interview with Amanda White, who “wows” the detectives with stupid coincidences.

“The gym manager let it slip tae Shifty he knew a big man at Shifty’s company. SB and the gym guy sometimes go in the playpen together, see. Like it’s a nurs—like it’s a nurser—”

Barclay suddenly broke into peals of laughter and Strike followed suit. Robin pressed the ice pack to her face and joined in. For a minute, all three of them roared with laughter at the mental image of the two men in nappies, sitting in their MDF playpen.

“—like it’s a nursery,” said Barclay in a falsetto, wiping tears out of his eyes. “Fuck me, it takes all sorts, eh?”

Even though most of us are still bummed that Barclay showed up at the office that night, this moment makes it worth it. Three friends laughing together and enjoying the relief of a mystery solved. (We should point out that this part of the audiobook is particularly hilarious, listening to Barclay trying to get the words out.) 

While this is only a small selection of funny moments in the series, we hope you enjoyed our picks! We’re looking forward to the laughs future books will bring! 

Now, for a bit of April Fools’ silliness, please enjoy these fake Strike related headlines! Make sure to scroll through all 13 pages!

Have a laugh with this “Funny Moment” related quiz!