In the second Cormoran Strike novel, The Silkworm, author Owen Quine writes a book called Bombyx Mori, which he fails (fortunately) to get published. The book’s characters are based on people from Quine’s personal and professional lives. They are depicted in cruel and spiteful ways, which these individuals find deeply upsetting. Therefore, the main suspects in this story are all of the people Quine wrote about in Bombyx Mori.

Below are castings for some of the suspects in the upcoming television drama, in which The Silkworm will have two 60-minute-long episodes.

First we have Katherine Kent, Quine’s lover, who he met through his writing classes. Their relationship doesn’t stretch much further than sexual, though they do connect through a love for writing. Actress Dorothy Atkinson will be portraying Katherine in the television miniseries.

Dorothy has acting experience in British theatre, television and film, which includes her role as Jane Sutton in Call the Midwife.

Next we have Quine’s agent, Elizabeth Tassel, a very shrewd woman with a silver bob and a nasty, barking cough. In Quine’s novel, Elizabeth is portrayed as a character called the Tick, a nasty parasite that won’t go away.

In the television miniseries, Liz Tassel is being portrayed by English actress Lia Williams.

Lia has had loads of acting experience in television, including Casualty, Heartbeat, Doc Martin and more recently, The Crown, a Netflix original series.

Next we have Quine’s editor, Jerry Waldegrave. In Bombyx Mori, Jerry is depicted as a character called the Cutter, who, for some reason, drowns a dwarf in a river. Something about this mysterious portrayal leaves Jerry broken and deeply upset. Could this be enough for Jerry to murder Quine?

Waldegrave is being played by English stage, television and film actor Dominic Mafham, who has previously started in dramas such as Doctor Who and award-winning The Clinic.

Next on our list is the founder of Roper Chard Publishing, Daniel Chard, who is described as a quiet man, shrewd and a bit of a bully. In Bombyx Mori, Chard is depicted as a character called Phallus Impudicus, which, if you don’t know, is a type of fungus that looks a lot like a rotting penis.

In the television miniseries, Chard is being portrayed by English actor Tim McInnerny, who you may know from some television dramas such as Doctor Who, Sherlock and Game of Thrones.

Last on our list is Michael Fancourt, a famous writer and somewhat long-established enemy of Quine. He is described as handsome and quite arrogant. In Bombyx Mori, Fancourt is somewhat fittingly depicted as a character called Vainglorious.

Fancourt is being portrayed by English actor Peter Sullivan, who has starred in BBC’s The Hour and also The Borgias (also starring Holliday Grainger, who is playing Robin Ellacott).

The BBC and HBO series is called Strike and will air on BBC One in August this year, with a total of seven episodes; no date has yet been set for the release on HBO.

If you have read the book, what are your thoughts on these castings? Do they fit the image of the characters in your head? Let us know in the comments below!