Dino Lancaster is the father of Valentine, Decima and Cosima, and godfather to Rupert Fleetwood. He is a former husband of Tara, Charlotte Campbell’s mother (Chapter 6). 

Longcaster owns a private members’ club and Michelin starred restaurant called Dino’s. Robin tells Strike that she considered taking her mother to the restaurant for her birthday, but the ‘average cost per person for lunch is four hundred pounds’ (Chapter 7).

Robin first sees Dino Longcaster outside his house in Belgravia, where he lives with his wife and daughter, Cosima.  He is described as ‘a tall, heavy man, always impeccably suited, with a dark complexion and pronounced eyebags. His unusually large, round head with its slicked-back dark grey hair, resembled a cannonball, and his default expression was one of boredom bordering on disdain’ (Chapter 75). 

After Robin tries, unsuccessfully, to speak to Cosima outside of Dino’s, Longcaster approaches her and invites her inside. Dino, followed by his Pyrenean Mountain Dog, leads Robin upstairs to a room with ‘walls covered in swirling red paisley fabric’ with ‘oil paintings, mostly of dogs and horses’ and a log fire. (Chapter 96).  Robin notices ‘the increase of alertness and nerves’ in the staff members they pass on the way, and tells herself that she refuses to be intimidated (Chapter 96).

Dino summons a member of staff and orders a martini for himself and a Majesty for Robin, and then tells her that she shouldn’t wear black as ‘there’s nothin’ cheaper lookin’ than black on a blonde’ (Chapter 96).  He lights a cigar.

Robin asks Dino if she knows where Rupert is, and he tells her about Rupert’s theft of the silver nef from the club.  He nastily refers to Rupert as ‘the jellyfish’.  They go on to discuss Rupert’s parents and Dino’s relationship to them.

After Robin explains that Rupert gatecrashed Sacha Legard’s birthday party and said something to Cosima that made her cry, Dino summons Mimi (Cosima) to join them. Cosima seems nervous and says she was just upset with Rupert for turning up after stealing the nef. Dino stops Robin from asking further questions, and summons a waiter to show Robin out (Chapter 96).