Here are all the times we learnt the titles of the Strike novels. J.K. Rowling has had a bit of fun on Twitter for some of the title reveals.
The Cuckoo’s Calling (Book 1)
The title was revealed in the usual way, from the publishers. The Cuckoo’s Calling was published in April 2013 under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, without anyone knowing it was J.K. Rowling until it was leaked in July that year.
The Silkworm (Book 2)
The title was revealed in the usual way, from the publishers. The Silkworm was announced in February 2014, and published in June that year.
Now this is where J.K. Rowling/Robert Galbraith started to have a little fun on Twitter…
Career of Evil (Book 3)
On 24 April 2015, posting from the Robert Galbraith Twitter account, J.K. Rowling announced that the third book in the Strike series was finished.
After 5 minutes of wild guesswork, Robert Galbraith gave us the title: Career of Evil.
She promised a signed book to the person who correctly guessed the band to be Blue Öyster Cult.
Lethal White (Book 4)
On 14 March 2017, J.K. Rowling gave fans the opportunity to guess the title of the fourth Strike book, using a hangman-like game, and promised a signed book to the one who guessed it correctly.
An account with the username ‘warpathed’ (now ‘spilledink_’) guessed the title correctly: Lethal White. At this point the book was still around a year from completion.
Troubled Blood (Book 5)
On 25th January 2020, J.K. Rowling announced she had finished the fifth book.
On 19th February 2020, Little, Brown revealed the title to be Troubled Blood.
The Ink Black Heart (Book 6)
Using another guessing game, J.K. Rowling gave fans the opportunity to guess the title of the sixth book, using a black heart emoji as the only clue.
Annachiara guessed correctly: The Ink Black Heart.
The Running Grave (Book 7)
On 12th January 2023, using another guessing game, J.K. Rowling replied to CormStrikeFan on Twitter: “Disentangle the hanging venturer”.
She replied to The Strike and Ellacott Files’ comment and confirmed that the title is The Running Grave, which is an anagram of “the hanging venturer”.
The Hallmarked Man (Book 8)
After visiting the island of Sark for research and leaving with a silver bracelet, J.K. Rowling gave us the title of the eighth book: The Hallmarked Man.
Sleep Tight, Evangeline (Book 9)
On Friday, 13th February 2026, after meeting the StrikeFans gang and telling us the title in person, J.K. Rowling announced the title on Twitter/X: Sleep Tight, Evangeline.
Book 10, the final book in the series, is still untitled.