The Hallmarked Man Quiz

Test your knowledge of the eighth Cormoran Strike novel, The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith. This quiz covers the full story—from the silver vault murder to the personal struggles of Strike and Robin. Before you begin, you may wish to review the book summary, browse common questions and answers, or read the ending explained.

Quiz Questions

1. What event prevents Robin from accompanying Strike to Kent at the start of the novel?

• A) She has a family emergency
• B) She suffers a ruptured ectopic pregnancy
• C) She is on another case
• D) She is on holiday with Murphy

2. Why does Decima Mullins want Strike to investigate the body found in the silver vault? (Short answer)

3. What significant item is stolen from the silver vault?

• A) A Masonic dagger
• B) The Murdoch silver collection including the Oriental Centrepiece
• C) A bag of jewellery
• D) A laptop

4. Who is the real mastermind behind the killing of the man in the vault? (Short answer)

5. What does Robin discover about the hidden Murdoch silver in Ramsay's basement?

• A) It was never stolen
• B) It was hidden behind a false wall
• C) It was melted down
• D) It was sold abroad

6. How does Strike locate the missing teenage girl Sapphire Neagle? (Short answer)

7. What is the outcome of Strike's paternity test with Bijou Watkins?

• A) He is the father
• B) He is not the father
• C) The test is inconclusive
• D) Bijou refuses to take the test

8. What happens to the relationship between Robin and Ryan Murphy by the end of the novel? (Short answer)

9. Why does Robin initially hide the truth about her pregnancy and surgery from Strike?

• A) She doesn't want to burden him
• B) She is ashamed of the ectopic pregnancy
• C) She wants to maintain her professional image
• D) All of the above

10. Why does Decima Mullins refuse to accept that Rupert Fleetwood might still be alive? (Short answer)

11. What finally motivates Strike to confess his feelings to Robin?

• A) He learns Murphy is planning to propose
• B) He is drunk
• C) He is jealous of her trip to Masham
• D) He wants to end their partnership

12. Why does Robin decide to leave Murphy? (Short answer)

13. Why does Murphy hide his drinking from Robin?

• A) He is ashamed
• B) He does not want to worry her after her ectopic pregnancy
• C) He believes he can control it
• D) All of the above

14. What does the silver charm bracelet Strike gives Robin symbolise? (Short answer)

15. How does the gorilla mask connect to Robin's past trauma?

• A) It was used by her rapist during the attack
• B) It reminds her of a childhood fear
• C) It is a symbol of the case
• D) It has no connection

16. What role does Freemasonry play in the novel's mystery? (Short answer)

17. What does the repeated motif of bridges symbolise in the story?

• A) Connection
• B) Betrayal and sacrifice
• C) Progress
• D) Escape

18. Compare the ways Strike and Robin deal with their respective traumas (Strike's war injury and Robin's rape). (Short answer)

19. How does the theme of sacrifice manifest in both the Niall Semple subplot and the death of Jason Knowles? (Short answer)

20. What is the significance of the epigraph from Robert Browning's "The Worst of It" in relation to the novel's ending?

• A) It foreshadows Strike's guilt over Robin
• B) It reflects the theme of redemption at a cost
• C) It describes the killer's remorse
• D) It is unrelated

Answer Key

1. Answer: B
Robin is hospitalised for emergency keyhole surgery after a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, which she hides from Strike by claiming she has a fever.

2. Answer: Decima believes the mutilated body is her missing boyfriend Rupert Fleetwood. She wants Strike to prove his death so she can have a grave to visit.

3. Answer: B
The theft of the Murdoch silver—including the Oriental Centrepiece—is central to the case; the items are later found hidden in Ramsay's own basement.

4. Answer: Ian Griffiths, who runs a sex-trafficking ring and used the Masonic misdirection to cover his crimes. He killed the man in the vault after the man tried to double-cross him.

5. Answer: B
Robin breaks through a false wall in the basement and discovers the stolen Murdoch silver, plus a bloodstained shirt.

6. Answer: Strike tracks Griffiths to Ironbridge, breaks into his house, and finds Sapphire chained in the basement.

7. Answer: B
The DNA test confirms Strike is not the father; the baby belongs to Andrew Honbold.

8. Answer: Robin leaves Murphy after discovering he has been secretly drinking again, lying to her, and hiding bottles of vodka.

9. Answer: D
Robin feels shame, does not want to burden Strike with her health problems, and wants to keep her professional life separate from personal vulnerability.

10. Answer: Decima needs closure; she cannot face the truth that Rupert is alive because it would mean confronting his abandonment and the incestuous nature of their relationship.

11. Answer: A
Strike learns from Wardle that Murphy plans to propose to Robin, which spurs him to act.

12. Answer: She finds hidden vodka bottles and confronts Murphy, who admits to drinking. She realises he has been deceiving her and decides she cannot trust him.

13. Answer: D
Murphy is ashamed of his relapse, worries that telling Robin would add to her stress after her ectopic pregnancy, and believes he can control the drinking.

14. Answer: It represents the partners' shared history. Each charm—a Land Rover, the Houses of Parliament, Skegness, a sheep, Libra scales, a robin, and a masonic orb—recalls a significant case or personal moment.

15. Answer: A
The man who raped Robin wore a latex gorilla mask; the attacker in this book uses a similar mask to threaten her, reawakening her trauma.

16. Answer: It is a deliberate red herring. The killer uses Masonic symbols and legends to mislead investigators; the real crime is a trafficking operation with no genuine Masonic involvement.

17. Answer: B
Bridges symbolise betrayal and sacrifice: Niall Semple believes his SAS comrade was sacrificed, and his own body is later found weighted under a bridge.

18. Answer: Both use work as a distraction, but Robin eventually seeks therapy and confronts her trauma (e.g., speaking about her rape to Strike), whereas Strike suppresses his pain and avoids emotional vulnerability until the final chapters.

19. Answer: Niall Semple's friend Ben Liddell was left to die in a botched operation—a sacrifice by the military. Jason Knowles (alias William Wright) was killed because he threatened to expose the trafficking ring—a sacrifice by the criminals to protect their enterprise.

20. Answer: B
The epigraph features a speaker who is saved but fears he has ruined the one who saved him. This mirrors the novel's exploration of characters who sacrifice others or themselves for redemption, and the moral cost of being saved at someone else's expense.

For more discussion of these themes, visit our ending explained.