A tangled murder case forces Strike and Robin to confront their feelings in the most dangerous way yet.
Lethal White shows that C.B. Strike works just as well when the mystery is complicated as it does when the relationship at the center keeps evolving. This fourth series drops Cormoran Strike (Tom Burke) and Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger) into a messy world of political blackmail, family drama, and murder, while their increasingly complicated friendship keeps edging toward something more.
The season kicks off with Robin’s wedding to Matthew, but after she finds out he secretly deleted messages from Strike, she ends up returning to the agency as a full partner. A year later, things aren’t exactly smooth—Robin is dealing with PTSD and a strained marriage, while Strike is also stuck in a relationship that feels emotionally distant. Their personal lives are a mess, but professionally they’re still an unbeatable team.
The case starts when a troubled young man named Billy Knight claims he once witnessed a child being murdered. That leads Strike to government minister Jasper Chiswell and a blackmail plot tied to Billy’s radical brother, Jimmy. When Chiswell is later found dead, the case turns into a full murder investigation that pulls Strike and Robin into a dysfunctional, secret-filled family where just about everyone has a motive.
Holliday Grainger really stands out here as Robin, who keeps growing more confident as an investigator even while everything in her personal life is falling apart. The eventual truth about Billy’s memory and the real killer adds another twist to an already layered mystery, and the final confrontation puts Robin in real danger.
What really makes Lethal White work, though, is how much Strike and Robin’s relationship continues to develop. They both finally step away from their unhealthy romantic situations, which opens the door for them to figure out what they actually mean to each other. The show doesn’t rush the “will they or won’t they” angle, but that slow build makes their final moments together hit even harder.
Lethal White might not be my favorite C.B. Strike mystery, but between the complex case, strong performances, and steady character growth, it’s still a really solid and engaging chapter. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.
What did you think of Series 4 of CB Strike? Leave a comment.
You can stream CB Strike on HBO Max.
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