The latest installment in the C.B. Strike series, The Ink Black Heart, brings back our favorite private detective duo, Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott, in a dark and tech-driven mystery. While the season was good, but not great, the undeniable chemistry and strong performances of Tom Burke (Strike) and Holliday Grainger (Robin) continue to elevate the show, keeping viewers engaged even when the plot occasionally drags. All four episodes are now available for streaming on Max.

Based on the novel by Robert Galbraith (the pseudonym of J.K. Rowling), The Ink Black Heart delves into the world of online fandoms, cyberstalking, and obsession. The season does a solid job adapting the complex source material, but at times, the pacing feels uneven, and the case itself doesn’t quite match the intrigue of previous seasons. A lot of the book takes place in online postings, and translating those to the screen was an effort.

Blurb:

Strike and Robin are hired to investigate a murder involving a creator of a cult TV cartoon and an anonymous online troll known as “Anomie.” With a complex web of online aliases, business interests and family conflicts to navigate, our heroic pair find themselves in a case that stretches them to their limit with the threat of this mysterious killer around every corner.

If you’re a fan of C.B. Strike, it’s still worth the watch—just don’t expect it to be the strongest entry in the series.