Robin Ellacott

Robin starts as a temp right as she gets engaged to Matthew. It was supposed to be one week. She loves the Lula Landry case so much that she turns down a better-paying job to stay with Strike. Along the way she learns to tail people, draw out witnesses and pass herself off as someone else on the phone.

Robin wants real training instead of phone duty. Behind the wheel she proves she can act under pressure, and her drive to investigate turns into fights with Matthew. Strike promises her a surveillance course, and Robin starts seeing herself less as a secretary and more as part of the investigation. At home, she begins keeping work details to herself to avoid more arguments.

When the killer starts targeting her, Robin tells Strike why she left university: a stranger raped her and nearly killed her. She survives a new attack, defies Strike to help a victim and gets fired. She marries Matthew even after finding out he deleted Strike's calls.

Unhappy in her marriage, Robin goes undercover in Parliament using her middle name, Venetia, to watch the people blackmailing Minister Chiswell. It's her first big undercover job. In the end she learns Matthew is cheating with Sarah and moves out.

Separated from Matthew, Robin throws herself into Margot Bamborough's 1974 disappearance. She tracks down elderly witnesses, handles tough interviews and shares with Strike the pressure of a one-year deadline. At the same time she's going through the divorce and sharing a flat with strangers. It's the case where she most clearly becomes an investigator, not an assistant.

On the Anomie case, Robin spends weeks inside an online game, reading chats and posing as a fan to reach the moderators. With Strike held back by his leg, much of the endgame falls to her. The case exposes her like never before: her face goes public, and the threat stops being only virtual.

In the books, her full name is Robin Venetia Ellacott. She starts as a secretary and becomes a partner in the agency.