Bombyx mori silkworms for the production of raw silk, has been under way for at least 5,000 years in China, from where it spread to India, Korea, Japan, and the West. The silkworm was domesticated from the wild silkmoth "Bombyx mandarina", which has a range from northern India to northern China, Korea, Japan, and the far eastern regions of Russia. The domesticated silkworm derives from Chinese rather than Japanese or Korean stock. Silkworms were unlikely to have been domestically bred before the Neolithic age. Before then, the tools to manufacture quantities of silk thread had not been developed. The domesticated "B. mori"
The Silkworm to stage his disappearance, rewrote "Bombyx Mori", killed Quine and framed Leonora for the crime. Tassel attempts to flee the party only to be quickly caught and arrested, which Strike and Robin planned in advance. Sometime later, Leonora is released from prison, Fancourt acknowledges the original "Bombyx Mori" manuscript's literary value, and Strike tells Robin that he enrolled her in investigative training courses as a Christmas gift. Much like "The Cuckoo's Calling", "The Silkworm" was met with critical acclaim, selling more copies than its predecessor in its opening weeks. Val McDermid from "The Guardian" gave the novel a positive review,