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She phones the police constantly to give reports of the missing items, but the police are regarding her more as a nuisance because of the frequency of the calls. When they arrive to investigate, they never find anything to substantiate her claims. But all this changes when Avril is found savagely murdered and dismembered, DC Marr realizing that something definitely was happening in her world, and perhaps what she was reporting had some truth to it. The trip to Australia - how utterly utterly unnecessary. In the time period it’s set, surely this was a huge expense, and whilst international phone calls were expensive too, they would have been a damn sight cheaper than sending two coppers over for 36 hours. So so strange. On the upside we got to see loads more entitled and judgemental attitude from Jane, so that was delightful. Her first book went over extremely well, and other famous novels came to follow. One of her best known stories is The Talisman, published in 1987, closely followed by Bella Mafia in 1990. Soon afterward, she began work on Prime Suspect, which starred Helen Mirren. This opened the door for La Plante to win an Edgar-Award from the Mystery-Writers of America for her impressive work on the show. I have read none of the previous books in the series, but I enjoyed this book with no problems regarding who the main characters are and what’s their part in the story is. During reading I did some googling as I was trying to understand the period it was set, and found this was a tv series starring Helen Mirren years ago! I hope it was better than this book and that played the Jane character in a better way than she was portrayed here.
Relentless in her pursuit of the truth, Jane finds herself ostracised, but remains determined to solve the mystery of the baby’s death. Over the last few years, I have had a great time getting through the amazing Tennison series by iconic crime fiction author Lynda La Plante. A prequel series to the Prime Suspect television series, the Tennison books follows a younger version of Prime Suspect’s protagonist, Jane Tennison, as she works her way up the ranks while investigating several intriguing crimes. There have been some awesome books in this series so far, including Good Friday, Murder Mile, The Dirty Dozen, Blunt Force and Unholy Murder, each of which is worth a read, especially for fans of the original show. I managed to get through the eighth book in the series, Dark Rooms, last year, and it is high time I wrote a review for it, especially as the next Tennison thriller is out just around the corner. Believing that there’s much more to the story than the eye can meet, he starts an investigation that will bring a lot of his past secrets to surface. Laced with gothic undertones in the centrepiece of the decaying Victorian mansion and the horrors hiding within, once home to an eccentric family with a long history of tragedy, this is a tightly plotted police procedural featuring realistic forensic science of the time period, and even a touch of romance for Jane, as well as trips to the coast and as far as Australia, exploring some dark and disturbing themes and complex characters through every navigation of the twisting plot. Throughout the series, discrimination - and specifically misogyny - within the police has been a running theme, once more explored in this novel alongside other abuses of power and the elusiveness of long-buried secrets. Featuring multiple characters that all have a vital role to play in the unfolding dramas, each is vividly well-developed, their individual stories cohesively driving the plot. With the surprise appearance of a face from the past also in the mix, the novel has everything you could want from an ongoing police procedural series and much more. I absolutely love these books; Lynda La Plante's novels (and TV dramas) are always pure escapism - each new release an event in itself and an indulgent, immersive delight. I cannot wait to be able to dive into the fourth in the series.The characters were all, ALL, incredibly unlikeable. Eddie was probably the least unlikeable and seemed mostly ok, except for some reason seemed to hate everything about Jane’s job and automatically disagreed with her and put her down when she tried to talk about it with him. Red flag there, Jane!
Lynda La Plante (born Lynda Titchmarsh) is a British author, screenwriter, and erstwhile actress (her performances in Rentaghost and other programmes were under her stage name of Lynda Marchal), best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series. However, and believe me I hate to leave a negative review, but wow; there was very little I enjoyed of this book. Overall, Dark Rooms was a weaker Tennison novel from Lynda La Plante, and one that does not really stand out when compared to some of the more impressive books in the series. While I am little critical of it, Dark Rooms did have its interesting and powerful moments, and is still worth a read, especially for established fans of the series. I am hoping that the next book in the series, Taste of Blood, has a better story behind it, and I am still intrigued to see how this series continues. What was the point of the investigation? The family history was so all over the place and by the end of the book the whole thing seemed like a waste of time. I haven't read anything by Lynda La Plante in a long time but she certainly haven't lost her touch. Eminently readable, fast paced and thrilling ~ what more could you ask for??
Dark Rooms by Lynda LaPlante is the eighth in the series featuring 'young' Jane Tennison, although we've slowing been working our way from naïve constable to the kinda scary Detective Chief Inspector readers (and viewers) meet in Prime Suspect. With a brand new character introduced, an elusive foil to Warr, the cat-and-mouse game begins. Expect an explosive showdown! I always know what I am going to get from a Lynda La Plante novel, well written plots that are not rushed answering every question the readers wants answered. Good solid characters and plenty of intrigue made this a very good read.
She must decide if she will risk her life to bring the killer to justice simply to claim the reward, or if she should leave the task to someone more experience, more willing, and more trusting than she will ever be able to trust herself after her difficult and harrowing past. A compelling, clever plot with a brilliant cast of diverse characters. Utterly riveting' - RACHEL ABBOTT, million-selling author of ONLY THE INNOCENT
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
I really had an issue with the Jason Thorpe character, particularly at the end as the events reached their anti climactic climax. He is portrayed throughout as a sort of brutish, somewhat threatening thug, with his own successful business but almost certainly a fair amount of dodgy dealings in both that and the affairs of his aunt/the house. Then at the climactic ending his character is completely switched up and he’s suddenly some kind of simpleton we should pity? It’s absolutely bizarre. She formed her own television production company, La Plante Productions, in 1994 and as La Plante Productions she wrote and produced the sequel to Widows, the equally gutsy She's Out (ITV, 1995). The name "La Plante" comes from her marriage to writer Richard La Plante, author of the book Mantis and Hog Fever. La Plante divorced Lynda in the early 1990s. Jane solves the original case involving a dead young woman in record time and it involves a tragic turn of events. Jane's given little (well, no) kudos for her work but having also uncovered a baby's bones during the investigation she's is keen to pursue it, particularly when she discovers the newborn was smothered. She's reminded however of her previous case that involved decades-old bones with no recourse for anyone still alive. Here however she's got her eye on the building's previous owner, Helena Lanark, and starts looking into the family.
This journey takes a bit of a European tour and encompasses at least two fascinating themes which is compelling reading and keeping you glued. It’s set up very nicely for number four which I look forward to reading. My only negative is that it’s quite long and although I cannot deny it interesting it could have been refined somewhat.This installment surely opened my appetite for more in the series so I’m looking forward to read more soon. Buying this book, it was clear it was part of a series starring a detective, but in theory it was a standalone book. In that, I can say it was. I have not read a book by Lynda La Plante before, and in fact, I don’t think I’ve read many murder/crime novels by women authors. I quite enjoyed that aspect, and felt like she is, as you might imagine, just as good (if not better) at delivering “the goods” as all her male counterparts. I did enjoy that although there was some discussion of murder and violence of that sort (because this is the type of book I was reading, ya know), it didn’t seem gratuitous nor overly graphic. I mean, yes, there was graphic violence, but sometimes I feel like I can’t even handle the level of violence that some of the male authors go into. Scandinavian crime authors are their own sort when it comes to this, and I feel like La Plante is nowhere near that level. If you’re into crime and murder mysteries, this is a good one because she does a good job of competing with those modern murder mystery and crime novel types but does it in a way that is good clean fun. The more I write things like “good clean fun” in regard to murder mysteries the more I think maybe I’m digging myself into a hole here…wait. There I go again. I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve indulged in my love of crime books. I don’t know if I’ve just been living the easy life or what, but I always forget how much I enjoy them until I start reading them. Am I a violent person? No. Do I enjoy reading about crime and people solving murders and such? Yes. I know this is A Thing, so it’s not like I’m a total weirdo out here. The good news is that there are many of us who enjoy these types of books and so it’s fun to be able to share this one with you!
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