Book Review: Blunt Force by Lynda La Plante

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book from Bonnier Zafre Books, via #Netgalley, free of charge, for review purposes on this blog. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own

Jane Tennison must navigate the salacious world of theatre to solve a brutal murder in the heart of London's West End, in the brilliant new thriller from the Queen of Crime Drama, Lynda La Plante.

Synopsis

Things can't get much worse for detective Jane Tennison. Unceremoniously kicked off the adrenaline-fuelled Flying Squad, she now plies her trade in Gerald Road, a small and sleepy police station in the heart of London's affluent Knightsbridge.

With only petty crime to sink her teeth into, Tennison can feel her career slowly flatlining. That is until the discovery of the most brutal murder Jane has ever seen: Charlie Foxley has been found viciously beaten to death with a cricket bat - his body dismembered and disembowelled.

As a big-time theatrical agent, Foxley had a lot of powerful friends - but just as many enemies. And alongside her old friend DS Spencer Gibbs, Tennison must journey into the salacious world of show business to find out which one is the killer, before they strike again.

Review:

I don't know about you, but I am thoroughly enjoying the new Tennison pre-series, which is taking us back through the early days of women in the British police force! It's hard sometimes to reckon this more naive Tennison, with the Tennison we all know and love, from the Prime Suspect era at times. But like all of us, she started out with a noble idea, then had some setbacks and is growing and maturing along the way, as she doesn't give up. It's what ultimately MAKES her the Tennison we all love. a Plant had an excellent idea, when she decided to go back and let her readers see what MADE her great character the woman she is. It allows us to literally, see her grow up, and mature, and that is not something readers generally get to do! 

In this book, she seems stuck behind a desk with minor crime and doomed for punishment. Until suddenly a good ol murder gets thrown at her squad, but ultimately there are too many enemies and no arrest, so bigger guns get called int, but even they can't solve the crime. It takes the skill of Tennison and Gibbs to uncover vital info and break the case free. Will this end up with bigger things for their careers? Time will tell. With more going on than they realize way higher up, recompense may be in the cards for both. This book leaves you eagerly waiting for the next book in the series!

About the Author:

Lynda La Plante was born in Liverpool. She trained for the stage at RADA and worked with the National theatre and RDC before becoming a television actress. She then turned to writing - and made her breakthrough with the phenomenally successful TV series Widows. Her novels have all been international bestsellers.

Her original script for the much-acclaimed Prime Suspect won awards from BAFTA, Emmy, British Broadcasting and Royal Television Society as well as the 1993 Edgar Allan Poe Award. Lynda has written and produced over 170 hours of international television.

Lynda is one of only three screenwriters to have been made an honorary fellow of the British Film Institute and was awarded the BAFTA Dennis Potter Best Writer Award in 2000. In 2008, she was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to Literature, Drama and Charity.

If you would like to hear from Lynda, please sign up at www.bit.ly/ LyndaLaPlanteClub or you can visit www.lyndalaplante.com for further information. You can also follow Lynda on Facebook and Twitter @LaPlanteLynda.