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128th out of 783 books
—
993 voters
Above Suspicion (Anna Travis #1)
In the footsteps of Jane Tennison, immortalized by Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect, comes Anna Travis, a rookie female detective about to embark on her first murder case. The murders couldn't be more gruesome. The method of killing is identical, the backgrounds of the girls very similar -- all are prostitutes. As the book opens, a seventh body is found, same modus operandi b...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
December 27th 2005
by Touchstone
(first published 2004)
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How have I read mysteries for so many years, yet never heard of Lynda La Plante? Seems she's also responsible for the "Prime Suspect" books on which that BBC series starring Helen Mirren is based.
A friend had me watch several series of another BBC series, and I noticed that this series was based on novels by Lynda La Plante. I checked three of them out from the library and just read the first one.
"Above Suspicion" is an excellent start to the series with young detective Anna Travis serving on he...more
A friend had me watch several series of another BBC series, and I noticed that this series was based on novels by Lynda La Plante. I checked three of them out from the library and just read the first one.
"Above Suspicion" is an excellent start to the series with young detective Anna Travis serving on he...more
First completed book of 2010!
There isn't much to really 'review' about this book other then it was a satisfactory crime story. I already knew the story unfortunately as I've already seen the TV drama last year in March, which was very good. Unfortunately for me the sequel to this book is being shown on the 4th of January so I have to pull my socks up and read The Red Dahlia by 9pm on that day.
This is my first book by Lynda La Plante, who is more famously known for writing and creating the Prime...more
There isn't much to really 'review' about this book other then it was a satisfactory crime story. I already knew the story unfortunately as I've already seen the TV drama last year in March, which was very good. Unfortunately for me the sequel to this book is being shown on the 4th of January so I have to pull my socks up and read The Red Dahlia by 9pm on that day.
This is my first book by Lynda La Plante, who is more famously known for writing and creating the Prime...more
Aug 12, 2011
Julianne Bailey
added it
Blurb;
Young Anna Travis has been assigned to her first murder case - a series of killings that has shocked even the most hardened of detectives. They started eight years ago - now the body count is up to six. The method of killing is identical, the backgrounds of the girls identical - all drug users and prostitutes.
Then a seventh body is found. The modus operandi is the same, but the victim is a young student with the ‘face of an angel’. The profile of the murderer has changed dramatically.
Det...more
Young Anna Travis has been assigned to her first murder case - a series of killings that has shocked even the most hardened of detectives. They started eight years ago - now the body count is up to six. The method of killing is identical, the backgrounds of the girls identical - all drug users and prostitutes.
Then a seventh body is found. The modus operandi is the same, but the victim is a young student with the ‘face of an angel’. The profile of the murderer has changed dramatically.
Det...more
Just goes to prove that sometimes middle-aged bitches like DCI Jane Tennison really are more interesting than young sweeties like DS Anna Travis... and that sometimes great TV shows really are more interesting than mediocre novels. There's more life and depth in one shot of Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison than in almost 400 pages of dreary writing about Anna's wardrobe, crush on her boss, and chirpy musings to the photo of her sainted dad before she falls asleep every night.
3 likes · like · see review
The Wee Hen's mother was a devoted and loyal mystery reader for as long as one can remember. And I do remember well her love for the Prime Suspect series both in books and the british tv productions. So I decided to dive right in and what a delight I found. Anna Travis is wonderful- young, green, super keen, vulnerable but smart and with brilliant instincts, La Plante gives you everything you want in a good, solid police procedural and her heroine is a revelation. Travis finds herself on her fir...more
Not a bad thiller considering you know right off the bat who the killer is. It's not a matter of ID'ing him...it's a matter for cracking him.
I'm not sure I get all the rave about Lynda La Plante. It was a decent enough book, but not one I wld recommend. I found the female lead rather needy, wishy washy and easily swayed. And just because she ends the book by deciding against a relationship w/ Langton doesn't suddenly make her a strong character.
The liner for the book summed it up, "Anna stumbl...more
I'm not sure I get all the rave about Lynda La Plante. It was a decent enough book, but not one I wld recommend. I found the female lead rather needy, wishy washy and easily swayed. And just because she ends the book by deciding against a relationship w/ Langton doesn't suddenly make her a strong character.
The liner for the book summed it up, "Anna stumbl...more
I looked into reading this series after having viewed the show with Ciáran Hinds; the show is better. And this is coming from someone who virtually always thinks the book is better than a given movie/TV show. To be fair, part of this is because Ciáran Hinds is an amazing actor. Part of this is because the book isn't very well written. The plot is fine, but the character development is weak, so the personal interactions aren't very compelling. The relationships just pop up because La Plante write...more
This was my read of Lynda La Plante. I did not know she wrote the Prime Suspect series nor anything else about her. I took the free book on Kindle when it was offered. I'm glad to discover authors for my reading list and I will most likely read others.
One thing I do not like in police procedurals like this are the too-detailed descriptions of murder and abuse. These are not necessary to give us a picture of what happened. Television has unfortunately filled in all the details we could possibly...more
One thing I do not like in police procedurals like this are the too-detailed descriptions of murder and abuse. These are not necessary to give us a picture of what happened. Television has unfortunately filled in all the details we could possibly...more
After all that has been written about Linda La Plante and her books it is hard to add to the collection.
However, this was a great read and I enjoyed the naive DC Anna Travis's journey from rookie to clever and assured Detective.
DCI Langton was a well crafted character and added the masculine factor to a strong feminine story.
The plot was well built and the story, whilst gruesome and gritty, was intriguing. The story held me captive to the end and as usual after a good mystery, I was a bit drain...more
However, this was a great read and I enjoyed the naive DC Anna Travis's journey from rookie to clever and assured Detective.
DCI Langton was a well crafted character and added the masculine factor to a strong feminine story.
The plot was well built and the story, whilst gruesome and gritty, was intriguing. The story held me captive to the end and as usual after a good mystery, I was a bit drain...more
I love this series. You can read this book quickly. I finished in two days. That said, La Plante writes bare bones. She doesn't add a lot of unnecessary detail. She writes only what she feels will be filmed for television and nothing more because really, she writes for television.
I love the chemistry between the two main characters. It's important for a series. The novels has a lot of tension and especially when Travis forms a relationship with the suspected serial killer, the tension is increas...more
I love the chemistry between the two main characters. It's important for a series. The novels has a lot of tension and especially when Travis forms a relationship with the suspected serial killer, the tension is increas...more
May 04, 2011
Chavonne
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fan of Graphic Police Procedurals
Recommended to Chavonne by:
Book Club Selection
I read this book in order to prepare for my first experience in a mystery book club. I enjoyed this book enormously for the first 300 pages--the novel moved quickly and easily held my attention and imagination. Then came the unnecessary sex scene, the nightmare-inducing descriptions of the serial killer's actions, and a justiceless (my biggest pet peeve of some of Christie's novels) end left very much to be desired. I'm sure that I will read the next installment of this series as I like Anna Tra...more
This is the first of Lynda La Plante's books that I have read. I have been aware of her work of course, through the television. I was very impressed. The main character a rookie detective was human and fallible and believable. There was a love interest, a team of mixed characters for her to work with and a dark and despicable villain with a complicated past. I enjoyed it immensely and read it three days which is fast for me nowadays with all the other writerly stuff I'm trying to fit it. I won't...more
Jul 12, 2012
Daisy*•.♥.•*
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
thriller-suspense,
fictional-crime
It took me over 2 weeks to finish this book, but not because it wasn't good. I am happy to say though that I am finally done with it and I did like it. Stories with prostitution murders are always interesting because they can go unsolved for many years. As in this story, some of these women are estranged from their families and it takes years sometimes for anyone to notice these women are missing. That was the case in this book. The killer was very cunning in his murders. The ending did catch me...more
Kapağı ismi konusu kısacası ambajı ilk çıktığında çok dikkatimi çekmiş alıp okumak istemiştim. Bir arkadaşım okuyup beklentimi yüksek tutmamam gerektiğini söyleyince hafif bir hayalkırıklığım oldu ama yinede okumaya kararlıydım ve iyikide okumuşum kitabı şahsen ben çok beğendim
Son dönem İngiliz polisiyeleri nedense çok beğendim katagorisine sokamayan ben için bu gayet büyük bir şey olabilir:)
Kitapta 24 yaşında oyuncu kızımız Amanda'nın evinde yatağında cıplak ve ölü bir şekilde bulunması ve bu c...more
Son dönem İngiliz polisiyeleri nedense çok beğendim katagorisine sokamayan ben için bu gayet büyük bir şey olabilir:)
Kitapta 24 yaşında oyuncu kızımız Amanda'nın evinde yatağında cıplak ve ölü bir şekilde bulunması ve bu c...more
Sep 25, 2011
aPriL MEOWS often with scratching
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
mysteries-suspense-thrillers
Very competent police procedural. Even though the antagonist is Anna Travis, rookie to Homicide, the story reads exactly like the TV show Prime Suspect, the original British series. I loved Jane Tennison played by Helen Mirren, one of my favorite actresses. However Travis is starting out on her career and does not have Tennison's veneer of knowing how police and politics are intertwined yet. She is living the dream of following in her beloved cop father's footsteps and tears up at the thought of...more
I picked this up at the library, knowing that the author also created the excellent "Prime Suspect" series for BBC/PBS. Unfortunately, I found this book to be all plot and no character. The plot sails along with twists and turns as the beautiful cop (out to prove herself worthy of her cop-father's legacy)and the terse but manly chief inspector try to capture a nasty serial killer. But plot isn't enough to engage me in a book, and LaPlante's characters are stereotypic and shallow.
I really enjoyed the investigation aspect of this book, and the killer, though known, was creepy enough to keep it interesting without the mystery. What ruined this book for me was Anna Travis as a character, I found it difficult to relate to her and by the end of the book was annoyed at her constant need to fly solo and kiss Langton's butt. The series increasingly concerns itself with Travis to the detriment of plotlines and other characters who are introduced.
I enjoyed reading this book and it shows how Anna first meets langton.
I don't really get what she sees in him-rude, has a temper and no patience bt each to their own.
Thought th lead up to who did the deed and why was good and it was a bit worrying how willing langton was to use anna as bait
The only issue I had was anna is described in the book as a red head and he once refferred to her as his carrot top but in the front cover the lady hasa blond hair!
I don't really get what she sees in him-rude, has a temper and no patience bt each to their own.
Thought th lead up to who did the deed and why was good and it was a bit worrying how willing langton was to use anna as bait
The only issue I had was anna is described in the book as a red head and he once refferred to her as his carrot top but in the front cover the lady hasa blond hair!
Yes the murders were horrific and the suspect was an extremely devious emotionless sociopath. Even so, this is an exceptionally well written, novel with a very interesting and enjoyable character. I thoroughly enjoyed Jane Tennison of Prime Suspect, and Anna Travis appears to be another great and endearing character to follow up with. I love how she honors the memory of her deceased father, a well liked detective and loving dad. I look forward to reading on in the series.
This book was part of the required reading for a "law and literature" workshop I'm participating in a few weeks from now. Unfortunately, I was rather underwhelmed. The story is fairly standard (horrible murderer-rapist on the loose! Catch him before he kills again!), the characters are pretty bland (young, keen female detective falls for rough, gruff chief) and the writing is just so-so. A part from the usual rush in wanting the murder to be caught, there isn't really much here to sate a more cu...more
I found this book at the library but don't remember when I finished it. The book itself is more of in dept feeling making it more that it happened in real life. Of course It had happen but the book itself is a lot different. I accidentally bumped into this android app talking about the "Boston Strangler"! The Boston strangler was quite similar to the book if you can match it well, but i did.
Strange Isn't?
Strange Isn't?
From the same author who wrote the Prime Suspect series, this title introduces rookie cop, Anna Travis, who's serving on her first murder team investigation. As the group tries to catch a serial killer that seems to be leading to a known actor, the police thriller focuses on the crucial gathering of evidence against the suspect. I couldn't put it down, and stayed up until 2:30 to finish it! I'm paying for it today!!
Anna Travis, DS, meets Langton, DC, and serves on her first murder investigation. Any wonder she falls for the famboyant Langton who deftly leads the murder team to solution and conviction of a serial killer. Anna proves herself as a detective and a person capable of facing down the killer in the interrogation room where he ultimately confesses. Good murder mystery, fascinating characters.
Lynda La Plante is the author of the Prime Suspect series that the BBC programme Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren is based off of. This is book one of a new DCI series that she has started. Quite good, but not meant for anyone who is faint hearted. She can get pretty gruesome in her descriptions of the murder scenes. I am totally hooked on the series and just picked up book 4 over the weekend.
Very interesting police procedural from the author of the Prime Suspect novels that became a PBS series. Although at times the internal politics of the police station cause the action to drag a bit, the cat and mouse game in this novel kept me turning the pages. I learned a lot about investigations (and street slang)in the UK. I will definitely read the other books in this series.
This is a new to me author in print, although I'm familiar with her work because of her excellent Prime Suspect and Trial and Retribution British TV series. This first book in the Anna Travis series is as taut, well plotted and well written as her TV work. I've already started book two and pleased to have added La Plante to my growing list of favorite British authors.
** I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review**
I liked reading this story. The plot was good, but I felt it was a little disjointed, it seemed to me like it was kind of jumping from one case to the next. The storyline was there, but I didn't really connect with any of the characters. I look forward to the next work by this author.
I liked reading this story. The plot was good, but I felt it was a little disjointed, it seemed to me like it was kind of jumping from one case to the next. The storyline was there, but I didn't really connect with any of the characters. I look forward to the next work by this author.
If I could give this book 0 stars I would. I HATED it. I had high hopes because of the reputation of Prime Suspect. As you can probably tell, I was quite disappointed. The main character was a pathetic, insecure woman and her boss was incredibly boorish. So glad I bought this book used and not new. Yuck.
Got this because we've been slowly working our way through Prime Suspect, and LaPlante is best known from her work on that. You can most definitely tell that this book springs from the same mind. It's solid and while I probably won't rush out to get the rest of the series, I'll probably make my way to them eventually.
I read this because I enjoyed Prime Suspect, which is really the same error I made in reading Kathy Reichs because I enjoyed Bones. The writing was seriously mediocre, and it took me a long time to warm to Anna as a heroine. Nevertheless, I found the story quite compelling. A quick, easy read!
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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.
Her first TV series as a scriptwriter was the six part robbery series Widows, in 1983, in which the widows of four armed robbers carry out a...more
More about Lynda La Plante...
Her first TV series as a scriptwriter was the six part robbery series Widows, in 1983, in which the widows of four armed robbers carry out a...more
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Jan 14, 2012 02:41am