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Trial and Retribution #6
Trial and Retribution VI
The last in the series - and the last of D S Walker, too...As DI Pat North battles with her first murder enquiry and her fiance DCI Mike Walker strives for promotion, their personal and professional loyalties are tested to the limit. All around them families are ripped apart by violence and everyone discovers just how far they are willing to go to protect the ones they love.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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About the author
Lynda La Plante
109 books1,792 followersLynda La Plante, CBE (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 heist planned by their deceased husbands.
In 1991 ITV released Prime Suspect which has now run to seven series and stars Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennison. (In the United States Prime Suspect airs on PBS as part of the anthology program Mystery!) In 1993 La Plante won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her work on the series. In 1992 she wrote at TV movie called Seekers, starring Brenda Fricker and Josette Simon, produced by Sarah Lawson.
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.
Her output continued with The Governor (ITV 1995-96), a series focusing on the female governor of a high security prison, and was followed by a string of ratings pulling miniseries: the psycho killer nightmare events of Trial & Retribution (ITV 1997-), the widows' revenge of the murders of their husbands & children Bella Mafia (1997) (starring Vanessa Redgrave), the undercover police unit operations of Supply and Demand (ITV 1998), videogame/internet murder mystery Killer Net (Channel 4 1998) and the female criminal profiler cases of Mind Games (ITV 2001).
Two additions to the Trial and Retribution miniseries were broadcast during 2006.
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 heist planned by their deceased husbands.
In 1991 ITV released Prime Suspect which has now run to seven series and stars Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennison. (In the United States Prime Suspect airs on PBS as part of the anthology program Mystery!) In 1993 La Plante won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her work on the series. In 1992 she wrote at TV movie called Seekers, starring Brenda Fricker and Josette Simon, produced by Sarah Lawson.
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.
Her output continued with The Governor (ITV 1995-96), a series focusing on the female governor of a high security prison, and was followed by a string of ratings pulling miniseries: the psycho killer nightmare events of Trial & Retribution (ITV 1997-), the widows' revenge of the murders of their husbands & children Bella Mafia (1997) (starring Vanessa Redgrave), the undercover police unit operations of Supply and Demand (ITV 1998), videogame/internet murder mystery Killer Net (Channel 4 1998) and the female criminal profiler cases of Mind Games (ITV 2001).
Two additions to the Trial and Retribution miniseries were broadcast during 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 1, 2025
The last in the series. Familial relationships and domestic violence are at the forefront in this volume.
September 27, 2023
Final book in this series sees Pat North in charge of the abduction of a woman while walking her dog, and Mike Walker on leave ahead of a promotion interview having to deal with his estranged wife’s new man, who is putting his family in danger. Gripping stuff.
January 22, 2022
I'm going to do a review for the series as a whole and post it for each book, this is because I feel that the further along the series and especially the last book are mostly about the private lives of the detectives rather than the crimes themselves.
I do feel that of all the series of Linda La Plante's that I've read/watched this is probably the weakest as far as story and character development go.
The character of Mike Walker is not someone I like, yes he may get the job done, but he really is a dinosaur, and frankly I don't think he is that good of a detective. He guesses a lot or plays a hunch, which by luck has been proved correct, so often no more follow up is done once a case has either had a confession or thought to be proved. Finding evidence whilst the case is going through trial seems really far fetched to me and also not professional.
The character of Pat North has a lot of potential, she should have stayed well away from getting involved in a relationship with Mike Walker, and frankly that whole scenario is completely unnecessary.
The Detective Sargent character of Dave Satchwell starts off predictable, seems to move forward, and then de-evolves by the last book.
How much of all of this is due to the fact that the author was writing for television, rather than writing a "book" I don't know, but the story does seem to suffer because of it.
I won't be revisiting the tv series, and I doubt very much that I will listen to the books again.
I do feel that of all the series of Linda La Plante's that I've read/watched this is probably the weakest as far as story and character development go.
The character of Mike Walker is not someone I like, yes he may get the job done, but he really is a dinosaur, and frankly I don't think he is that good of a detective. He guesses a lot or plays a hunch, which by luck has been proved correct, so often no more follow up is done once a case has either had a confession or thought to be proved. Finding evidence whilst the case is going through trial seems really far fetched to me and also not professional.
The character of Pat North has a lot of potential, she should have stayed well away from getting involved in a relationship with Mike Walker, and frankly that whole scenario is completely unnecessary.
The Detective Sargent character of Dave Satchwell starts off predictable, seems to move forward, and then de-evolves by the last book.
How much of all of this is due to the fact that the author was writing for television, rather than writing a "book" I don't know, but the story does seem to suffer because of it.
I won't be revisiting the tv series, and I doubt very much that I will listen to the books again.
August 25, 2021
I finished this book today, completing the series in just about a week. Each story was written very well - La Plante is an excellent writer - but this final installment left me feeling a little disappointed. I had grown to appreciate the relationships between the main characters, so in a way it was like losing some friends.
I love that the author includes very strong female characters, but why can’t they get what they want in all aspects of their lives?
Also, this is the third series I’ve read by this author, and they all seem to finish in an odd manner. Like, maybe she’ll write another one to really see it up, maybe tag on a novella? I don’t know, maybe I’ve read too many romances and need that happy ending.
I’m giving the series overall 5 stars for the story and the writing, 4 stars because of my personal disappointment in the finish, so 4.5 stars overall.
I love that the author includes very strong female characters, but why can’t they get what they want in all aspects of their lives?
Also, this is the third series I’ve read by this author, and they all seem to finish in an odd manner. Like, maybe she’ll write another one to really see it up, maybe tag on a novella? I don’t know, maybe I’ve read too many romances and need that happy ending.
I’m giving the series overall 5 stars for the story and the writing, 4 stars because of my personal disappointment in the finish, so 4.5 stars overall.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2023
In Trial and Retribution VI, recently promoted DSI Pat North investigates the disappearance of a woman walking her dog. One of the suspects confesses but Pat remains unconvinced. Meanwhile Pat’s partner, DSI Mike Walker is suspicious of his ex-wife’s new boyfriend when she starts getting injuries. Look, like all Lynda la Plante crime drama books, this is engrossing and well-written, but, like most of the Trial and Retribution series, it’s pretty depressing. Pat has always played second fiddle to Walker’s self-centred intensity and she strays into utter doormat territory here. I’ve never liked Walker and this book confirms the worst about him. I’m sort of glad the series is done, there are more uplifting characters in the Jane Tennison series and the Jack Warr series. Actor Colin Mace narrates well, especially his Scottish accents for the Walker brothers!
August 1, 2023
AUDIOBOOK
Another brilliant narration by Colin Mace and, sadly, the last in this superb series of audiobooks by Lynda La Plant ☹️
I’ve really enjoyed all six audiobooks in this series and would highly recommend them to anyone.
Another brilliant narration by Colin Mace and, sadly, the last in this superb series of audiobooks by Lynda La Plant ☹️
I’ve really enjoyed all six audiobooks in this series and would highly recommend them to anyone.
January 16, 2022
I've really been enjoying this series and feel a bit sad that it's finished. Luckily Lynda La Plante has a few more books I can delve into.
September 10, 2022
Really enjoyed the series. This is probably one of the weaker ones but still good fun
October 2, 2022
Really enjoyed this detective novel
February 25, 2024
One good thing about feeling poorly is that you get to read back to back books from you 'to read' list.
The ending of this Trial & Retribution had me turning pages so fast........
The ending of this Trial & Retribution had me turning pages so fast........
Read
January 16, 2009Trial and Retribution, by Lynda La Plante. B. Produced by BBCWW, narrated by Christian Rodska, downloaded from audible.com.
This is a rather strange book. There is a six-book series of these, each with the same title but consecutively numbered. I will have to read Trial and Retribution II before I decide if I like this series or not.
Here we’re in East London. A little girl goes missing from one of the council flats, or public subsidized housing as we would call it in the U.S. Her murdered body is found. The immediate suspect is the abusive stepfather. But ultimately suspicion centers on a strange man who lives in one of the flats. Children visit him all the time and he keeps toys and videos to entertain them. Neighbors think he’s a “pervert” or pedaphile. The police center on him right away as the most viable suspect and start building a case against him, in fact, ignoring evidence that might not support the case. His defense attorneys aren’t convinced of his innocence and don’t seem to be working very hard. The man keeps declaring his innocence. Even though conflicting evidence comes up, the judge will not call a mistrial. Ultimately, the defendant is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. But it isn’t clear whether or not he is really the guilty person. There are a lot of loose ends, a lot of suspects who could have been pursued and were not. The book just sort of ended, which was somewhat annoying. The lesson, if there is one, seemed to be that justice is meted out differently according to class. It’s an interesting book leaving one with more questions than answers. The writing itself is excellent. The narrator did it justice. And the story itself will stay with me for some time. I’ll have to read another one before I can say whether I like these books.
This is a rather strange book. There is a six-book series of these, each with the same title but consecutively numbered. I will have to read Trial and Retribution II before I decide if I like this series or not.
Here we’re in East London. A little girl goes missing from one of the council flats, or public subsidized housing as we would call it in the U.S. Her murdered body is found. The immediate suspect is the abusive stepfather. But ultimately suspicion centers on a strange man who lives in one of the flats. Children visit him all the time and he keeps toys and videos to entertain them. Neighbors think he’s a “pervert” or pedaphile. The police center on him right away as the most viable suspect and start building a case against him, in fact, ignoring evidence that might not support the case. His defense attorneys aren’t convinced of his innocence and don’t seem to be working very hard. The man keeps declaring his innocence. Even though conflicting evidence comes up, the judge will not call a mistrial. Ultimately, the defendant is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. But it isn’t clear whether or not he is really the guilty person. There are a lot of loose ends, a lot of suspects who could have been pursued and were not. The book just sort of ended, which was somewhat annoying. The lesson, if there is one, seemed to be that justice is meted out differently according to class. It’s an interesting book leaving one with more questions than answers. The writing itself is excellent. The narrator did it justice. And the story itself will stay with me for some time. I’ll have to read another one before I can say whether I like these books.
May 13, 2008
Good book of a TV series. Couldn't put it down.
Back Cover Blurb:
It is every mother's nightmare. Her child is missing, found murdered. Her lover is the prime suspect.
It is every police officer's dread. A child murder. A circumstantial case.
It is every solicitor's dream. Twelve men and women will decide the verdict.
But only you can decide if justice was done for the victim.
Back Cover Blurb:
It is every mother's nightmare. Her child is missing, found murdered. Her lover is the prime suspect.
It is every police officer's dread. A child murder. A circumstantial case.
It is every solicitor's dream. Twelve men and women will decide the verdict.
But only you can decide if justice was done for the victim.
released-or-to-release-without-read
May 13, 2009"It is every mother's nightmare. Her child is missing, found murdered. Her lover is the prime suspect. It is every police officer's dread. A child murder. A circumstantial case. It is every solicitor's dream. Twelve men and women will decide the verdict. But only you can decide if justice is done for the victim."
September 30, 2010
I have previously seen this on TV but the book has a more satisfactory ending.... Lynda La Plante is such a talented writer, I would read her shopping lists! This book deals with the murder of a 5 year old girl, so definitely not a happy story but the way she keeps you guessing about whether the police have the right man or not is very skillfully done.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews