Book info

• Title Prime Suspect
• Author Lynda La Plante
• Year 1991
• Genre Mystery

When a prostitute is found murdered in her bedsit, the Metropolitan police set to work finding the perpetrator of this brutal attack. DNA samples lead them straight to George Marlow, a man previously convicted of attempted rape. Everything appears to add up and the police think they've found their man, but things aren't quite what they seem . . . Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison came through the ranks the hard way, opposed and resented at every step by her male colleagues. So when DCI Shefford falls ill, the opportunity for Tennison to get herself noticed finally arrives. But the boys are not happy and every one of her colleagues is willing her to trip up.

Thoughts

It took me a while to get into this one, I couldn’t quite figure out why we were following a detective that had all but solved his case, alongside a woman bitter about the sexism in her office. It was a slow start but once things came to a head and our hero Jane Tennison took over the investigation, it was far more interesting.

Twists and turns galore, uncovering more and more evidence along the way, I quite liked how the angry mob nature of the rest of the force turned into support and celebration by the end. I also liked that whilst it was a story that came to a conclusion, it didn’t feel as though it was the end of the tale, which gives plenty of scope for a sequel, but more importantly, for your imagination to wonder what happened next. It’s a great skill to end a book with a satisfying finish as well as on something of a cliffhanger.

Much enjoyed, and now I want to read more from Lynda, as well as check out the TV show.

Revisited - Nov 2021

I didn’t deliberately revisit this book, but actually published the review as if I had never read it. This time round I listened to the audiobook so I think the different medium was part of the disconnect I felt. But this is the review I posted in 2021 - pretty similar thoughts to above:

A serviceable mystery but the trouble with this is, none of the characters grabbed me, and in fact the main character, the infamous Jane Tennison, was actively dislikable! I get that she had to be tough in a difficult and mysogynistic working environment but she really wasn’t very nice to her family and partner. Good story, though, interesting police action and errors on occasion, and a bit of a cliffhanger ending. I’m interested in the second book, anyway.

Initially I rated this a 4 out of 5, but have downgraded to 3 as I found the main character more dislikable on that second listen.

Rating: 3 / 5