Showing results by author "Lynda La Plante" in All Categories

When detective constable Jane Tennison survives a deadly explosion, she finds herself in the middle of a media storm. Minutes before the blast, she caught sight of the bomber. Too traumatised to identify him, she is nevertheless a key witness. As work continues round the clock to unmask the terrorists, the Metropolitan police are determined nothing will disrupt their annual Good Friday dinner. Jane must convince her senior officers that her instincts are right before there's another bloodbath.

A family under constant scrutiny from both the police and the press as a fifteen-year-old goes missing after a sleepover with a friend; a marriage at breaking point; a father who has seemingly lied about his alibi; and a detective feeling the pressure to deliver an arrest, are thrust together to make for yet another incredibly intricate and dark thriller from Lynda La Plante.

Detective Jack leads Scotland Yard's fledgling art fraud unit, its survival hinging on exposing a suspected forgery - a multimillion-dollar Basquiat. When his informant, gallerist Ester Langton, is brutally murdered, Jack's hunt spirals into obsession. Clues point to Adam Border, a reclusive genius hiding in a decayed Sicilian villa haunted by Mafia ties and violent secrets. As Jack abandons family and duty to pursue him, he's drawn into a world where brilliance and madness collide, masterpieces mask psychosis, and death stalks every shadow.

The husband of a prominent and infamously ruthless barrister is found in horrific condition after a robbery and brutal assault. Now in a coma, a major investigation is launched using the newly formed, experimental Metropolitan Police Serious Crime Analysis Unit. Lynne Russell is an experienced CSI with degrees in psychology and criminology with an exceptional Masters in Investigative psychology and behaviour analysis. But Lynne's first job as team leader of MSCAN is entirely new to her: to bring together a team of three trusted officers.

Don Roberto Luciano, boss of the Sicilian Mafia, agrees to be chief witness in the trial of Paul Carolla, who murdered Luciano's firstborn son, Michael, 20 years ago. Despite round-the-clock protection, all the Luciano men are killed the night before a family wedding. The don's wife, Graziella, holds together what's left of the family - daughters-in-law Theresa and Sophia, and Theresa's daughter Rosa - while instructing their lawyer to sell off business holdings. Eventually the women become involved in the business themselves, trying to recover money that's disappeared into Carolla's hands.

Jack Warr is a young DC with the Metropolitan Police. Charming but aimless, Jack can't seem to find his place in the world - until he's drawn into an investigation that turns his life upside down. In the aftermath of a fire at a derelict cottage, a badly charred body is discovered, along with the burnt remnants of millions of stolen, untraceable bank notes - the hidden legacy of Dolly Rawlins and her gang of Widows. Jack's assignment to the case coincides with an investigation into his own past.

Jack finds solace in renewing a dangerous relationship with the artist Adam Bolder. They meet in Portobello market, in a shop selling frames. As he settles back into the old regime at the station, a new female DCI is a force to be reckoned with. One weekend visiting Portobella market again, going to purchase some photo frames for pictures of his new son, the street is cordoned off by police crime scene officers. Ambulances and patrol cars blocking all traffic. A body has been found in the framer's shop.

After serving a lengthy sentence for the murder of her husband, Dolly Rawlins is free from prison. And she's only got one thing on her mind: the diamonds she stashed before the police caught her. But there are people waiting for Dolly on the outside ­- tough ex-prisoners who know about the diamonds, and they all want a cut. Also waiting for Dolly is DS Mike Withey. He holds her personally responsible for the death of his sister in the diamond raid 10 years earlier. And he wants her back inside. Dolly Rawlins has other plans.

Despite round-the-clock protection, all the Luciano men are killed the night before a family wedding. The don's wife, Graziella, holds together what's left of the family - daughters-in-law Theresa and Sophia, and Theresa's daughter Rosa - while instructing their lawyer to sell off business holdings. The women are left to pick up the pieces and recover money that Carolla has stolen. Little do they know there is a traitor in their midst: Carolla's adopted son Luka has been acting as the women's partner and protector.

When an ex-police officer from the murder squad is found shot dead in a dank squat, Detective Anna Travis is pulled into the case he was working on—the hunt for Alexander Fitzpatrick, a drug-trafficker with a vast fortune, and one of the most wanted men in the Western world. But there have been no sightings of Fitzpatrick for over a decade. As the body count rises, and with no sign of Fitzpatrick, the investigation takes a horrifying turn. Anna and her team learn that Fitzpatrick, wherever he is, may have access to one of the most lethal drugs in existence.

It was supposed to be a simple case: a young man arrested for armed assault. But it was just the beginning. As Rodney Middleton awaits trial, Detective Jack Warr is warned by his mentor DCI Ridley that they have only scratched the surface of the man's crimes. Then DCI Ridley is suddenly removed from his post. No one is to contact him - and no one will say why.

In a newly liberated Berlin, two women are inexplicably drawn together—one a pampered Baroness suffering from a mental health crisis, the other a fearless circus performer creating the biggest spectacle of her career. A murder, a police investigation and a search into the past send both women deeper into mental deterioration, and the dark secrets that they have spent decades burying are finally brought to life.

CSI Jessica Russell is called to a crime scene unlike any she has faced before: an abattoir. Suspended thirty feet above the ground, the masked victim hangs in chains, arranged in an almost angelic pose. As the horror of the scene unfolds, Jessica must use every ounce of her forensic expertise to identify the victim - and to find the most twisted killer her team has ever investigated.

When her boss, James Langton, is almost fatally injured while pursuing a ruthless gang, Detective Anna Travis must put her own career on hold as she nurses him through his intense frustration and desperation to bring his would-be murderer to justice. Then Anna is assigned to a different case, the vicious murder of a quiet, studious woman whose body was found by her daughter—an attack with no obvious motive or immediate suspect. Until the case becomes unexpectedly linked with that of her boss, and Anna finds herself under threat from those who almost destroyed his career and his life.

Susie and Stella have nothing in common, except for the fact that they're married to the same man - private detective Mike Hazard. When Mike suddenly disappears, the women discover his double life. The two women soon find out that Mike is keeping more secrets than just his infidelity and his actions soon put them in danger with both sides of the law. They must now track down a missing husband while finding a way to stay alive...

When an eccentric widow claims she is being stalked by her former lodger, Detective Jack Warr is the only person who believes her wild claims. Days later, she is found brutally murdered in her home. When the investigation uncovers an international drugs operation on the widow's property, the case grows even more complex. And as the hunt for the widow's lodger hits dead end after dead end, it seems that the prime suspect has vanished without a trace.

Newly promoted Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison has elbowed her way into the Area Major Incident Pool, or AMIP, an elite team investigating non-domestic murders. With her new position, she hopes things will change: the rampant sexism, the snide remarks, the undermining. Then she gets her first assignment: a five-year-old cold case of a missing teenager no one else has any interest in investigating, and an assumed suicide Tennison suspects is, in fact, murder. But as Tennison gathers the crucial evidence to secure arrests, her new colleagues watch like vultures circling prey.

Rookie detective Anna Travis has been assigned to her first murder case - a series of killings that has shocked even the most hardened on the force. Over the past eight years there have been six victims - all women from similar backgrounds, all killed in an identical way. Then a seventh body is found, but this one doesn't fit the pattern.

Jane Tennison, a young, inexperienced WPC, learns the hard way never to take anyone - or anything - at face value, whether in her dealings with her police colleagues or when confronted by seemingly innocent suspects. Hidden Killers sees Jane acting as a decoy prostitute, with the hope of capturing a suspect wanted for numerous sexual assaults. The attacker is drawn in and put under arrest. Commended for bravery in the case, Jane is given CID status and moves from Hackney to Bow Street Station as detective.

If you want to know what criminal investigation is like in real life, then get ready for a podcast that puts YOU at the crime scene. This series will look at the latest developments, the famous cases and how the forensic scientists are meeting the challenge laid down by a criminal who is forensically aware. Lynda La Plante has always been fascinated by criminality and the people that solve crime. Her books are celebrated for their authentic depictions of crime scenes and police procedures – something she achieves through meticulous research with her colleague, CSI Cass Sutherland. Over six ...