Books in series
#1
Tennison
2015
From the creator of the award-winning ITV series Prime Suspect, starring Helen Mirren, comes the fascinating back story of the iconic DCI Jane Tennison.
In 1973 Jane Tennison, aged 22, leaves the Metropolitan Police Training Academy to be placed on probationary exercise in Hackney where criminality thrives. We witness her struggle to cope in a male-dominated, chauvinistic environment, learning fast to deal with shocking situations with no help or sympathy from her superiors. Then comes her involvement in her first murder case.
'Classic Lynda, a fabulous read' — MARTINA COLE
\\Lynda La Plante's Widows is now a major motion picture\\
#2
Hidden Killers
2016
From BAFTA award-winning creator of Prime Suspect, starring Helen Mirren, comes the blistering follow-up to the bestselling Tennison. 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. Her first call-out is to a non-suspicious death. The victim is a young mother, drowned tragically in her bath, leaving a bereft and doting husband and a young child.
The two storylines interweave as Jane begins to doubt the evidence against her assailant in East London, and becomes certain that the young woman in the bath did not drown in tragic circumstances. Two entirely different cases but one common thread - the lingering doubt in Jane’s mind around the evidence, and around her colleagues…
#3
Good Friday
2017
BEFORE PRIME SUSPECT THERE WAS TENNISON.
Every legend has a beginning . . .
During 1974 and 1975 the IRA subjected London to a terrifying bombing campaign. In one day alone, they planted seven bombs at locations across central London. Some were defused - some were not.
Jane Tennison is now a fully-fledged detective. On the way to court one morning, Jane passes through Covent Garden Underground station and is caught up in a bomb blast that leaves several people dead, and many horribly injured. Jane is a key witness, but is adamant that she can't identify the bomber. When a photograph appears in the newspapers, showing Jane assisting the injured at the scene, it puts her and her family at risk from IRA retaliation.
'Good Friday' is the eagerly awaited date of the annual formal CID dinner, due to take place at St Ermin's Hotel. Hundreds of detectives and their wives will be there. It's the perfect target. As Jane arrives for the evening, she realises that she recognises the parking attendant as the bomber from Covent Garden. Can she convince her senior officers in time, or will another bomb destroy London's entire detective force?
'La Plante excels in her ability to pick out the surprising but plausible details that give her portrayal of everyday life in a police station a rare ring of authenticity' Sunday Telegraph
#4
Murder Mile
2018
Prime Suspect
meets Ashes to Ashes as we see Jane Tennison starting out on her police career . . .
The fourth in the Sunday Times bestselling Jane Tennison thrillers, MURDER MILE is set at the height of the 'Winter of Discontent'. Can Jane Tennison uncover a serial killer?
February, 1979, 'The Winter of Discontent'. Economic chaos has led to widespread strikes across Britain.
Jane Tennison, now a Detective Sergeant, has been posted to Peckham CID, one of London's toughest areas. As the rubbish on the streets begins to pile up, so does the murder count: two bodies in as many days.
There are no suspects and the manner of death is different in each case. The only link between the two victims is the location of the bodies, found within a short distance of each other near Rye Lane in Peckham. Three days later another murder occurs in the same area. Press headlines scream that a serial killer is loose on 'Murder Mile' and that police incompetence is hampering the investigation.
Jane is under immense pressure to catch the killer before they strike again.Working long hours with little sleep, what she uncovers leaves her doubting her own mind.
'La Plante excels in her ability to pick out the surprising but plausible details that give her portrayal of everyday life in a police station a rare ring of authenticity' Sunday Telegraph
'Classic Lynda, a fabulous read' Martina Cole on HIDDEN KILLERS
#5
The Dirty Dozen
2019
The gritty new thriller from the Queen of Crime Drama and the fifth book in the Sunday Times bestselling Jane Tennison series.
Jane Tennison has worked hard to become the first female detective ever post to the infamous Flying Squad, or 'the Sweeney'. But the Dirty Dozen is a notorious boys' club, and Jane's new colleagues make it clear that they don't think a woman is up to the dangers of the job.
Dealing with some of London's most ruthless armed criminals, who think the only good cop is a dead cop, is no joke. Determined to prove she's as good as the men, Jane discovers from a reliable witness that a gang is going to carry out a massive robbery.
But she doesn't know who they are, or where and when they will strike . . .
Praise for Lynda La Plante
'Lynda La Plante practically invented the thriller' Karin Slaughter
'Classic Lynda - a fabulous read' Martina Cole
'Satisfyingly full of twists and turns' The Independent
'A rare ring of authenticity' Sunday Telegraph
'An absorbingly twisty plot' Guardian
#6
Blunt Force
2020
IT'S NOT JUST MURDER THAT IS IN THE SPOTLIGHT . . .
The blinding new Detective Jane Tennison thriller from the Queen of Crime Drama, Lynda La Plante.
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Things can't get much worse for detective Jane Tennison.
Unceremoniously kicked off the adrenaline-fuelled Flying Squad, she's been relegated to 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 Charlie Foxley has been found viciously beaten to death, his body dismembered and disembowelled.
As a big-time showbiz agent, Foxley had a lot of powerful friends - but even more enemies. And alongside her old friend DS Spencer Gibbs, Tennison must journey into the salacious world of show business to find the killer, before they strike again . . .
In Lynda La Plante's most gripping thriller yet, Tennison discovers that the brightest lights hide the darkest secrets - and the killer doesn't always hide in the shadows . . .
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PRAISE FOR LYNDA LA
'A compelling, clever plot with a brilliant cast of diverse characters. Utterly riveting' - RACHEL ABBOTT, million-selling author of ONLY THE INNOCENT
'Lynda La Plante practically invented the thriller' KARIN SLAUGHTER
'Nail-biting' DAILY MAIL
#7
Unholy Murder
2021
'Help me turn the coffin lid over.' Jane Tennison said, grabbing one end.
'What you looking for?' Doctor Pullen asked.
'I want to see the condition of the interior lining.'
'The right hand on the body has a broken fingernails, some are worn down to the fingertips.' Doctor Pullen informed them as they gently turned the lid over. The mouldy white satin lining was torn and hanging loose at the head end. Jane gently brushed it to one side revealing deep fingernail scratch marks on the interior metal.
'Oh my God,' Tennison exclaimed. 'She was buried alive.'
In Unholy Murder, Tennison must lift the lid on the most chilling murder case of her career to date . . .
#8
Dark Rooms
2022
SOMEONE WANTS YOU OUT OF THE PICTURE . . .
The thrilling new Detective Jane Tennison crime novel from the Queen of Crime Drama - now available in hardback, eBook and audiobook.
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Helena Lanark is the only one who knows about the horrors which once occurred in her family's house. The heiress of an immense family fortune, she now resides in a luxurious care home; her mind and memory fading fast.
Jane Tennison is leading a murder investigation into the recent brutal death of a young girl, her decomposed, starved body discovered in an old air raid shelter in the garden of the Lanark's now derelict house. Initially the focus is on identifying the victim, until another body is found hidden in the walls of the shelter.
As the investigation and search for answers intensifies, Jane travels to Australia. There she discovers the dark secret that the Lanark family has kept hidden for decades. A secret that not only threatens to bring down a family dynasty, but also places Jane Tennison in mortal danger . . .
Murder hides behind closed doors in Lynda La Plante's brilliant new Jane Tennison thriller.
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Praise for Lynda La
'The UK's most celebrated female crime author' - DAILY MAIL
'Thirty years on from writing Prime Suspect, La Plante is still delivering the goods' - THE TIMES
'Tough, brilliant and damaged, [Tennison] shook up the genre forever' - DAILY EXPRESS
'Lynda La Plante practically invented the thriller' - KARIN SLAUGHTER
#9
Taste of Blood
2023
Detective Jane Tennison made a bad choice.
She was the one who put in a transfer to the quiet, local police station in Bromley, keen to escape the relentless pressure of her former West End department.
Now she regrets her decision. The tedium of petty crime investigations even makes her question remaining in the force.
But then a complicated domestic assault case lands on her desk - one that might still result in a murder charge if the victim dies of his injuries.
The warring neighbours who witnessed the assault intrigue Jane. The case has a sinister underbelly, she can sense it. And when Jane discovers a handsome young boy had recently disappeared after the tragic death of his girlfriend, every family in the private close becomes a suspect.
As Tennison hunts for the link between the crimes, she uncovers a truth more shocking than she could have contemplated. One that will either make her career - or break it.
#10
Whole Life Sentence
2024
IT ENDS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN . . .
THE FINAL DETECTIVE JANE TENNISON THRILLER
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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. And one by one the cases that she has built from the ground up are taken from her - and the glory along with them.
Tennison has seen it all before - but this time feels different. Get the job done here and she will rise to a level never before reached by a woman. It's hers for the taking. She just has to do what she's been doing brilliantly for years: find her prime suspect . . .
Author
Lynda La Plante
Author · 64 books
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 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.
