Tennison by Lynda LaPlante

I have been on a reading binge with no end in sight. I am currently off my feet and have limited movement so I turned to my first love, books, to provide a mental escape from my physical prison. I also realized that I was “behind” in my goal for number of books read this year and suddenly put pressure on myself to catch up.  So for those who follow my blog, expect a barrage!!

I am sure many of you immediately recognize the name Tennison (as in Jane Tennison) as being the main character in LaPlante’s series of books turned to tv shows “Prime Suspect” which stars Helen Mirren. If you haven’t seen it, here is my shameless plug for Britbox. This online service curates all British television and has the whole “Prime Suspect” series available.

LaPlante has gone back to show us how Tennison became the cop and woman we know and love. This is very exciting because it takes us all the way back to the early 1970’s when Tennison was fresh out of the academy and at her first posting in Hackney.

Tennison is still green and in uniform when she becomes seconded to the major crimes unit and becomes involved with unraveling both a murder and an armed robbery. There is only one other woman working with Tennison and she acts as a mentor and sounding board for Tennison.

As usual, she is battling both the villains and the powers that be that believe women should not be part of the argy bargy in police work. As the story opens, Tennison is living with her parents and soon to be married sister in Maida Vale. We get a sense of her family and how they feel about her being a cop as well as starting to glimpse the kind of child she was – and we all know that Jane Tennison must have been a stubborn little so and so!

LaPlante does an amazing job recreating both the neighborhoods and the characters that populate her novels. In Tennison, this is an opportunity to answer all those questions we had about her career prior to the first “Prime Suspect” case that many of us discovered by seeing Helen Mirren inhabit the role.

We also get to see how Tennison started out obsessed with her work and how her personal and professional life often crosses boundaries. One thing I can assure readers is that Jane is as feisty and difficult as ever but we also see some of the things that influence her privately. 

After I finished this book, I went and bought two more. Yes, throw your book pillows at me now – it IS a series and therefore, if you are addicted like me, you have more reading in front of you! I am delighted to make the acquaintance of Tennison again and the superb writing keeps the pages turning. Five stars.