“IT ENDS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN . . .”
Set to be published on 4th July and the tenth (and final) book in Lynda La Plante‘s Tennison series, Whole Life Sentence follows 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 the rampant sexism, the snide remarks, the undermining. Then she gets her first 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.
Rating: 
Thank you to the published for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve always wanted to read a book by Lynda La Plante so I jumped at the chance to read her latest. I was worried I might feel out of my depth with this being the final book in the Tennison series, which itself is a prequel to Prime Suspect, as I knew there was a lot of character development that I would have missed out on. But I immediately felt like I knew Jane and liked her immensely.
From the start, I didn’t want to put this book down. The were two cases developing alongside each other, both of which were really interesting, and the police procedural aspects were described really well. Even though Jane was settling into a new job, it was great to see her in action, taking charge, and knowing where to look for answers. I also appreciated that she had a life outside of the office, which you don’t often see in detective stories!
Although the crimes were just my cup of tea – with murder, motives, and misdirections – what gripped me the most was the atmosphere in the workplace. Sexism is rife, and it was both thought-provoking to think how women made it through the day having to deal with these kinds of people, but also triumphant to see Jane succeed (mostly) despite every male character trying to stop her.
However, as someone who hasn’t read any of the other books in this series, the misogyny did feel like an obstacle to me, as a reader, as well. At the start, it feels like an important part to the story and it’s shocking to think that not much has changed for women in this career since this book was set. But towards the end, it means that Jane is shut out of investigation, at a time when I wanted her to be getting to an epic conclusion.
Had this been the first book in the series, I imagine it would have been handled differently, keeping the reader at the centre of the investigation. But instead, it’s obvious that these obstacles for Jane are a big part of her story in Prime Suspect as “it ends where it all began”. Therefore, I imagine that Jane had to be shut out because this is what drives her character in the following books, meaning that these developments are important to Jane’s character arch, so I can appreciate these decisions at the same time, and I’m sure they will feel very fitting for fans of the series.
And even so, Jane works hard to ensure that she gets the answers she needs, and I loved her determination despite everybody blocking her path. She’s definitely a character I want to read more about. I can already tell that this will be a new favourite series for me!
Now where do I begin – Prime Suspect, or the start of Tennison?!
Details:
Whole Life Sentence by Lynda La Plante
Series: Tennison #10
Release Date: 4th July 2024
Print Length: 432 pages
Genre: Detective Thriller
Publisher: Zaffre
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