Murder Mile

What an entertaining read! This is my first Lynda La Plante novel, but all the evidence points to it not being the last. To my delight this book can be read as a standalone. There are some references to Jane's past cases (not sure if they are actually from previous books), but nothing to put the reader in the dark. However, this book made me interested in Jane Tennison and I would like to read more about her. I liked her a lot as a detective and as a person.

I didn't really know what I was getting into when I started reading the book (I received it from someone and I didn't ask or look up info about it before reading), but I enjoyed it from the very first pages. The conclusion of the book wasn't mind blowing, but everything leading to it was great. ‘Murder Mile' is an entertaining and informative read, especially for me since I am quite new to the genre and also because I was not familiar with some of the historical facts presented in the book. Speaking of history, I loved everything about it. In a letter addressed to the reader at the end of the book, Lynda La Plante wrote: “I was interested, however, in what effect the three-day week and the many strikes we faced might have on a murder investigation” and I have to admit I am weak for these type of things, real life interlocking with fiction. I also have to thank Lynda La Plante for wondering and deciding to find out how a murder investigation would go in those circumstances so that I, and others, could have the joy of reading about it.

Now that it's clear how I feel about the plot, I'm going to move on to the characters. I loved how real everyone was. Reading about some of them made me think about people I know and how I perceive them. The detectives are the ‘good guys' so it was really fun to read about their mistakes and how they can be shitty people too. At first I thought I might really dislike some of the characters, but reading more it was hard to do so. There's nothing black and white about this book.

Jane was so great, she is a good capable detective who still makes mistakes, but is learning from them. I enjoyed her thought process and seeing her trying to come up with the best course of action. She is not some type of flawless, perfect character, she is a regular person and I think that's why I liked her so much. She is also someone who tries to make herself heard in a sexist environment. She is one tough lady.

Reading some of the other reviews I am glad this is the first book I read since they promise a more confident and straightforward Jane in the other novels. That does make sense since the Jane in ‘Murder Mile' is a just promoted detective and the one in the other books is a well seasoned detective. This is exciting. Knowing that, do I recommend ‘Murder Mile'? Of course I do, it is a really good read!