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Blunt Force

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Member Reviews

This was an interesting book and as an American I greatly enjoyed the glimpse into how police work is conducted in England. At times the writing was hard to get into, but the stories and characters were intriguing. I felt it left the reader with a lot of unanswered questions, but this is book 6 in a series that I imagine will continue and perhaps those questions will be answered in future volumes. The protagonist, Detective Sergeant Jane, has been demoted to a petty crimes unit after an incident she’s involved in results in a colleague shot. A murder on a prestigious agent shakes everything up and Jane finds herself engaging in real police work again. In a lot of ways this was a slow paced story but I will admit at the end things picked up a bit.

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Blunt Force is the sixth novel in Lynda La Plante's Jane Tennison series. This is the origin story of the one and only Jane Tennison, and thus is the story of how she became the confident investigator so many fans knew her to be.

Jane Tennison has had a rough go, as of late. She was removed from the Flying Squad, a busy and high-energy job that she loved, and sent to a much smaller and less glamorous station instead. On the bright side, there are still crimes worth diving into.

The most recent murder on her radar is going to send her into the world of theatre itself, as she struggles to understand why the victim was targeted. This is anything but an easy case, with more complications that Tennison could have ever anticipated.

Jane Tennison is back, and that means she's dealing with another brutal crime. You've got to admit, even in her early days, this is a woman who had a talent for finding the most complex (and bloody) cases out there.

Blunt Force was another interesting read in this crime drama series, portraying a version of Tennison who is struggling to make a place for herself in an un-accepting (and male-dominated) career. It makes for a heavy read at times, and that's before taking the murder into account.

I've loved every book I've read from this series so far, but I'll admit that this is probably my least favorite of the bunch. There was something about it that just didn't draw me in, not like the rest did. Maybe that's just me, or the mood I was in. Maybe it's because Tennison felt like she was being especially hard on herself this time around (that or I was more sensitive to it).

On the bright side, the murder mystery itself was quite intriguing, and I really enjoyed watching Tennison and her coworker peel back the layers to reveal the truth. This was probably one of the more complex murders yet, thanks to everything else going on – and how much trouble they had gaining access to information.

In short, Blunt Force was every bit the police procedural fans can expect. It's dark and gritty, and not afraid to dive into the details of investigative work. It's perfect for fans who love that genre, though I'd also recommend checking out the rest of the series as well (Murder Mile being my favorite).

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A whole slew of suspects and a look at the seedy side of showbiz will leave you curious all the way through. Well written with a ton of details and twists - it's exactly what you want in a police detective novel. For me, it was a slow but entertaining read and I was surprised by the conclusion.

My thanks to Netgalley for the complimentary title. Thoughts are my own.

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Lydia La Plante knows how to write crime drama as it's obvious in this adrenaline driven story that will have you guessing until the end. Twisty and dark the answer to this thriller is just out of your reach. Brilliant. A must read. Happy reading!

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Blunt Force
Lynda LaPlante
August 25, 2020

Jane Tennison, police detective extraordinaire, was starting her first day in a small headquarters in Belgravia. She had spent time with the Flying Squad and had done her best, yet for some unknown reason her boss DCI Murphy had downgraded her and taken her off the elite detective force. She questioned herself wondering what had gone wrong. She felt it might be time to start learning how to shoot a weapon rather than just researching them. She signed up via Dabs, her pal from the squad and was to meet for her first lesson at the Surbiton Postal Rifle Club with instructor Elliott Norman. There would be no mention of her training in Belgravia. She would play it by ear in her new ‘residence’ trying to work into the department. Good thoughts although her first week was hit with a horrendous murder discovery in the central part of London’s theatre world. Her new partner, Spencer Gibbs was also on the welcome to Belgravia.
The novel centers around Tennison, Gibbs and the particulars involving the case. The details were tangled amongst the family and coworkers of Charles Foxley, the movie producer, recently deceased. The plot was filled with characters and how they were involved with Foxley’s killing. The author chronicled the cast with almost too much information. This is my first Tennison mystery that I have read so I was not familiar with the plot twists she incorporates to readers who follow LaPlante’s Tennison series. The mystery itself was good just long to follow.
Blunt Force by Lynda LaPlante is published tomorrow, August 25, 2020 by Simon and Schuster.

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I just love the Jane Tennison' series books, and the way Jane is portrayed as a kickarse detective that doesn't let go until she gets her man. Recommended for anyone who loves a good read by a very talented author.

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Fans of Jane Tennison should note that this is set in 1983 and it's kind of a prequel, for want of a better word, to the Tennison we know. She's working in an ordinary police station doing the ordinary things that a DS does. Then, fortunately for her and unfortunately for him, Charlie Foxley is beaten to death with a cricket bat and the story takes off. Foxley was a theatrical agent so he's done some dirty dealing with a variety of people and their egos. Which one killed him? No spoilers from me but there are, of course, lots of suspects. This is a classic procedural which will sometimes remind you of the vast differences in crime solving in 1983 and today. It's interesting to see a younger Jane feel her way through the politics, let alone the policing. It does start a bit slowly but the plot is nicely complex. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

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This British crime novel is billed as a thriller, but I would call it a police procedural. Detective Sergeant Jane Tennison (the character played by Helen Mirren in the old Prime Suspect television series that many of us loved) and another detective plus their squad track down the killer in the very brutal murder of a London talent agent who represents a lot of television actors. The agent had a complicated life and quite a few enemies. This book features a young Jane who has just turned thirty, years before the time in which the television series was set. I enjoyed the London setting and the character of Jane Tennison.

Disclosure - I received a digital ARC (Advance Review Copy) from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

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I love Lynda LaPlante's Jane Tennison!
Ever since watching the BBC Prime Suspect tv series, I have always been interested in how Jane started in her career and how she holds her own and brings a new angle to solving a case, often through sheer determination.
She is compassionate, yet level headed.
Jane keeps her cool while delivering some zingers to those who deserve it!
In this book, Jane is reassigned to a different department, after a close call.
The narative starts with a heinous murder of a Hollywood-type agent, who leads a sordid double life and seemed a little convoluted to me towards the middle. I feel the police work was very long and involved and I was sometimes confused about who did what, but the twist at the end was great!

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In my review of the previous book in the (young) Jane Tennison series (The Dirty Dozen) I commented that I thought Jane was finally becoming more accepted by her male colleagues. Of course in that book she'd been appointed to the Flying Squad (the Sweeney) and very excited about it until she learned she was part of an experiment and—of course—things didn't go as planned.

When Blunt Force opens she's still a Detective Sergeant but posted to a small station and bored shitless. She's there with colleague Spencer who's also in the bad books and been sidelined. On a positive note... though she still seems to be the one fetching lunch and making tea and coffee, she and her abilities as a copper seem to be respected by her new colleagues.

Happily for Jane (and Spencer) they pick up a grisly murder case so get to escape the boring pickpockets and petty thefts.

I commented in my last two reviews that I was happy La Plante was settling for the one 'mystery' per book rather than several as was the case when this series kicked off. Even though some overlapped eventually it felt as if there were too many coincidences and both 'whodunnits' sometimes felt a little underdone. Here it's not the case and the murder of Charles Foxley is front and centre. The police are told Foxley was a bit of a prick (professionally) but in reality it seems few could have hated him enough to kill him so viciously. Of course he has his secrets and we delve into the world of prostitution and S & M. And I must admit I was actually surprised with the maturity and lack of shock it was accepted by the police officers involved given this must be set some time in the 1980s or so.

La Plante uses her knowledge of the entertainment industry to give us some insight into the games played behind the scenes. And she adds texture through the victim's complicated personal life, giving us a sense of the man who's dead before our arrival on the scene.

I experienced a sense of 'head hopping' on a couple of occasions. La Plante delivers the narrative from several points of view, but occasionally it felt as if I was privy to a thought or insight I shouldn't have been.

I very much liked Tennison's new boss (DCI Tyler) here and wondered if she'll stay put so we meet him again. In the past she's moved stations in each outing, though we've been given a few consistent support cast members along the way.

La Plante ends this in a way that offers closure but doesn't entirely giving us justice and I love that we continue to see how / why young Jane Tennison becomes the character we ultimately meet again in the Prime Suspect series.

This sixth in the young Jane Tennison series is another great read and La Plante continues to consistently deliver.

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"Jane Tennison must navigate the salacious world of theatre to solve a brutal murder in the heart of London's West End, in the brilliant new thriller from the Queen of Crime Drama, Lynda La Plante.

Things can't get much worse for detective Jane Tennison. Unceremoniously kicked off the adrenaline-fuelled Flying Squad, she now plies her trade in 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 seen: Charlie Foxley has been found viciously beaten to death with a cricket bat - his body dismembered and disembowelled.

As a big-time theatrical agent, Foxley had a lot of powerful friends - but just as many enemies. And alongside her old friend DS Spencer Gibbs, Tennison must journey into the salacious world of show business to find out which one is the killer, before they strike again."

I'd be happy if it was just a Jane Tennison mystery, but one in the world of theatre!?! YAS!

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I enjoy both the old Prime Suspect and the more recent Prime Suspect:Tennison series on PBS, so a while I thought I tried one of the Jane Tennison series books and enjoyed it.

Blunt Force is the sixth in this series about the early career of Tennison.

Jane has been kicked off the Flying Squad, which investigates armed robberies, and is now working in the usually quiet district of Knightsbridge, seeing to such crimes as shoplifting from Harrod’s. But a grisly murder of a famous theatrical agent changes that.
A sub plot refers back to the time Jane was on the Squad.

Although I was engaged throughout, this is not a page turner; but this is not a criticism. It is a true police procedural with emphasis on the procedural. Well written, with a solid plot, there is good character development and interactions as we begin to see the evolution of Jane into one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in London whom we know so wel from Prime Suspect.

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Thank you Netgalley and Zaffre for the eARC of this book for free. This review is my honest opinion and strictly voluntary.
This is the latest book in the Jane Tennison series by author Lynda La Plante, but the first I’ve read in the Tennison series. I also have not seen Prime Suspect. While I’ve not read the other books in the series, I didn’t feel like I was terribly lost.
Jane and her partner, Spencer Gibbs, are investigating the brutal murder of Charles Foxley, an entertainment representative with many enemies. His ex-wife quickly becomes a suspect. There are many other potential suspects and it’s an arduous investigation.
Prior to this investigation, Jane had been a member of the Flying Squad and had gotten kicked off the team as a result of an incident during an arrest. Now that she’s working in a local precinct, she feels a bit unsure of herself and her abilities so she starts taking shooting lessons at the suggestion of a friend. Her instructor, Elliott, is a bit harsh and they exchange words a couple of times.
I found the writing a bit clunky at times and the storyline a bit slow, especially at the beginning while she’s developing her characters. After that, it pulled me in and I enjoyed the different twists this story took.

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Although I've seen all of the new Tennison television episodes, this was my first Tennison novel, and I thought it was terrific. Readers under the age of thirty might be surprised at the casual misogyny of many of Tennison's superiors and people she encounters or interviews. But this is the way it truly was. BLUNT FORCE's main plot concerns the murder of a film agent, and so many of the characters are deliciously flamboyant and melodramatic. As glamorous as that world might sound, La Plante reveals its tawdry and exploitative nature not just through the crime, but in its players' immature and purely selfish actions. I particularly enjoyed the secondary characters--the secretaries and models and service and security people whose actions and information are so critical to solving the main crime. La Plante also ties her story to subjects that contemporary readers will find fascinating and familiar--specifically film industry sexual abuse and religiously-motivated punishments. Can't wait to see this story on the screen as well.

I received a complimentary copy of BLUNT FORCE from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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This is my first Jane Tennison read and I can't wait to read the others. Jane has just been transferred from the Flying Squad to a small police station with only petty crimes to work on. The discovery of a vicious and bloody murder starts a new case for Jane and her team. As always a brilliantly written storyline with various plots keeping the pages turning.

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I don't know about you, but I am thoroughly enjoying the new Tennison pre-series, which is taking us back through the early days of women in the British police force! It's hard sometimes to reckon this more naive Tennison, with the Tennison we all know and love, from the Prime Suspect era at times. But like all of us, she started out with a noble idea, then had some setbacks and is growing and maturing along the way, as she doesn't give up. It's what ultimately MAKES her the Tennison we all love. a Plant had an excellent idea, when she decided to go back and let her readers see what MADE her great character the woman she is. It allows us to literally, see her grow up, and mature, and that is not something readers generally get to do!

In this book, she seems stuck behind a desk with minor crime and doomed for punishment. Until suddenly a good ol murder gets thrown at her squad, but ultimately there are too many enemies and no arrest, so bigger guns get called int, but even they can't solve the crime. It takes the skill of Tennison and Gibbs to uncover vital info and break the case free. Will this end up with bigger things for their careers? Time will tell. With more going on than they realize way higher up, recompense may be in the cards for both. This book leaves you eagerly waiting for the next book in the series!

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I’d read a few Lynda La Plante books many years ago and really enjoyed them so I was really looking forward to this. However, I must admit that I found this rather long and complicated story less than exhilarating. This book is like a prequel to the Jane Tennison story. She has recently been kicked out of the Sweeney under a cloud as a raid went wrong, Jane froze and another officer was shot and injured. So now, working as a Detective Sargeant in an ordinary police station she is spending her days chasing shoplifters and other minor criminals - until a murder occurs on her patch. Charles Foxley, a well known and successful theatrical agent, is brutally killed in his home.

Foxley was a complex and haunted man and there is no shortage of people who may have wanted him dead. But there is a distinct lack of anything concrete to tie anyone to the crime. The police investigation is laborious and it was a bit laborious reading about it as every aspect of the case is chronicled in minute detail. What was lacking for me was a sense of drama, of something exciting about to happen. Instead it was exceedingly matter-of-fact.

In summary I can’t say that I particularly enjoyed this. It was well written and the characters were well developed but I thought it was overly detailed and I just didn’t find it that interesting. I am sure, however, that Jane Tennison fans will enjoy reading this and learning how Jane came to be the formidable police officer that we are all familiar with. Thanks to Netgalley, Bonnier Zaffre USA and Lynda La Plante for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Oh dear, Jane Tennison, has hit bad times in her career again. Now semi isolated in a small offshoot station Jane works what could be the biggest crime of her career. Is she up to it? Of course she is/isn’t she. I have loved Jane since the early bbc shows and while I prefered her as an untouched superhero, I realize I now adore her with all her flaws and sores.

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It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last because I liked it.
A solid mystery that kept me guessing, well developed characters and a vivid historical background.
I recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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I’d like to thank Bonnier Zaffre USA and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Blunt Force’ by Lynda La Plante in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Detective Jane Tennison has been demoted from the Flying Squad to a small station in Gerald Road, Knightsbridge, where nothing of magnitude ever happens. Following complaints of a dog barking in a neighbour’s home, the police attend and find the badly mutilated body of theatrical agent Charles Foxley. DS Jane Tennison and DS Spencer Gibbs are tasked with questioning the staff at the agency where the victim worked and discovering who hated him enough to want him dead.

I’m a great fan of Jane Tennison in TV’s Prime Suspect and also on paper so I was delighted to be offered the chance to read ‘Blunt Force’. Although it’s been well-written and has an interesting storyline, I’ve found it rather slow and drawn-out, and I’ve had trouble getting to the end. It seemed rather old-fashioned and set in the past when there were no mobile phones and the police had to find phone boxes to make calls, and there were too many references to stopping their enquiries to eat in the canteen. And where was the feisty Jane Tennison I’ve grown to admire for her ability to stand up for herself and lead of team of police officers in the most gruesome of murders? When I reached the end I thought the conclusion was abrupt and disappointing, and I’m sorry to say there wasn’t enough in this thriller to keep my attention from wandering.

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