While there are issues with this novel, it's still a decent addition to the Anna Travis series for fans of police procedural mystery/thrillers. There is a good crime novel in Deadly Intent, but the book has too much filler, too much soul-searching drama, too much detail, and too many loose ends. If you're looking for an easy-to-read, frothy beach read, than look elsewhere.

Terrible for a plot that demands an unfamiliarity with both police procedure and basic logic, and an over-reliance on the type of plotting that made both Hunter and TJ Hooker brief stars in the 80s TV police drama constellation. I guess I can't really complain about this specifically as all the characters were poorly fleshed out, but the way the female characters were written in this book was atrocious. They're all either Anna (mousy but "good" at her job! super-rookie of the year!), abusive to children, prostitutes/drug addicts, gossips, or virginal teenagers. None of these characters actually seemed like a real person. Determined to earn the respect of her male colleagues, Anna stumbles on a vital piece of information which links one man to the killings, a much-loved actor on the brink of international stardom. His arrest would create a media frenzy. But if he were foundinnocent, his wouldn't be the only career over - Anna's hard fought for reputation would be destroyed once and for all … In 1983, Lynda La Plante wrote and produced the first season of Widows, a groundbreaking television drama about a group of women who band together to pull off a heist after their husbands are killed during a robbery. The show was a critical and commercial success, and La Plante won a BAFTA award for Best Drama Series. She followed up with several successful television dramas, including Prime Suspect, which starred Helen Mirren as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison. The show ran for seven seasons and is widely considered one of the greatest British television dramas of all time.I liked the main character Anna Travis. I thought the supporting characters did their job, and I enjoyed the sexual tension between Travis and Langton, her boss--maybe a bit of a trope, but effective all the same. I also liked the serial killer, who reminded me of Dorian Gray (one of my all time favorite villains/books.) La Plante’s influence on the crime drama genre cannot be overstated. Her strong female characters and gritty, realistic depictions of police work have inspired countless writers and filmmakers. She has also been an advocate for women’s rights and has used her platform to raise awareness about issues like domestic violence and sexual assault. La Plante is set to release her new Anna Travis book, Wrongful Death, this year. In this book, Travis and Langton are re-opening an old case that was thought to be a suicide.

Her first book went over extremely well, and other famous novels came to follow. One of her best known stories is The Talisman, published in 1987, closely followed by Bella Mafia in 1990. Soon afterward, she began work on Prime Suspect, which starred Helen Mirren. This opened the door for La Plante to win an Edgar-Award from the Mystery-Writers of America for her impressive work on the show. The books then go on to follow Anna Travis’s career in the police. In the second book, she is now a Detective Inspector and she is still working with her partner, James Langton. Above Suspicion But, when he finally gets what he’s yearned for all these years, a political scandal erupts around him and he is shunned into the shadows once again with no shred of a positive reputation left. Sir William Benedict is left with no choice but to exact revenge on those who have sabotaged his dreams…and Justin Chalmers and his sister Laura are about to discover just how dark revenge can be when exacted by a man who has nothing left. What Kind of Awards has La Plante Earned? Bloodline– Newly promoted DCI Anna Travis takes charge of an investigation for the first time. But is it purely a missing person’s case–or a full-blown murder inquiry? An ominous pool of blood and no victim lead Anna on a desperate hunt for a man who has disappeared without a trace. As Anna becomes obsessed with seemingly irrelevant details, her superintendent fears that she is losing control. With no body there is no case, and Anna is under increasing pressure to make an arrest.

Lorraine Page Books In Publication Order

I really enjoy the relationship of both characters and now, thanks to the TV dramas I can picture them too !!

Lynda La Plante is an award winning and bestselling English novelist and screenwriter. She is best known for her Prime Suspect ITV series starring Jane Tennison. Above Suspicion: Lynda La Plante's younger, sassier successor to Prime Suspect The Telegraph. 30 December 2008 The Travis/Langton history seems to be being rewritten. In the previous book, he not only did something highly illegal and unethical, but he threatened her career if she told anyone, saying he'd make sure everyone believed she was only making these accusations because he'd broken up with her. Langton has been something of a creep in all the books, but to me this showed a level of abuse that couldn't be excused in any way. Oddly, that aspect of the story is now being completely glossed over.Meanwhile, Anna was invited to the FBI Academy in Virginia for a ten week training course. She had been nominated by Langton after another detective had been unable to go, accompanying him for the special course. But he also told her to get the Reynolds case finalized before she could leave.