Here we are – the 9th and most recently published of the Tennison series! This marks the last of my regular #TeamTennison reviews…until the publication of Book 10 in July!
Thanks to Compulsive Readers for inviting me on the tour and Zaffre Books for my review copy. As always, opinions are my own.
This book sees DI Tennison arriving at her new police station in Bromley, a posting that seems to have few advantages other than proximity to home. Nothing exciting happens in Bromley and Jane finds herself embroiled in a dispute between neighbours about shared access to the properties and boundary lines. As Jane’s new (female – see, things are changing in the Metropolitan Police!) boss tries to get her to close the case, DI Tennison senses that there’s more to the situation than a simple argument between neighbours. In defiance of her orders, Jane begins to uncover a deeply tragic tale and hidden secrets.
I feel like I’ve settled comfortably into this series – I kind of know what to expect, although La Plante does throw in some surprises along the way. We get a bit of Jane’s private life, an interesting crime scenario (there’s been a lot of variety here – Jane’s had a very varied career) and DI Tennison pushing the boundaries of her role. She has come a long way from the newbie in the sexist 1970s, but is still very much fighting her corner and policing in a more intuitive and less obedient way than her peers.
This featured an interesting mystery – a much more closed circle crime than some of the previous books, as all the key characters lived in the small community at the centre of the neighbourly dispute. I did think a nice map would have been helpful, especially as there was so much discussion about who lived where, who had access rights, where the boundaries were, who was in dispute with whom. I do love a map in a book and it would have been useful here.
As always, it’s lovely to see Tennison’s progression as a character pushing forward in a world dominated by men – even with a female boss, there’s not a lot of women in the Metropolitan Police and female solidarity is also a bit lacking. It’s good to see Tennison having success within her career, even as her personal life is not exactly running smoothly.
If you’ve followed Tennison from the start (Book 1 – ‘Tennison’) then you’ll find a lot more here to enjoy. If you haven’t read the earlier books, then I suggest you do!
