Thanks to Compulsive Readers and Zaffre Books for my place on #TeamTennison! It has been a delight to read the Tennison series, following Jane Tennison from her first police job to her role here as a Detective Sergeant. Thanks for my copy of the book for review – opinions are entirely my own.
In this – the seventh in the series – Jane is called in to investigate the death of a young nun found inside a sealed metal coffin by a group of builders developing an old convent. At first, nothing seems amiss – but closer inspection of the body suggests that the woman could have been murdered. As senior police officers try to write it off as a cold case, Tennison is not so convinced and works to uncover the identity of the nun – and how she came to be in the ground.
As with the previous books, this could be read as a standalone and it works as an engaging and well-plotted police procedural. However, there is more joy in reading the series in order and embarking on Jane’s career with her – for this, you need to start with ‘Tennison’ and learn all about the events and placements and relationships that have brought DS Tennison to this point.
It’s a much more confident Jane Tennison that we now see in these later books in the series – she has the courage of her convictions and makes far fewer mistakes than previously. She has also learnt the benefits of relationship-building with her colleagues and her partnership with Boon (‘Boony’) is much more stable and supportive than with some of the tricky workmates she has dealt with in previous books. There is much less sense of police corruption than previously too – sure, they aren’t all angels, but they mostly aren’t totally evil either. I’m glad the series has moved away from this for a bit as it isn’t my favourite crime trope.
Once again, La Plante has managed to write a Tennison book that feels completely fresh – something of a coup, surely, seven books in to a series! Previously we’ve had IRA bombings, serial killers, armed robbery and now we have essentially a cold case. It’s a new, slightly slower-paced Tennison story and I really felt the police procedural elements fall into place as the team worked to identify the woman and then build her back-story from the smallest clues. It’s obviously well-researched as the investigation felt authentic – the forensics, the team, the setbacks, the systems.
I’d recommend this if you’re already immersed in Jane Tennison’s world – this is a great addition to an already very strong series. If you haven’t met Jane Tennison yet (in her younger, pre-‘Prime Suspect’ days) then what are you waiting for?!
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