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kovi's review against another edition
4.0
A really good book. I loved it and I can't wait to read more from this author.
jcbmathcat's review against another edition
4.0
The second book in Lynda La Plante's Anna Travis series is another well-written book. Prior to reading this, I had already watched the BBC episodes. As with "Above Suspicion," the BBC version was faithful to the book. There were extra bits that added to the experience of reading the book, but I was pleased at the way the author's intent was preserved when bringing the story to television.
The books do focus more attention on the relationship, or whatever it might be, that exists between Travis and her superior, Langton. Both are driven by their police work, so it is doubtful that any sort of fulfilling relationship can ever develop. According to the time frame, Travis has been involved in several murder cases since she last worked with Langton.
The murder of Louise Pennel is identical to the murder of Elizabeth Short, known as The Black Dahlia. Travis, Langton, and the rest of the murder squad spend about 31 days trying to discover the identity of the murderer and then find evidence on which to convict him.
I plan to finish the current books in this series, although I believe only three of them have been made into television programs at this point in time.
The books do focus more attention on the relationship, or whatever it might be, that exists between Travis and her superior, Langton. Both are driven by their police work, so it is doubtful that any sort of fulfilling relationship can ever develop. According to the time frame, Travis has been involved in several murder cases since she last worked with Langton.
The murder of Louise Pennel is identical to the murder of Elizabeth Short, known as The Black Dahlia. Travis, Langton, and the rest of the murder squad spend about 31 days trying to discover the identity of the murderer and then find evidence on which to convict him.
I plan to finish the current books in this series, although I believe only three of them have been made into television programs at this point in time.
mrsbooknerd's review against another edition
2.0
I have read a number of Anna Travis novels now, though entirely out of order, but I don't really enjoy them. The issues that I had with this novel I remember having with the other novels as well. I think 'The Red Dahlia' has convinced me not to try another.
My biggest problem is that I do not like Anna. Anna is as dull as dishwater - probably less so because sometimes dishwater has little floating bits that keep it a bit exciting. She has no spark or personality. She lives to work and has no other interests or hobbies etc to give her depth. She seems to exist just for the sake of these books, I never feel like the book I am reading just happens to occur amidst Anna's life. I'm not sure if that makes sense.
She never 'gets' anyone's jokes, she finds things inappropriate, she gets offended... she just seems like a right stick in the mud and I don't enjoy reading about her.
I also really dislike this - and I am going to heavily emphasise the use of sarcastic quote marks here - 'romance' with Langton. Langton isn't the most likeable of characters either, he seems a bit pushy and arrogant and non-committal and he is evidently an alcoholic. I think if it was written better then the addition of a proper 'romance' would give such a series a real interest point, but I didn't come away from the novel thinking that Anna and Langton were end game.
I actually enjoyed the initial plot with the really gruesome murders and the shadowing of an older crime. However, it very quickly became repetitive and the pacing dwindled away.
There was too much of the police having no progress and Anna typing up reports. Every day that passed Anna typed up her report. Good Girl, Anna. Doing your homework.
There was too much interviewing, going away, reinterviewing, going away, interview again... it was boring. I'm not saying that everyone should have just outright told the police everything that they knew, but the format could at least have changed a bit. The people being interviewed could have changed.
Once we had a prime suspect the book just became a farce. There was very little progression and quite a lot of guess work and fishing. It seemed that the two victims were forgotten and instead pages and pages were given to trying to make the suspect seem utterly deviant. Descriptions of sexual depravity that were repeated several times as if to reinforce the fact that the bad guy was a bad guy. Was it bad enough that the suspect had killed two women in a very gruesome manner? Yes. But La Plante didn't seem to think so, she she threw in familial abuse, abortions, incest, rape, group sex, suicide ... your basic tick list of things that can be used to make a bad guy, but this one had all of them.
It was all just too much.
This book was a good 150+ pages too long. The pacing massively dwindled once we had a suspect and Anna is a wet blanket. I'm not sure that I am going to read another in this series.
My biggest problem is that I do not like Anna. Anna is as dull as dishwater - probably less so because sometimes dishwater has little floating bits that keep it a bit exciting. She has no spark or personality. She lives to work and has no other interests or hobbies etc to give her depth. She seems to exist just for the sake of these books, I never feel like the book I am reading just happens to occur amidst Anna's life. I'm not sure if that makes sense.
She never 'gets' anyone's jokes, she finds things inappropriate, she gets offended... she just seems like a right stick in the mud and I don't enjoy reading about her.
I also really dislike this - and I am going to heavily emphasise the use of sarcastic quote marks here - 'romance' with Langton. Langton isn't the most likeable of characters either, he seems a bit pushy and arrogant and non-committal and he is evidently an alcoholic. I think if it was written better then the addition of a proper 'romance' would give such a series a real interest point, but I didn't come away from the novel thinking that Anna and Langton were end game.
I actually enjoyed the initial plot with the really gruesome murders and the shadowing of an older crime. However, it very quickly became repetitive and the pacing dwindled away.
There was too much of the police having no progress and Anna typing up reports. Every day that passed Anna typed up her report. Good Girl, Anna. Doing your homework.
There was too much interviewing, going away, reinterviewing, going away, interview again... it was boring. I'm not saying that everyone should have just outright told the police everything that they knew, but the format could at least have changed a bit. The people being interviewed could have changed.
Once we had a prime suspect the book just became a farce. There was very little progression and quite a lot of guess work and fishing. It seemed that the two victims were forgotten and instead pages and pages were given to trying to make the suspect seem utterly deviant. Descriptions of sexual depravity that were repeated several times as if to reinforce the fact that the bad guy was a bad guy. Was it bad enough that the suspect had killed two women in a very gruesome manner? Yes. But La Plante didn't seem to think so, she she threw in familial abuse, abortions, incest, rape, group sex, suicide ... your basic tick list of things that can be used to make a bad guy, but this one had all of them.
It was all just too much.
This book was a good 150+ pages too long. The pacing massively dwindled once we had a suspect and Anna is a wet blanket. I'm not sure that I am going to read another in this series.
scarlettg95's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ericwelch's review against another edition
3.0
Lynda La Plante can be quite uneven. Her [b:Sleeping Cruelty|1541958|Sleeping Cruelty|Lynda La Plante|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1184948586s/1541958.jpg|1534173] strained credulity; [b:Bella Mafia|1188998|Bella Mafia|Lynda La Plante|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181757090s/1188998.jpg|1176997] was unfinishable. Her forte, I believe is her police procedural series Trial and Retribution and the Anne Travis series, of which Red Dahlia is one, are much better. Her view of the British upper crust is not pleasant. They are cruel, insensitive, brutal, and perverted. It would be interesting to know if this attitude stems from personal experience. Note there is a connection to Ellroy's [b:The Black Dahlia|21704|The Black Dahlia|James Ellroy|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167323078s/21704.jpg|434] - an excellent book, btw. The killer is emulating the unsolved Black Dahlia murder although I don't think La Plante ties them together particularly well.
beccajbooks's review against another edition
5.0
One of my all time favourite books, is Above Suspicion by Lynda La Plante. I read it such a long time ago and I absolutely loved it as soon as I started it. The Red Dahlia is the second book in the Anna Travis series, and I’ve wanted to read it for ages.
It was everything I hoped it would be. It was fast paced, thrilling, detailed, exciting and suspenseful. I got to the final pages and didn’t want it to end – well I kind of did, the baddie needed putting down!
The story is about Anna Travis, a police detective, who gained experience of homicide detection from her first case in Above Suspicion, and now must use that experience to solve a new crime. Somebody is killing women in a gruesome way that mirrors a murder in America over 50 years ago called, by the press, The Black Dahlia. The new murder victim is given the moniker The Red Dahlia, due to a red flower in her hair. (Clever, these press peeps)!
There is conflict in the department, when Anna’s old boss and love interest gets drafted in to head up the team. But Anna soon finds comfort in the form of a reporter who the killer happens to be contacting about his crimes.
Will Anna catch the bad guy? Will her relationship with a reporter hinder the case? Will her relationship with the Guv reignite? Who killed the Red Dahlia??
This was suspense filled and very well paced. For a detective novel with only two murders, one of which has happened before the story starts, it doesn’t have any dull moments. We follow Anna and the team as they get clues, interview suspects, gather evidence, and as we go along we feel more excited that we are going finally be able to get this guy. There are frustrating moments where we think he is off the hook, but justice usually prevails in these kind of books.
There is a lot of detail about the evidence gathering and the procedures used. I found this really interesting, some may find this a little repetitive, but I thought it added a narrative to the story. We could see how close, and yet how very far they were from catching this guy.
It is hard to know where to lay your sympathy in this story. There are two sisters, whom we feel very sympathetic for, due to what has happened to them. But they just don’t seem to want to help themselves or the police. The son, Edward, is just a bit odd. He has been coerced by his father to do all sorts of things, from a very young age. So I kind of felt conflicted about whether to feel sorry for him or not.
The TV adaptation of the Anna Travis series was fantastic. They ran under the title Above Suspicion and were based very closely on the books. The casting of Kelly Reilly was perfect – she is an excellent Anna Travis. This is one instance where the TV/film is as good as the book.
Thoroughly recommended to all police procedural, crime/thriller fans. Definitely pick up a Lynda La Plante, this is a perfect place to start. Although, be warned, it is VERY graphic in places and quite gruesome! :)
www.thebeautifulbookbreak.com
It was everything I hoped it would be. It was fast paced, thrilling, detailed, exciting and suspenseful. I got to the final pages and didn’t want it to end – well I kind of did, the baddie needed putting down!
The story is about Anna Travis, a police detective, who gained experience of homicide detection from her first case in Above Suspicion, and now must use that experience to solve a new crime. Somebody is killing women in a gruesome way that mirrors a murder in America over 50 years ago called, by the press, The Black Dahlia. The new murder victim is given the moniker The Red Dahlia, due to a red flower in her hair. (Clever, these press peeps)!
There is conflict in the department, when Anna’s old boss and love interest gets drafted in to head up the team. But Anna soon finds comfort in the form of a reporter who the killer happens to be contacting about his crimes.
Will Anna catch the bad guy? Will her relationship with a reporter hinder the case? Will her relationship with the Guv reignite? Who killed the Red Dahlia??
This was suspense filled and very well paced. For a detective novel with only two murders, one of which has happened before the story starts, it doesn’t have any dull moments. We follow Anna and the team as they get clues, interview suspects, gather evidence, and as we go along we feel more excited that we are going finally be able to get this guy. There are frustrating moments where we think he is off the hook, but justice usually prevails in these kind of books.
There is a lot of detail about the evidence gathering and the procedures used. I found this really interesting, some may find this a little repetitive, but I thought it added a narrative to the story. We could see how close, and yet how very far they were from catching this guy.
It is hard to know where to lay your sympathy in this story. There are two sisters, whom we feel very sympathetic for, due to what has happened to them. But they just don’t seem to want to help themselves or the police. The son, Edward, is just a bit odd. He has been coerced by his father to do all sorts of things, from a very young age. So I kind of felt conflicted about whether to feel sorry for him or not.
The TV adaptation of the Anna Travis series was fantastic. They ran under the title Above Suspicion and were based very closely on the books. The casting of Kelly Reilly was perfect – she is an excellent Anna Travis. This is one instance where the TV/film is as good as the book.
Thoroughly recommended to all police procedural, crime/thriller fans. Definitely pick up a Lynda La Plante, this is a perfect place to start. Although, be warned, it is VERY graphic in places and quite gruesome! :)
www.thebeautifulbookbreak.com
pescarox's review against another edition
4.0
A killer in London is imitating the famous Blue Dahlia case of Los Angeles in the 1940s. DI Anna Travis is assigned to the case. The lead investigator is replaced by her lover from the previous (and first) book of the series: James Langton. The plot hangs together nicely, the romantic element is not necessary, but is a nice touch. It's not Prime Suspect, Anna is not nearly as compelling as Jane Tennison, but it'll do.
dozylocal's review against another edition
2.0
1.5 stars
The only reason I didn't put this down as a "will not finish" is because I wanted to know who the murderer was. So the plot was ok. The writing, however, was painful. Slow paced and wooden. Don't bother.
The only reason I didn't put this down as a "will not finish" is because I wanted to know who the murderer was. So the plot was ok. The writing, however, was painful. Slow paced and wooden. Don't bother.
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