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kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
1.0
WRONGFUL DEATH is the ninth book in the Anna Travis series from Lynda La Plante. Which therefore requires a confession. I started to struggle with this series around book 4 (DEADLY INTENT), and never managed to finish book 5 (SILENT SCREAM) or book 6 (BLIND FURY). So on the upside, I did manage to finish WRONGFUL DEATH. On the downside it was a disappointment.
Whilst the central premise, the re-investigation of the death of Josh Reynolds was an interesting idea, the cast of characters flat out didn't work for me. Can't remember the last time I've encountered so many characters that it was almost impossible to understand or connect with. In the earlier books I did finish, Anna Travis was a complicated and prickly character, but a dedicated investigator. In WRONGFUL DEATH she's still prickly and complicated, but considerably less convincing about it. A caricature.
Having said that, for the life of me I could not work out why Senior FBI Agent Jessie Dewar. What on earth she was doing there, why she had to be so universally unpleasant, difficult, opinionated, escaped me completely. Unless she was there to be the token out of step foreigner? Still can't get it straight in my own mind.
Then there's the rest of the office staff with the token over-worked, put upon one; the lazy, flittery one who never does anything but makes a lot of noise anyway, and the steady bloke in the background. Just a few too many caricatures.
Not helped by the presence somewhere in the upper echelons of DCS James Langton which also seemed odd. He seemed to bounce in, all in charge, and then bounce out all flustered by the higher up-upper echelons having it in for him. And then there was something about his marriage, and his past relationship with Travis, and then... to be honest I lost interest. Not quite before Travis heads off to the US, gets into another relationship, solves the local problems and steams back to the UK all ready to pick up the Reynolds case and solve it in one big bound....
And therein lies the biggest problem with this book, it starts out as slow as treacle, with only the characters to engage interest. And they don't. The plot then heads off into somewhere-else land and when everything's righted there, our hero returns to the UK to save that day as well. Which left me wondering even more what on earth Senior FBI Agent Jessie Dewar was there for.
Reading, as I do, rather a lot of crime fiction in a year, it's normally possible to find something positive. In the earlier books, even in the last one I finished, Travis was a good character who could lift a book's ranking, even one that has a flawed plot, or a lot of filler, or some daft red herrings. In WRONGFUL DEATH, however, she's not strong enough for that much heavy lifting.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/wrongful-death-lynda-la-plante
Whilst the central premise, the re-investigation of the death of Josh Reynolds was an interesting idea, the cast of characters flat out didn't work for me. Can't remember the last time I've encountered so many characters that it was almost impossible to understand or connect with. In the earlier books I did finish, Anna Travis was a complicated and prickly character, but a dedicated investigator. In WRONGFUL DEATH she's still prickly and complicated, but considerably less convincing about it. A caricature.
Having said that, for the life of me I could not work out why Senior FBI Agent Jessie Dewar. What on earth she was doing there, why she had to be so universally unpleasant, difficult, opinionated, escaped me completely. Unless she was there to be the token out of step foreigner? Still can't get it straight in my own mind.
Then there's the rest of the office staff with the token over-worked, put upon one; the lazy, flittery one who never does anything but makes a lot of noise anyway, and the steady bloke in the background. Just a few too many caricatures.
Not helped by the presence somewhere in the upper echelons of DCS James Langton which also seemed odd. He seemed to bounce in, all in charge, and then bounce out all flustered by the higher up-upper echelons having it in for him. And then there was something about his marriage, and his past relationship with Travis, and then... to be honest I lost interest. Not quite before Travis heads off to the US, gets into another relationship, solves the local problems and steams back to the UK all ready to pick up the Reynolds case and solve it in one big bound....
And therein lies the biggest problem with this book, it starts out as slow as treacle, with only the characters to engage interest. And they don't. The plot then heads off into somewhere-else land and when everything's righted there, our hero returns to the UK to save that day as well. Which left me wondering even more what on earth Senior FBI Agent Jessie Dewar was there for.
Reading, as I do, rather a lot of crime fiction in a year, it's normally possible to find something positive. In the earlier books, even in the last one I finished, Travis was a good character who could lift a book's ranking, even one that has a flawed plot, or a lot of filler, or some daft red herrings. In WRONGFUL DEATH, however, she's not strong enough for that much heavy lifting.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/wrongful-death-lynda-la-plante
lottie_c's review
dark
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
racheleanne06's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This wouldn’t be a book I would usually pull of the shelf, but my uncle read this book and recommended it to me and I thought, why not give it a go?
I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. It’s thrilling, and immersive and I found the plot to be incredibly interesting. It’s full of so many twists and turns and I enjoyed it so much more than I was expecting. The way the clues come together is both extremely satisfying and yet unexpected, I was thrown off-guard a few times! The plot is extremely clever and a lot of fun to unravel.
I am not 100% sure why we slid off the tracks for two separate mysteries in the middle of this book but I did enjoy reading about them too so I didn’t mind too much. I am just not sure what their significance was on the main plot? Regardless I would look forward to trying another of Lynda’s books in the future.
I would like to note that although this is book 9, it reads really well as a standalone too.
I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. It’s thrilling, and immersive and I found the plot to be incredibly interesting. It’s full of so many twists and turns and I enjoyed it so much more than I was expecting. The way the clues come together is both extremely satisfying and yet unexpected, I was thrown off-guard a few times! The plot is extremely clever and a lot of fun to unravel.
I am not 100% sure why we slid off the tracks for two separate mysteries in the middle of this book but I did enjoy reading about them too so I didn’t mind too much. I am just not sure what their significance was on the main plot? Regardless I would look forward to trying another of Lynda’s books in the future.
I would like to note that although this is book 9, it reads really well as a standalone too.
halfpotato_halfcheese's review against another edition
3.0
Another good book in the series. Easy crime drama, with good characters. Would have liked to have more plot twists and a bit more of a big ending, still feel like I have unanswered questions but I guess that means there’ll be another book in the series.
wendoxford's review against another edition
4.0
So fast paced you can hardly put it down but hey! that's the joy of another Anna Travis case. Very flawed with a rather unnecessary leap across the Pond and several irritating character traits within the team. However, a full-on complex plot and a relatively credible outcome so long as you use the few drops of suspending belief in detective fiction because you love it so much!
thelittlebookiex's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed the story line but with Langton announcing he was leaving I feel there needed to be more closure in Anna's personal life. Also there was no mention of Don Blane again.. way to leave a girl hanging.
kazgriki's review against another edition
2.0
I only read one-third through this book and lost interest, which is disappointing for me as this is my first Lynda La Plante novel and I know she is an acclaimed crime writer. What didn't I like? Well... primarily, I found the pace very slow. I think she could have cut out some of the Anna/Agent Dewar interactions and got on with the plot. Maybe it's because this is the ninth in a series, maybe it's because Lynda La Plante's reputation goes before her, but I felt little effort was made to engage me, the reader, from the start.
hayley_loves_books's review against another edition
3.0
Lynda la Plante is always a good read. Anna Travis and James Langton almost seem like familiar friends due to this being the ninth instalment in the series. An enjoyable but complex plot and a little far fetched by the end. Not as good as some of the others in the series but an entertaining read all the same.
hlandes1's review
4.0
Nice read although it's unclear what the FBI storyline was about - perhaps it will become clear in the next book.