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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was better than I imagined it would be based on the fact that the author was asked to write it for a television series (which I love!). Jane was mostly unlikable and despised by her fellow officers, which was believable based on her personality and the era in which it takes place. The problem was that the officers made a complete turn-around that seemed unwarranted and unsupported by the actions in the story. I probably will move on to the next in the series at some point.
A lot of plot holes near the end of the book and one very stupid move by the antagonist that made me laugh out loud (you'll know it - it's so jarring because it's completely out of character). It might work on TV, but in a book where there's time to develop characters and plot, the novel feels poorly paced (almost everything important happens in the last 20 or so pages).
Tennison's boyfriend comes off as whiny and selfish. He doesn't seem to understand Jane or that she's in the middle of a murder investigation and it's a make or break case for her. In contrast, the boyfriend (whose name I've forgotten already) is relying on her to make a big, impressive meal so he win an important contract. This is where the novel shows it's age: not once does it occur to the boyfriend to figure how either 1. make the meal himself or 2. hire someone to do it for him.
And I've love to say that the attitudes and actions of Jane's male colleagues are antiquated, but alas, no. Some men still think and act in the crude and inappropriate way. Which is sort of depressing when you think about how little things for women have changed.
Tennison's boyfriend comes off as whiny and selfish. He doesn't seem to understand Jane or that she's in the middle of a murder investigation and it's a make or break case for her. In contrast, the boyfriend (whose name I've forgotten already) is relying on her to make a big, impressive meal so he win an important contract. This is where the novel shows it's age: not once does it occur to the boyfriend to figure how either 1. make the meal himself or 2. hire someone to do it for him.
And I've love to say that the attitudes and actions of Jane's male colleagues are antiquated, but alas, no. Some men still think and act in the crude and inappropriate way. Which is sort of depressing when you think about how little things for women have changed.
The first time I met Jane Tennison, it was in [b:Murder Mile|37666197|Murder Mile (Tennison, #4)|Lynda La Plante|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529160417l/37666197._SY75_.jpg|59268874]. I liked that book more than I did this one. Prime Suspect being—as I found out after I read it—an adaptation of the TV show with the same name, I guess it would have been expected for the book to feel a little off. Screenplay and novel writing are surely different. It was still very enjoyable. I like Jane Tennison very much, and I liked reading (well, listening to the audiobook narrated by Davina Porter) about her struggle to affirm herself. The sexism was present in Murder Mile too, but here? Oh boy! In any other book I don't think I would have managed to go through all the misogyny.
The plot wasn't that gripping. It was curious, I liked it, but it didn't keep me on edge. As far as the mystery goes, there's not much of that, but there is a good amount of thriller so I got that going for me.
Most of the characters were just a name. Except for Jane I didn't care much for any of the others. They were side characters with no actual characterisation or development. Jane didn't seem upset that her relationship was under a lot of stress, so I didn't feel anything about it. I certainly didn't think Jane actually loved her boyfriend. I did like how dedicated Jane was to her job and how she fought to be seen as an equal (also sad that she had to do that and that only a 'no other choice' situation allowed her to lead the case) and to some degree I agree that the people around her underestimate her and don't understand the importance of her job. It didn't even occur to some of them that she might be more than a secretary, and a shocking amount of people didn't think the victims deserved justice.
It is safe to say that more than the mystery-crime, this book is about Jane's struggle into a man's world, about her determination, her fearlessness, and her perseverance. She is willing to sacrifice anything in order to do her job, and doesn't hesitate to call out her less just colleagues.
Overall I just liked Jane Tennison a lot.
The plot wasn't that gripping. It was curious, I liked it, but it didn't keep me on edge. As far as the mystery goes, there's not much of that, but there is a good amount of thriller so I got that going for me.
Most of the characters were just a name. Except for Jane I didn't care much for any of the others. They were side characters with no actual characterisation or development. Jane didn't seem upset that her relationship was under a lot of stress, so I didn't feel anything about it. I certainly didn't think Jane actually loved her boyfriend. I did like how dedicated Jane was to her job and how she fought to be seen as an equal (also sad that she had to do that and that only a 'no other choice' situation allowed her to lead the case) and to some degree I agree that the people around her underestimate her and don't understand the importance of her job. It didn't even occur to some of them that she might be more than a secretary, and a shocking amount of people didn't think the victims deserved justice.
It is safe to say that more than the mystery-crime, this book is about Jane's struggle into a man's world, about her determination, her fearlessness, and her perseverance. She is willing to sacrifice anything in order to do her job, and doesn't hesitate to call out her less just colleagues.
Overall I just liked Jane Tennison a lot.
Prime Suspect is one of those television shows I see so often, yet never watch. Why? I’m not sure why, but the knowledge of there being a series of books left me wanting to read the books instead. After all, the television series is really popular and so is Lynda La Plante as an author. In my mind, reading the books was a better choice.
Unfortunately, Prime Suspect was not what I had expected it to be. It wasn’t terrible, but at the same time it wasn’t great either.
It took me quite some time to get into this one, and I can come up with many possible reasons for this. I tried to read it whilst travelling – something that can be a bit of hit and miss for me. I was travelling late in the day and into the night. I was distracted by what was going on around me. I was tired. I put the book down and picked it up more than once. Although I have many reasons why I may have found it difficult to get into this one, I think they’re mostly just excuses. I wanted to enjoy this one, I wanted to be sucked in straight away, but I wasn’t – and due to this, I tried to find reasons why I wasn’t able to get into the book without pointing fingers at the story.
I think there are actually a number of real reasons as to why I couldn’t get into the book. For starters, the prose. It wasn’t the worst writing ever, but it did not flow as well as I thought it would. I’ve read other reviews where they say this is a reflection of Lynda La Plante being a screenwriter, and I can see where such people are coming from. The bigger issue, however, is that the story jumped around a lot. Chapters were cut into many different scenes, meaning you would move between people a lot before any solid information was given. It was rather distracting. Underlying this, I just expected so much more – having heard so many good things I had set my standards rather high.
One other thing that really hit me is how dated this book seems. Things that were said, behaviours of characters, were really dated. The endless sexism, in particular, really grated on me. I understand it was trying to send a message, was trying to create a feminist icon – but it did not come across that way. Some books do transcend time, but I do not feel as though this will ever be one of them.
Whilst I did have issues with the book, I was interested enough to read until the end. It was somewhat different than other crime novels, in that it is trying to find evidence of who was behind the crime rather than searching out the individual. It is not something you see all that often, and it was something different to enjoy.
Although I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped, and it will never enter my list of favourite crime novels, I’m glad I finally gave it a read.
Unfortunately, Prime Suspect was not what I had expected it to be. It wasn’t terrible, but at the same time it wasn’t great either.
It took me quite some time to get into this one, and I can come up with many possible reasons for this. I tried to read it whilst travelling – something that can be a bit of hit and miss for me. I was travelling late in the day and into the night. I was distracted by what was going on around me. I was tired. I put the book down and picked it up more than once. Although I have many reasons why I may have found it difficult to get into this one, I think they’re mostly just excuses. I wanted to enjoy this one, I wanted to be sucked in straight away, but I wasn’t – and due to this, I tried to find reasons why I wasn’t able to get into the book without pointing fingers at the story.
I think there are actually a number of real reasons as to why I couldn’t get into the book. For starters, the prose. It wasn’t the worst writing ever, but it did not flow as well as I thought it would. I’ve read other reviews where they say this is a reflection of Lynda La Plante being a screenwriter, and I can see where such people are coming from. The bigger issue, however, is that the story jumped around a lot. Chapters were cut into many different scenes, meaning you would move between people a lot before any solid information was given. It was rather distracting. Underlying this, I just expected so much more – having heard so many good things I had set my standards rather high.
One other thing that really hit me is how dated this book seems. Things that were said, behaviours of characters, were really dated. The endless sexism, in particular, really grated on me. I understand it was trying to send a message, was trying to create a feminist icon – but it did not come across that way. Some books do transcend time, but I do not feel as though this will ever be one of them.
Whilst I did have issues with the book, I was interested enough to read until the end. It was somewhat different than other crime novels, in that it is trying to find evidence of who was behind the crime rather than searching out the individual. It is not something you see all that often, and it was something different to enjoy.
Although I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped, and it will never enter my list of favourite crime novels, I’m glad I finally gave it a read.
Probably up a star because the audio book was really good. This book hasn't aged well and it's very hard to not see Mirren as Tennison if you've seen the series but it is an engaging story as an audio book and the plot moves well without too much dead time.
I didn't like this as much as I did the first time I read it, though it was still very good. I can't even pin-point what it was that I didn't like about it...
Not sure I liked the main character. She was quite abrasive and very obsessed with her job. She is a DCI and gets assigned to take over a murder investigation after the primary investigator dies. She actually bullies her way into the job which creates a lot of problems for those working under her. Her boss and a lot of the other police officers don't want a woman as the lead investigator and they let her know.
She is also dealing with problems in her private life as her current boyfriend is having a hard time dealing with her being so obsessed with the job and having no time for him. As she delves deeper into the investigation she finds that one of the officers has been covering up some information that puts his former boss in a bad light. She also discovers several other unsolved murders that seem to be connected to the current case. The main suspect had to be released because of no concrete evidence and she is determined to get him. The suspect is aware of the police's efforts and is quite intelligent about trying not to get caught.
She is also dealing with problems in her private life as her current boyfriend is having a hard time dealing with her being so obsessed with the job and having no time for him. As she delves deeper into the investigation she finds that one of the officers has been covering up some information that puts his former boss in a bad light. She also discovers several other unsolved murders that seem to be connected to the current case. The main suspect had to be released because of no concrete evidence and she is determined to get him. The suspect is aware of the police's efforts and is quite intelligent about trying not to get caught.
I am a big fan of the series (and Mirren). I was happily surprised to find more depth in the first book about Marlow and Oatley's stories, which are not that well developed in the TV series. La Plante does not write literary fiction; her style is strictly plot driven, and she violates many writing cliches (like "show, don't tell") which works in her favor in terms of turning up the heat and twisting everyone to breaking point over and over again. Tennison does not come across as a likable character in the show, but in the book I thought she was even worse. The sexism is a lot more harped on in the book, too, which probably says more about the ability of the actors to bring subtlety to the screen. Although the men are heavily criticized for being chauvinistic pigs, I suspect that most of the sexist sentiments they voice or think are not that off, considering the time and profession. One hopes that things have genuinely improved for women and men and other genders and gender expressions, though I worry that most of the "improvement" is based on people learning what not to say in company, but to just think it (hidden sexism, etc.)
I did often think if I would be friends with Tennison, or date her, or want to be her parent or sister, and I must say that most of the time the answer was "no!" So what are we saying here? That until the environment in such "male" jobs change to support women and their unique set of strengths and problems to help them succeed, it is only a certain type of woman who can handle it? Yes, I guess that's it. I've seen this in academia (similar issues, boy's club plus some ungodly hours that make it difficult for women to work and keep house, if those are the expectations...)
Reading this now, it seems oddly dated, but yet, I know for a fact a lot of the underlying issues have only slightly improved. Hurray to those husbands, wives, girlfriends, and boyfriends who enable their Tennisons (to exercise their workaholic muscles so they can catch criminals) by cooking, cleaning, looking after the children! I suppose that's the other point here: one gets a sense that it would be impossible to have work-life balance in a job like Tennison's, regardless of your gender. So we are to conclude that police work, like other essential professions (teaching, for one), is really a 24-7 job which requires endless shifts and a personality prone to fixation. Makes sense, but it is so sad. I suppose I am glad there are people out these who are willing to do it. I am also glad that serial murder is not a common practice (we only love to make films and TV shows, and write books about them since they can be so fascinating...)
Recommended for the fans of the TV series, false nails, and whiskey.
I did often think if I would be friends with Tennison, or date her, or want to be her parent or sister, and I must say that most of the time the answer was "no!" So what are we saying here? That until the environment in such "male" jobs change to support women and their unique set of strengths and problems to help them succeed, it is only a certain type of woman who can handle it? Yes, I guess that's it. I've seen this in academia (similar issues, boy's club plus some ungodly hours that make it difficult for women to work and keep house, if those are the expectations...)
Reading this now, it seems oddly dated, but yet, I know for a fact a lot of the underlying issues have only slightly improved. Hurray to those husbands, wives, girlfriends, and boyfriends who enable their Tennisons (to exercise their workaholic muscles so they can catch criminals) by cooking, cleaning, looking after the children! I suppose that's the other point here: one gets a sense that it would be impossible to have work-life balance in a job like Tennison's, regardless of your gender. So we are to conclude that police work, like other essential professions (teaching, for one), is really a 24-7 job which requires endless shifts and a personality prone to fixation. Makes sense, but it is so sad. I suppose I am glad there are people out these who are willing to do it. I am also glad that serial murder is not a common practice (we only love to make films and TV shows, and write books about them since they can be so fascinating...)
Recommended for the fans of the TV series, false nails, and whiskey.
A good story, fluid storytelling - a good read. Apparently became a bbc series with Helen Mirren? Kinda want to see that.