As I’ve said before because of the plethora of fantastic new crime fiction that comes out every year it’s often easy to ignore those series that have been going for a while. Therefore when the opportunity was offered to read every single one of the Tennison series by Lynda La Plante I thought it was a great chance to revist an old favourite.

Tennison is the very first of the books that introduces us to Jane Tennison. In 1973 she has just finished police training and is thrust into her first investigation, the murder of a young woman. While trying to do her job and having to navigate her way in a male dominated world she overhees a potential bank robbery and so begins a start to her career that very nearly brings the end.

This was a great read that had me hooked from the start. Everyone who has seen or read the Prime Suspect series will already have an impression of Jane Tennison, but the Jane we meet here is a whole different kettle of fish. A quiet slightly nervous woman, but with the spark and the steel that we will come to know and love.

It has to be remembered that this book was set in the 1970s, which although it’s written as a prequel and was released in 2015 it’s actually written true to the language and the culture that was deemed acceptable of its time. The language and the speech gives it a sense of authenticity, while highlighting how far attitudes have changed. It also shows how different investigations are when they don’t have the benefits of technology such as mobile phones.

This was a great novel that I really enjoyed. Apart from the enjoyment of learning about Tennison from the beginning the story itself was engrossing and I was gripped throughout. The ending was an utter shock to be honest. I’d be going through expecting something that would end one way, and I did not see the end coming.

I’m definitely looking forward to reading the rest in this series and can’t wait to let you know what I think.