So this week it is back to the 70’s as we find out what Jane Tennison is up to in number 4 of her series.
Murder Mile takes us back to 1979 and Jane is now a Detective Sergent in Peckham. When two bodies are found in two days it seems the only link is the location of the bodies. When a third body is found the press are soon jumping on the story and the headlines are proclaiming that it’s a murder mile. The police are under pressure to catch a killer before they strike again and as the investigation progresses Jane soon comes under the spotlight.
Murder Mile was another superb read from Lynda La Plante is a series that I am throughly enjoying. I felt that this time the story had almost been ramped up a bit. There were some quite grim descriptions of the crime, and as Jane rises through the ranks so to does the pressure she is under as she tries to balance the demands of her job with the demands of her family. As always there is also the background of mysogeny and sexism that was rife at the time, although it does seem as though Jane is gradually gaining some respect.
I am really enjoying the setting of these books. The actual detective work within these books is fascinating and it is interesting to read about investigations before the modern day trappings of things like the internet and DNA testing. 1979 was the winter of discontent apparently with strikes causing wide spread disruption (some things never change) and this gave a really interesting background to the story giving it an almost ‘pressure cooker’ feel about it. You could sense the tension in the atmosphere as the police fight to keep control.
The crime itself was a good story that I found interesting, and it kept me guessing throughout. The twists and red herrings meant I had no idea where it would end up.
This was another fantastic instalment and huge thanks to Zaffre books and Tracey at Compulsive Readers for the chance to be part of #teamtennison.
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