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"Still reeling from the death of her fiance, Detective Anna Travis has thrown herself into her new role as the chief inspector for London's murder squad. When Scotland Yard's missing persons bureau is unable to locate the son of a court employee, the superintendent--James Langton, Anna's former lover turned sometimes friend--urges her to take on the suspicious assignment. But is this new investigation purely a missing persons case--or a full-blown murder inquiry? An ominous pool of blood with no locatable victim leads Anna on a desperate hunt for a man who has disappeared without a trace. With no body, and increasing pressure to make an arrest, Anna becomes obsessed with the smallest details of the case. Now, one man has vanished, a killer may be loose on the streets, and, as Langton looks on, Anna Travis may be losing control of the investigation--and of herself."--P. [4] of cover.… (more)
User reviews
Our heroine, DCI Travis, is recovering after the murder of her fiancé and
Ms. La Plante can write and entertaining page-turner. This kept me reading and reading and reading just so I could get to whodunit and howdunit and a bit bereft when it was all over. Great for holiday reading when you need to get away from it all in a way that doesn't involve ... you know ... holidays.
And I'm glad I did! I picked up Blood Line - the
Anna is the new Chief Inspector for London's murder squad. Watching closely over her shoulder is her boss - and former lover - Superintendent James Langton. Anna is still dealing with the death of her fiancee and Langton is not sure she is up to the job. He gives her a missing persons case to follow up on - not a murder. Alan Rawlins has been not been seen for eight weeks. His father is pushing for an investigation, but his live in girlfriend doesn't seem too concerned. No one has a bad word to say about Alan, but there's something just 'off' about the whole situation. As Anna grows more determined to prove Langton wrong about her abilities, she starts to question her own investigative instincts.
Anna reminds me of the Jane Tennison character. Both are strong but flawed characters trying to prove themselves in their chosen profession. They're emotionally wounded, but driven to achieve results. La Plante combines her mystery with excellent character building. The supporting cast members are all just as interesting and not all of them are 'pretty'. The personal and professional tension between Anna and Langton continues to build, with the door left open for this story to continue in future books.
I enjoy British mysteries for the pacing - a lot of them are slower and much more procedural bound, instead of rushing in with guns blazing. I feel like we're right with Anna as she puzzles through the case. And La Plante has penned an excellent plot. I had my suspicions numerous times throughout the book, but until the last few chapters I was never really one hundred percent sure 'whodunit'.
An excellent read for me. LaPlante is now firmly on my 'must read' mystery/thriller list.
Allan Rawlins has been
Kim Hicks provides excellent narration.
It is a chilling narrative - a narrative which uncovers layer after layer of lies, false identity, misrepresentation and deceit.
I find the ‘police procedurals’ of Ms. La Plante to be fascinating - lessons in patience
The characters and background information are interesting to read about. Alan Rawlins is a shadowy figure - Who is he, really? How did this MisPers (Missing Persons) case come to demand so much interest?
This is a highly recommended series.