Book Review – Hidden Killers

Buying second hand for books gives you a chance to find a book you would never have thought buying. My latest book (from a section at the back of Tesco, where you can buy a book, but your money goes to charity) I’ve found a couple of good books there, and my latest, ”Hidden Killers” didn’t disappoint.

Many people are aware of the series ”Prime Suspect”. Aired in the seventies, about a tough, no-nonsense police inspector Jane Tennison. Lynda La Plante is the author, and when it was adapted for television, it was a big hit. Helen Mirren, an excellent actress, brought the role to life.

This book doesn’t follow her when she has reached a successful part in her career. She is still in uniform and has dreams of being in CID. In her first investigation, she is used as a decoy, to try and lure a rapist out into the open.

She is eager to learn, but also has her own ideas on how an investigation should work. Suspicions about colleagues, and their methods can sometimes show she is meant to be in CID, but others show how here inexperience can stop a case from evolving.

Moving from a rape case to a murder, she has to convince her colleagues that the woman found in a bath full of water, didn’t just slip and drown, but was murdered. Throughout we go back to her previous case, and you will love the twist at the end. Her own investigations lead to murder, but still has much to prove when they take on the case.

The writer uses great techniques in showing a three-dimensional view of a young constable, in a man orientated world. She needs to convince others of her strengths, to be able to progress in her chosen career. Women police, in the seventies, were seen differently, and had to work harder, to prove they were just as good.

I loved reading this book and will definitely try and find another book in the series. I have watched TV series, where they go back in time to the early careers of Morse (Endevour) and think this is the perfect timing to show Jane Tennison in her early career.

There is so much scope for a series, and being a detective fan, I would watch it without hesitation.