Lynda La Plante

[Brian G Turner]

Was given a few thrillers from various authors by my sister-in-law. Wasn't sure what to pick up so I started to read opening lines.

Blood Line by Lynda La Plante started really strong, so I picked that up.

However, after the prologue, was surprised to find chapter 1 was almost entirely dialogue with almost no attributions, two quick character infodumps, and a headhop between each of the two characters.

The writing continues to see technically weak, not least in terms of POV. We're not close to the protagonist at all, but every now and then the author visibly steps in to explain something about her.

Not a bad book, though. Initial impressions are that the entire plot has been given away in Chapter 1. The blurb on the back suggests otherwise, so I'll stick with it.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Finished reading Blood Line.

Weak POV use is a technicality that La Plante makes up for in spades with both her depictions of people, procedure, use of pace, and plotting.

La Plante gives every impression that she understands people and how they work and are driven. There's a wonderful degree of realism in the dialogue and actions. Her secondary characters are well-fleshed out and really distinctive. Their interactions and conflicts are also excellently done.

Curiously, these help shape our impressions of Anna more than anything, not least the way she has to face up to dominant males who seek to diminish her, in her own murder investigating team.

In the end, it became a real page-turner that I felt very satisfied with at the finish.

 

[Brian G Turner]

The criticism:

Spoiler

The book was enjoyable - but thrillers are built around presenting a puzzle, and unravelling it. But in chapter 1 it was obvious who'd done the murder and why - excess money and surfboards IMO was an obvious flag to drug running.

Sure, the story unfolded that there was more to the murder than at first imagined. But not much more. Issues such as the victim's parents were a distraction, not invited to the puzzle, or relevant to it. The fact that more than one person was involved in the murder ended up sounding like padding rather than a true reveal.

La Plante is excellent when it comes to character details and mannerisms, though (Brian's "the finger!). But in terms of plot, this book wasn't about asking the who or why - they were obvious from the start - as much as procedurally proving it. Which can be an interesting take, but if I pick up another La Plante book, I hope the puzzle will be more challenging.