What a great read about the feisty Jane Tennison. A really good read with a very well constructed plot. Loved Maureen’s character, who came good in the end. Lynda le Plante never fails to deliver.

This is another excellent read in the Jane Tennison series. The plot is interesting and I like that it is character driven, with plenty of twists throughout, and the steady pace suits the cold case investigation of a missing person. This is the final episode in the series but Jane continues in Prime Suspect, which I can highly recommend. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

Tennison is a great character and her promotion to AMIT is a spectacular battle against ingrained sexism. The tenacity of Jane and her new assistant Maureen is testament to how difficult policing was in the days prior to mobile phones and the internet! At every turn the pair fight to discover links between people, places and old evidence as they try to close a cold case- having to find pay phones at every turn and fighting for recognition of their efforts.
Modern day fictional detectives have it so easy!

I have to admit I´ve not read Lynda La Plante´s previous books, only watched the Prime Suspect series on the TV!

Love her style of writing and the way the book flows. I have to admit that when Jane Tennison was talking, I was visualising Helen Mirren acting it all out - loved it!

Highly recommend.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy in return for an honest review.

Another brilliant book by Linda La Plante. I couldn't put it down. I would thoroughly recommend and well deserving of 5 stars.

Probably the BEST story in the Jane Tennison series yet!

Perfect for those who enjoy:
- Independent women fiction
- The incredible Jane Tennison series
- Cold crime case stories
- Searching for evidence

With thanks to Bonnier Books UK and Netgalley for an ARC copy in return for an honest review.

Another great Jane Tennison novel from Lydna La Plante who never fails to deliver. Once again Jane is successfully fighting crime on the one hand and mysogyny on the other keeping the reader totally involved and entertained.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bonnier Books UK and Lynda La Plante for the ARC of ‘Whole Life Sentence’ in return for an honest review.

As a huge fan of Lynda La Plante and the Jane Tennison series I was delighted to receive the advance reading copy and it did not disappoint. It can be read as a standalone although the series is well worth investing in and ads to the enjoyment.

As usual Jane is embroiled in a sexist environment at work while investigating a murder. Another winner.

Highly recommended

As always Lynda La Plante doesn't disappoint, although I didn't think this was her best book, it was a well written and an entertaining read.

DCI Jane Tennison is newly promoted to the AMIT murder team, but she is subjected to sexism and misogyny. The book is set in the 1990's so some of the speech feels a bit dated and the office politics are horrible.
Jane investigates up a cold case and has suspicions about a suicide, but her male colleagues take credit for her work. Jane is also in a whirlwind romance and takes time off sick to be with her boyfriend, which is a contradiction to the dedicated detective persona. I haven't read the previous books in this series and I am sure that fans of Jane Tennison will love this. Lynda la Plante always has good plots and interesting characters. I will be reading the Prime suspect series to see what happens next.

If you like your police procedurals then this is the book for you. I was gripped from the start, even though I haven't read any of the Jane Tennison books before. Set back in the 90's it makes for an interesting read with hardly anyone having a mobile phone (let alone one that does anything other than phone people!), and I really enjoyed Jane's dogged determination as she does all the legwork on a cold case, trying to solve a young girl's disappearance five years previously.
Jane endures terrible treatment at the hands of her male colleagues, who didn't want her working on their team. I was almost shouting at the book as I read! But she persists, and carries on regardless. I liked her assistant, Maureen, and only wished Jane were a little nicer to her!
The cases are interesting, and I found the book was a good pace, and certainly kept me reading, wanting to know what had happened. I liked the love interest side less (I wasn't sure about the new guy on the scene, and I didn't think Jane was completely sure either).
Anyway, it was a good, engaging read, with perhaps a little too much eating and drinking, but I'll forgive it since I was so interested in all the police-y bits!

Whole Life Sentence is the last prequel in the Prime Suspect series and it concludes Jane Tennison’s rise through the ranks of the Met ahead of that series.

As usual Tennison is faced with undermining, snide comments and the sexist behaviour as she looks to prove herself as a senior detective.

The story moves along at a good pace and this set of prequels have been a great way to show Tennison’s back story. An enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
I have read many Lynda La Plante books - enjoying her writing style and characters. The Jane Tennison novels are always page turners and this one did not disappoint, I did like that Jane didn’t ‘win’ against them all in this book and it leaves it open for it to continue…and I can not wait for the follow up!!!
I do enjoy that Jane’s private life is added to the story, with a new romance and the continuing family dynamics with her sister and parents. A new character is added who may become her right hand woman in the coming books which would be nice - rather than it constantly being Jane against the world alone.

Would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys crime books.


Newly promoted Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison has elbowed her way into the Area Major Incident Pool, an elite team investigating non-domestic murders.

With her new position, she hopes things will change: the rampant sexism, the snide remarks, the undermining. Then she gets her first assignment: a five-year-old cold case of a missing teenager no one else has any interest in investigating - and an assumed suicide Tennison suspects is, in fact, murder.

But as she gathers the crucial evidence to secure arrests, Tennison's new colleagues watch like vultures circling prey. And one by one the cases that she has built from the ground up are taken from her - and the glory along with them.

Tennison has seen it all before - but this time feels different. Get the job done here and she will rise to a level never before reached by a woman. It's hers for the taking. She just has to do what she's been doing brilliantly for years: find her prime suspect . . .

FROM THE COVER📖

Newly promoted Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison has elbowed her way into the Area Major Incident Pool, an elite team investigating non-domestic murders.
With her new position, she hopes things will change: the rampant sexism, the snide remarks, the undermining. Then she gets her first assignment: a five-year-old cold case of a missing teenager no one else has any interest in investigating - and an assumed suicide Tennison suspects is, in fact, murder.
But as she gathers the crucial evidence to secure arrests, Tennison's new colleagues watch like vultures circling prey. And one by one the cases that she has built from the ground up are taken from her - and the glory along with them.
Tennison has seen it all before - but this time feels different. Get the job done here and she will rise to a level never before reached by a woman. It's hers for the taking. She just has to do what she's been doing brilliantly for years: find her prime suspect . . .

REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a fitting end to a tremendous series of books. Tennison is one of the all time great fictional detectives, a lioness of a woman who was ahead of her time.

Jane Tennison is one of the best crime characters around, and it’s been fascinating reading the path of her career, as she’s risen through the ranks in a totally male orientated society, It feels so authentic with the scale of the misogyny of the time, which unfortunately is still around today. This book continues to highlight just how bad it was for women but shows how woman like Jane Tennison broke the mould from the naive WPC we met in the first Tennison book to the whip smart Helen Mirren Tennison we are familiar with. It was great to see the development of Jane thought out the 10 books in the series.

Whole Life Sentence picks up around a year after a Taste of Blood. Ever ambitious, Jane secures her latest promotion and place on the team where we meet her in Prime Suspect. We get to see her meet characters like Maureen and Peter.

La Plante provides us with two fascinating cases: the cold case of missing student Brittney Hall and the suspected suicide of the wife of an associate of DCI Hickock.

Through dogged determination and sharp mind Jane advances and all but solves the cases only to have them removed at the pivotal moment. Due to La Plante's immersive writing, you genuinely feel Tennison's drive and frustration. The Brittney Hall case is complex and moving and displays La Plante's unequaled understanding of forensics, from the early conception of forensics to the more modern advancements as the novels progress she hits the mark each time.

As always the cases act as a plot with the on going plot of Jane though out all the books. I have found each book has fresh unique case/cases for Jane to get her teeth into not one has been remotely the same, they keep you guessing and invested in the outcomes all the way. This final outing was no exception and I'd say was one of the better ones.

As can be the issue with a series of books there is a sense of format and a feel of tick the books in parts- Jane gets a new job, Jane's family annoy her, Jane gets a new love interest, Jane gets a hair cut etc etc but given the writing in terms of the cases is so fresh this can be forgiven.

This was great ending to the Tennsion books it brought the reader right to the point of Prime Suspect Jane if you haven't read them I suggest you start the second you finish this.

This is a fitting end to a tremendous series of books. Tennison is one of the all time great fictional detectives and this doesn't disappoint. I've read all the books in this series and once again Lynda La Plante does a great job of highlighting how difficult it was for women in the police force. The plot is fantastic, illustrates how Tennison could spot things no one else could.

Now I've finished the series I'll finally be able to read the Prime Suspect series of books as I didn't want to do so until it has finished.

A first foray into the world of Jane Tennison for this reviewer and a really terrific story! Tennison has been promoted to DCI and is after a posting at the new Met Police AMIT major crime unit. She secures the post and immediately starts to encounter misogynistic and extraordinarily obstructive behaviour from both her boss and her fellow officers. Having been sidelined with a cold case to review, Tennison makes such good progress that it turns into a live investigation, allowing her to display her exemplary detective work. Of course, this isn’t what her fellow officers want to see and the story manages to focus brilliantly on both the investigation and on Jane’s efforts to overcome all the obstacles placed in her path. The writing could have flowed a little more smoothly at times, but this was an engrossing read with an important message.

My thanks to Lynda and NetGalley for allowing me to read Whole Life Sentence before the publication date.

Set in 1991, newly promoted D.C.I. Jane Tennison finds herself being marginalised by the misogynistic members of the newly formed Area Major Incident Team, which is led by Detective Chief Superintendent Kernan.
He is determined to get rid of Tennison and promote D.I. McGregor, regardless of his long list of conduct complaints.

Arriving for her first day on the team, Jane finds that she has been allocated a remote store cupboard for an office. Whilst the other DCIs have at least a DS allocated to support them, Jane has been allocated uniform WPC Maureen Havers.

Instead of a major investigation, Jane is allocated a 5 year old missing person case which she is determined to solve.

This is a story of the issues which Jane has to deal with in order to command the respect due to her position.

Many aspects to Jane’s character, both professional and private, will be revealed, giving the reader pause for thought.

Brilliant. No stop tension and a rapid age turner. I could not stop reading this book. WARNING don’t buy it unless you want to lose yourself in one of the best stories of the year!

This is the first book I’ve read about Jane Tennyson, I’ve seen all the tv shows however never dipped into the books. This was so good I’m off to download the lot now!

I’m not sure what timeframe this novel was set in, it feels very 1970’s with male attitudes , female stereotypes and the language it is written in. Superb all round, a great detective story, , in fact 2 stories and a book that you don’t want to put down.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review

Newly Promoted to Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison has secured a transfer to the new and prestigious Area Major Incident Pool at Southampton Row Police Station. Her presence is however welcome. Despite Jane’s credentials and abilities, she is subjected to a chauvinistic campaign designed to force her out. Whereas as DCIs Shepherd and Hickock receive the important cases Jane is given a missing person cold case from 1986.

Whole Life Sentence picks up around a year after a Taste of Blood. Ever ambitious, Jane secures her latest promotion and place on the team where we meet her in the first episode of Prime Suspect. We get to see her meet characters like Maureen and DS Otley, who is as vile as he was in the first series.

La Plante provides us with two fascinating cases: missing student Brittney Hall and the suspected suicide of the wife of an associate of DCI Hickock. Through dogged determination Jane advances and all but solves the cases only to have them removed at the pivotal moment. Due to La Plante's immersive writing, you genuinely feel Tennison's drive and frustration. The Brittney Hall case is complex and moving and displays La Plante's unequaled understanding of forensics.

Having read the previous nine entries this is definitely one of the stronger entries and one I highly recommend. My one complaint is that Kathy Morgan is described as leaving the force due to injuries, but died alongside DCI Bradfield. I'm sure this will be fixed by the time of publication.

I am grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.