Good Friday - Lynda La Plante

BEFORE PRIME SUSPECT THERE WAS TENNISON.Every legend has a beginning . . . During 1974 and 1975 the IRA subjected London to a terrifying bombing campaign. In one day alone, they planted seven bombs at locations across central London. Some were defused - some were not. Jane Tennison is now a fully-fledged detective. On the way to court one morning, Jane passes through Covent Garden Underground station and is caught up in a bomb blast that leaves several people dead, and many horribly injured. Jane is a key witness, but is adamant that she can't identify the bomber. When a photograph appears in the newspapers, showing Jane assisting the injured at the scene, it puts her and her family at risk from IRA retaliation. 'Good Friday' is the eagerly awaited date of the annual formal CID dinner, due to take place at St Ermin's Hotel. Hundreds of detectives and their wives will be there. It's the perfect target. As Jane arrives for the evening, she realises that she recognises the parking attendant as the bomber from Covent Garden. Can she convince her senior officers in time, or will another bomb destroy London's entire detective force? 'La Plante excels in her ability to pick out the surprising but plausible details that give her portrayal of everyday life in a police station a rare ring of authenticity' Sunday Telegraph

Lynda La Plante was born in Liverpool. She is the author of over forty novels, all of which have been bestsellers. She trained for the stage at RADA and worked with the National theatre and RSC before becoming a television actress. She then turned to writing - and made her breakthrough with the phenomenally successful TV series Widows.

Lynda's original script for the much-acclaimed Prime Suspect won awards from BAFTA, Emmys, British Broadcasting and Royal Television Society as well as the 1993 Edgar Allan Poe Award.

Lynda is an honorary fellow of the British Film Institute and was awarded the BAFTA Dennis Potter Best Writer's Award in 2000. In 2008, she was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to Literature, Drama and Charity.

Lynda La Plante is the first layperson to be awarded an honorary fellowship to the Forensic Science Society. In 2020 she launched the acclaimed Listening to the Dead podcast with former CSI Cass Sutherland, exploring forensic science and its impact on solving crimes.

Classic Lynda, a fabulous read
Martina Cole on HIDDEN KILLERS

La Plante excels in her ability to pick out the surprising but plausible details that give her portrayal of everyday life in a police station a rare ring of authenticity
Sunday Telegraph

An absorbingly twisty plot
Guardian on HIDDEN KILLERS

The pace is breathless and the plot is satisfyingly full of twists and turns
Independent on Sunday on HIDDEN KILLERS

The iconic detective's early years in the police force
The Bookseller

Don't miss the latest Jane Tennison thriller
Best magazine

Queen of crime drama, Lynda La Plante, is back with a brand new thriller that will leave you gripped!
Yours magazine

I would highly recommend Good Friday. It is well written, the characters are well crafted, easy to picture and easy to hear through the authentic dialogue. It's a very accessible, readable police procedural with a well controlled story line. It's dramatic and exciting and well worth a read!
Bibliomaniac

Lynda's created a wonderful world, that tastefully mixes reality with fiction, in a fast moving plot that will keep you up reading late into the night.
Sarah Withers Blog

I would highly recommend this fast paced page turner. It has left me eager to read more!
Bookish Bits

I for one am certainly waiting with baited breath to read what is next in store for Jane. This is one of those series that I will be recommending for a long time to come!
P Turners Book Blog

The Queen of crime drama is back... her effortless writing style makes it easy for the characters to come to life in your mind
OK! Magazine

A curiously addictive series
Literary Review

Brimful of twists and turns
Woman Magazine

The pace is breathless, the plot full of twists and turns. But it is La Plante's ability to pick out the surprising but plausible details that give her picture of everyday police that rare ring of authenticity
Crime Review

Told with La Plante's typical elan, it charts with nail-biting precision the effort to catch the bomber, before there is another atrocity
Daily Mail

From the beginning you'll be trying to figure out who the 'bad guy' is
Woman's Weekly

'an enjoyable read set in troubled times for the capital and shedding light on the iconic detective's formative years'
Daily Express

This was a brilliant read by an author whose work I will be belatedly seeking out during 2018 and I'd like to say a huge thank you to Bonnier Zaffre for sending me a copy of Good Friday, this review is my unbiased thanks to them and to Lynda La Plante for a wonderful read.
Cleopatra Loves Books