The Red Dahlia (Anna Travis Mysteries) [Paperback]

Lynda La Plante (Author)

Book Description

Series: Anna Travis Mysteries | Publication Date: July 3, 2007

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER!

"FOR THOSE WHO LOVE MYSTERIES BUT WISH THAT PATRICIA CORNWELL HAD A DIRTIER MIND,"* the author of Above Suspicion and the acclaimed Prime Suspect series returns with a new mystery.

When the body of a young girl is found dumped on the banks of the Thames, even the police are shocked by the brutality of her murder: horrifically mutilated, severed in half, and drained of blood, her corpse is an obvious mirror image of the famous Black Dahlia murder in 1940s Los Angeles.

Now Detective Inspector Anna Travis must race against time to catch this copycat killer. She turns to her mentor, the brilliant and volatile Detective Chief Inspector James Langton, but the frictions of their romantic relationship are complicating the case. And then a second girl is found...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her second Det. Insp. Anna Travis novel (after 2004's Above Suspicion), British author La Plante, best known for TV's Prime Suspect featuring DCI Jane Tennison, transports the unsolved Black Dahlia murder to present-day London with disappointing results. When a young woman is found butchered in a field, Anna unexpectedly ends up sharing the case with her former lover, DCI James Langton. As they learn the full extent of the murderer's depravity, letters begin arriving at the police station and local paper, echoing those from the infamous Black Dahlia killer, active more than 50 years ago in Los Angeles. The self-named Red Dahlia Avenger mocks Anna and Langton as they hit one dead end after another. Anna lacks Tennison's tough vulnerability and floats through the story without much emotional investment. Procedural minutiae bog down this novel, which, despite the lurid subject matter, never manages to shock the reader. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Detective Inspector Anna Travis hasn't worked with DCI James Langton since they teamed up to find a serial killer more than a year earlier. At that time they had a brief fling and parted company unhappily when Langton wouldn't commit to a long-term relationship. When they're thrown together again on a murder case, Anna finds herself reattracted to Langton but vows to keep her feelings hidden. Given the nonstop demands of the case, that's not as difficult as she feared. The body of a beautiful young woman is found, cut in half and drained of blood. The autopsy reveals that the victim was tortured and brutalized before she died, and even the hardened cops on the case are shocked. With the killer still at large, comparisons are quickly made to the never-solved Black Dahlia murder in Los Angeles 50 years earlier, prompting the "Red Dahlia" moniker. When the case finally breaks open, it's the stuff of nightmares. Gritty, gruesome, and graphic, the latest from Prime Suspect scriptwriter La Plante is stomach-churning but virtually unputdownable. A must-read for hard-boiled aficionados not afraid to follow the blood splatters wherever they may lead. Melton, Emily
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (July 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416532196
• ISBN-13: 978-1416532194
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #690,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Increasing maturity, September 28, 2007

By 

Sbl617 "Susan" (TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Red Dahlia (Anna Travis Mysteries) (Paperback)

The Red Dahlia Anna Travis is a smoother character after her promotion to DI. An Oxford graduate, she claims respect in this second outing. She's a more than worthy successor to LaPlante's Jane Tennison [Prime Suspect]. There is already a third volume released, Clean Cut.

I won't be able to stand it, though, if she disposes of Travis as she did courageous LAPD/PI Lorraine Page after the same number of books [Cold Shoulder, etc.]

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not too bad but not really good, July 12, 2008

By 

T. Schiel (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Red Dahlia (Anna Travis Mysteries) (Paperback)

She writes simply which is sort of okay, but there is not much depth. This makes for a really quick read. I didn't really connect with the main characters since it is baffling that a smart up and coming detective, Travis is smitten by a rude, alcoholic, unpleasant partner, Langton. This ugly romance did nothing for advancing an interesting plot and put me off the whole book. It is a just the facts book with minimum character development, very little atmosphere and no real mood in the story....A light snack but no substantial meal here. I'm glad I got this from the library since it would have been a disappointing buy.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a prose stylist..., July 8, 2008

By 

S. McGill - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Red Dahlia (Anna Travis Mysteries) (Paperback)

I enjoyed the plotting of this book but Lynda La Plante really isn't a prose stylist. Her books are easy and quick to read but I also get the sense that they are quickly written also; perhaps dictated to a secretary? I don't know how many times Travers wrote "copious notes" or Langton "snapped" etc etc but it was enough to make the writing sound mechanical, as if the author couldn't be bothered thinking up new or poetic ways of expressing things. Nothing is left to the imagination - even the housekeeper's thoughts are laid out before us at one point (this is particularly jarring since the rest of the book isn't written from her point of view). Many of the plot developments are telegraphed ahead of their 'reveal' point so there aren't a lot that surprises. Definitely a book for holiday reading; an easy read that doesn't require concentration. Read James Ellroy's 'The Black Dahalia' to see how a pro handles this type of storytelling with finesse.