Customer Reviews

The Red Dahlia

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.]

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.

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.

For years I've hesitated to read Lynda La Plante, fearing that I'd never like anything as much as Prime Suspect. Prime Suspect Silly me. With Anna Travis the author gives us as a detective as determined as the great Jane and arguably smarter.

The whole serial killer song and dance - so over-done in books and on television - still manages to horrify here, but La Plante has to raise the stakes to revolting levels. So, warning: Don't plan to read this while you are eating lunch. Indeed, we get a double dip of perverted because the killer patterns himself after the un-caught Black Dahlia Killer, to the horror and exasperation of the Brits. (Such an American crime?)

The surfaces of secondary characters are vividly drawn for all that they flit across the pages - reporter, profiler, horse-loving deb, housekeeper. (OK, the housekeeper needs some work.) But their motivation is often more mysterious than the main plot. And the inner working of Anna's love life is, perhaps, not sufficiently explained, for - although we admire her control at some points - the object(s) of her desire behave so badly that it's hard to understand why such a sensible woman longs for their embraces.

Ah, and there's a tiny fillip of homophobia, just a trace around the margins. But perhaps we have sufficiently progressed to the point were gay characters can be unapologetically presented as jerks? Or maybe not.

Travis, however uneven her comrades and opponents may be (and Serial Killer is way way way over the top), is a terrific character, neither too good nor too bad to be true. And there's another book coming out in the UK next month!

Lynda La Plante is a great writer, probably best know for the Prime Suspect stories. Red Dahlia is a good murder mystery and will be liked by all fans of British mysteries. The police are kind of low key but dogged in their pursuit of a copy cat killer, fashioned after the "Black Dahlia" killer of the 1950s in the USA. The female lead is intersting but she is not a Jane Tennyson. Overall the book is suspenseful and a little gory in places but the action does slow down at times especially concerning the romantic interests. Overall, a good read.

I really enjoy Anna Travis Mysteries. The keep you involved and the are realistic. She is not a perfect woman

great secomd book featuring anna travis and her boss.,langton. the ending was a little disappointing as it was too obvious but nevertheless a good read.

Anna Travis is now a detective inspector on her fourth case. She has not seen her former lover, DCI Langton since her first case (Above Suspicion) and hopes to keep it that way.

This case is challenging. The body of a woman has been found that was horribly mutilated, cut in half, and drained of blood. What was the most obvious was it seemed to copy the infamous Black Dahlia case of many years before in Los Angeles.

When the victim is ID'd, a photograph of her in a red sequined mini-dress with a red rose stuck in her hair appears in the paper. Journalists pick up on the similarity and dub her The Red Dahlia.

When the Gov of the Murder Squad takes ill, his replacement is none other than DCI Langton who arrives flanked by the ever-present DC Lewis and DC Barolli. The stalled investigation takes on new energy, and the tension between Langton and Travis becomes hotter than ever.

This is a good story, although very gruesome and graphic. Lynda La Plante is a storyteller with more telling than dialogue, but the storyline moves along to the proverbial unexpected ending.

This is the second of the four now out, and ably sets up the relationship between Langton and Travis to come in the 3rd novel, Clean Cut.

The Red Dahlia (Anna Travis Mysteries)

My mother-in-law gave me this book after she'd read it and I could not put it down. It is the first book I've read in 5 years due to working full time and having two young kids. I finished it in 4 days, squeezing in a few pages during lunch breaks at work, etc. The book hooks you in the first page and keeps a fast pace throughout. I never heard of this author but I'm going to the bookstore today to buy another one of her books.

Laura LaPlante puts you in her story. A little gory at times but excellent story, characters and settings. Can't say enough good things about her books!!!!