When I look for a really great thriller, it's something exactly like this book!! Unholy Murder keeps moving with twists and turns, intrigue and suspense. Just when you think you know, you don't and I absolutely love that writing style. All the emotions you would want/expect to feel are very present in this storyline, which was great and had very exciting moments. I was hooked on the characters the moment the were introduced. The author really did a wonderful job at keeping my attention and made the wait almost impossible to see how the book was going to end. I have read lots of murder, mystery, triller books over the years and this one ranks right up there with some of the best I have read. I would love to see this turned into a series. I will definitely follow this author and can not wait to read more. This book was well worth the time and this review. ( )

Tennison has moved to Bromley as sergeant and is sent to investigate a coffin discovered during building work in the grounds of an old convent. Good evocation of a time when mobile phones hadn't arrived and forensics technology more limited. However doubt BT could provide call details in 24 hours back then! Well crafted plot with plenty of red herring sub-plots before the full story revealed. ( )

Unholy Murder – Another Brilliant Tennison Thriller.

Another prequal in the wonderful Tennison series and once again Lynda La Plante shows why she is queen of the thriller genre. She has complex characters who reflect the society in which they live, they are not superhuman, but simply humans we can identify with.

A coffin is dug up during the work to build a new housing development on what was once a Catholic Convent in Bromley. Tennison who is just finding her feet in Bromley after her painful experience in the Flying Squad, takes her colleague Boon to what they think is a routine inquiry. What they do not expect is to find is the body of a nun in the coffin, a metal coffin rather than the wooden version usually used.

With little to go on, they begin their investigation to find who the dead nun was and why she was still in the old convent grounds after it had been deconsecrated. When the post-mortem reveals that the nun had been stabbed in the back and was still alive when the coffin was sealed. What should have been a routine investigation became a murder investigation.

Tennison leads the investigation under the watchful eye of her superiors, but what she did not expect was the way in which the Catholic Church and in particular the Archbishop and Bishop making things difficult for them. While all leads might lead to church involvement Tennison finds the path has been blocked with the support of the Met Commissioner.

When the death of a reporter Becky Rogers, the daughter of a detective goes missing who was trying to run a story on the dead nun, things really do turn in the favour of the police. Even if the church was going to be out of bounds Tennison would find the truth, whatever some may think. Determination and excellent leadership Tennison does get the answers, whether she can act on the information she had is a different matter.

Lynda La Plante writing just draws you, like a warm comfort blanket, it just a shame when it is all over. An excellent thriller everything you expect from a Lynda La Plante. ( )

I have not finished reading this. It has a lot of potential. I have not read the other books but it seems like this is the middle of the main characters life and La Plante has written other things about the main character. My main complaint with why I could not finish reading is the dialog. These are adults but the dialog seems childish. ( )

“Unholy Murder” is book seven in the “Young Tennison” series, but each case is separate. There is a nice balance between the events, the police procedures, and the people who are doing the investigations. Readers get to know the characters, their personalities, their quirks as well as follow a compelling investigation to find out “whodunit.”

It is 1982, Detective Jane Tennison had quite a volatile history during her previous service in the Met, and she sometimes feels that people are just out to get her. Since she cannot change what happened, it is time to move on to a new assignment. She is a fighter, not a quitter, and she wants to make inspector. It is time for Tennison to communicate better and work as part of a team.
The police are called to a construction site, a former convent, now apartments, where more are being built. A dull day j got exciting when the crew uncovered a coffin. The work comes to a stop as the team tries to discover if this is a “proper consecrated” graveyard or an intentional burial to cover up a murder. Every day of lost work costs money, so there is pressure to move quickly; the body must be identified and the death reconciled before construction can resume. The original convent and the chapel are historic listed sites, but yet little is known about their actual operation. The team uncovers multiple events from the past that suddenly become connected, and the investigation becomes complicated.
The characters are multifaceted, and there is a nice balance between everyday activities, friendly banter, and serious investigation. This is a complex case, and details unfold slowly, layer by layer. I received a review copy of” Unholy Murder” from Lynda La Plant and Bonnier Zaffre Publishers. The book is evenly paced and organized; however, there are plenty of unusual developments and surprise connections in this challenging case that keep readers turning the pages ( )