Unholy Murder: The edge-of-your-seat Sunday Times bestselling crime thriller

I read Unholy Murder over two days, it is a really well paced and intriguing case for the young Jane Tennison and and excellent addition to the series. It must have taken a lot of research into the Catholic Church, and this really adds colour to the story. I previous book, Blunt Force, which was set in the world acting and celebrity, so this was really different. That’s what I like about Lynda’s writing, each case is different, so you don’t get bored. I also love the character of Jane Tennison, she’s slowly learning, making mistakes and evolving into the character Helen Mirren plays in the TV series Prime Suspect. I can’t wait for the next book.

I'm very disappointed in this book. I was excited it was on offer. I've watched programmes on television written by Lynda LaPlante and they were entertaining, sometimes enthralling. This book is not. Writing a script and writing a book are different disciplines, so perhaps something has been lost here in translation. I ploughed through it in case it improved, but it didn't. There's a great deal of unnecessary description - why is the clothing of the church's archivist important? She isn't ever suspected of anything .- and annoying coy references to other books, but the worst thing is the leaden dialogue. Dialogue in a book is something I'm picky about. It matters. I thought, since the suthor writes famously for television, that her dialogue would be sparkling. Possibly in other books, but not in this one. If it had been written in the 1950s or it was someone's first book.... Some of the ideas for the plot are interesting, some are telegraphed clearly early on, so there are few surprises. I don't know if the author's other books are like this one, but I'm not willing to spend my limited cash finding out.

When builders discover a coffin buried in the grounds of an old convent, there are no surprises when the body inside is revealed to be a nun. What is shocking, however, are the scratch marks on the inside of the lid – the woman was clearly still alive when she was buried. Her superiors are keen to dismiss it as a cold case, but Detective Jane Tennison is not so sure and soon she is embarking on an investigation that will pit her against the church and open up old wounds for a member of the team.Lynda la Plante knows how to tell a good story and she has managed to do it again in this, the seventh in the Tennison series. As each book progresses, we see signs of the detective becoming more like the Jane Tennison of the Prime Suspect series and is already beginning to get a bit of a reputation for doing things her own way. I have enjoyed seeing Jane move forward in time and now that we are in the 1980s, it has been interesting to see her becoming more accepted in her role as opposed to the very overt sexism she experienced during her time in the flying squad in previous books.The subject matter is, at times, quite harrowing and there may be triggers for anyone who would not choose to read about child abuse. While this is only a small part of the plot, it does help to build up a complete picture of the crime and explains the reasons behind the views of one of the officers involved.The Tennison series is one of my favourites but this can definitely be read as a standalone if you have not read any of the other books. I look forward to seeing what case Jane investigates next!

As someone who worked in the Metduring the early 1980’s I was impressed by the accuracy and thank Lynda for her research and her advisors who clearly gave accurate advice. The mix of the two powerful organisations was a brave thing to do and Lynda really pulled it off. The human relationships rang true as well. I am impressed by the continuity in the links between the early Tennison accounts and the La Plante “prime suspect” Jane Tennison. On to the next please…

Having already read quite a few of the Tennyson books I had high hopes for a new novel in the series so preordered a copy. This one is a slow burner which does improve and finally starts to get going about half way through but was disappointed with the ending was rushed.

Wow what a good read.I loved every single word.I just couldn’t put it down. Jane tennison is shown as a younger police woman,when policing wasn’t so sophisticated,so at some points the drama is old fashioned,but it is very topical of today. Sexism in the police,no equal opportunities. Also, the topic of child abuse in the Catholic Church. For me it meant something in today’s headlines. A brilliant read

Another good book in the series.Very interesting subject and storyline.Try to solve a murder form year's ago.The book keeps you interested from the start and keeps you thinking who has done the murder with plenty of suspects.The ending is very interesting and raises questions .A really brilliant readRecommend

I found this book hard going after about the 5th chapter, as in boring.It seemed drag on more so in some parts with unnecessary waffle about nothing and I switched off a few times as it was so uninteresting. The characters had no real depth and none were particularly likeable. Nothing gritty or suspenseful about this book.