Review: Backlash

Source: TLC Book Tours

Backlash by Lynda La Plante
Series: Anna Travis #8
Genre: Mystery, Crime
Pages: 484 (paperback)
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Description:

Late at night on a notorious high-rise estate in the London borough of Hackney a white van is being driven erratically.  The driver is pulled over by the police and questioned.

After a long night of drinking, a woman on the street never makes it home.  A suspect...an arrest...a confession.... A case closed?

Five years earlier, a thirteen-year-old girl disappeared in broad daylight on a busy London street.  Detective Chief Superintendent James Langton headed the investigation, but the case was never solved.  It has haunted him ever since, but now there's a new confession.  Is it too good to be true?  When Detective Chief Inspector Anna Travis is pulled into the fray by her mentor and friend, she isn't so sure they have their man.

Then the suspect changes his story...

My Rating:

My Review:

A straight forward murder turns into a mystery shrouded by lies and intrigue.  DCI Mike Lewis initially believes he is dealing with a lying suspect but soon realizes there is much more to Henry Oates.  When his case begins to touch on older cases, DCI Lewis is forced to involve the brusque Detective Chief Superintendent, Jame Langton, who brings in Anna Travis, a top investigator, to help solve this new puzzle.  As the mystery grows, so does their team as they try to untangle one of the biggest mysteries of the last five years.

This was my first time reading an Anna Travis mystery and I was quite pleased with the experience.  This isn't exactly a 'whodonit' and I didn't know that going into this read.  The reader actually follows the detectives as they unravel a crime piecing together evidence bit by bit.  From the beginning we have alleged bad guy but we soon learn there is much more to the crime and as it slowly unraveled, I found myself more and more engrossed into the story.  I couldn't put it down.  At the beginning, I find the characters too detached and the transitions abrupt but I slowly adjusted and I didn't notice nor did I feel the same as the book progressed.  I didn't feel much attachment to the characters but this might be because I started in book 8 of this series with no background except what was provided in this read.  It was interesting how this story evolved because it didn't seem overly complicated and even as the story progressed, I never expected it to continue to grow and surprise but it did.  I think it's a lengthy book for the genre, but it wasn't a bunch of filler.  Each page led to something else which led to the next thing.  It's so hard to describe but I don't think I've read anything like it.  I truly enjoyed the experience.  I would definitely continue this series.