So I began reading Lynda La Plante’s new crime thriller Buried just before lockdown set in – a time when my own anxiety at what’s happening at the moment was at its peak. Yes, initially my concentration was all over the place but because of La Plante’s legendary, fast paced writing, it wasn’t long before I was hooked.
If you’re a fan of crime fiction, I definitely recommend that you read Buried – you will be engrossed. Only published yesterday (Thursday 2nd April), this is a fantastic lockdown read for you.
It is actually the first novel in the new Detective Jack Warr crime series. Although Jack is a new, fresh character, the plot has La Plante’s twisted trademarks that skilfully alludes back to some of her most famous books – the legendary Dolly Rawlins and gang who were the focus of the Widows’ crime series. However please don’t worry if like me you haven’t read these previous novels as Buried is an exciting, stand alone treat. If anything, this new novel has just wet my appetite to read Widows.
Detective Constable Jack Warr is an attractive, complex character who has, it is fair to say, lost his drive and passion for policing – if it was ever there in the first place. It is only when a dead, burned body is discovered in the aftermath of a fire in an isolated cottage alongside millions of stolen, charred bank notes, that Jack’s drive begins to awaken.
Bored and resentful of police procedure, Jack starts to follow his gut instinct that enables him to easily navigate himself around the criminal world. When he is shocked to discover a very personal truth, even though it jeopardises all he holds dear, his intrigue and excitement further ignites, blurring his boundaries between the law and the criminal world.
Buried has everything we’ve come to expect from La Plante; twisted, flawed, complex characters and a healthy dose of dark humour. This is especially shown through the character of Jack’s hapless colleague DC Anik Joshi who is competing with Jack for a promotion.
Full of gritty twists that had me questioning Jack’s integrity, you can understand why Lynda La Plante is known as the queen of crime fiction. I really feel that in this novel, she has planted dark, gripping plot hooks that are going to be explosive as the series develops. I’m so excited to discover how Jack’s story, and the stories of those around him are going to develop, and at what personal cost to Jack.
So this weekend why not indulge in a bit of lockdown reading while you have all this extra time on your hands. And let me tell you, if you start reading Buried, you’ll be hooked.
Thank you Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers for inviting me to be involved in the blog tour of this gripping novel. Thank you also, alongside Zaffre Books and NetGalley for my advance copy.
To follow my fellow book bloggers also on the blog tour, please see below.
Happy reading everyone! 🙂
My rating:
