Backlash

by Lynda La Plante

Series: Anna Travis (8)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
195	8	140,992	(3.52)	4
Late night on a notorious high-rise estate in Hackney and a white van is being driven erratically. The driver is pulled over by the police and questioned. A woman on the street after a long evening's drinking... She never makes it home. A suspect... an arrest... a confession... A case done and dusted? Five years earlier, a 13-year-old girl disappeared in broad daylight on a busy London street. DCS James Langton headed the investigation; the case was never closed. It has haunted him ever since. And now comes another confession, to this murder, and to one more besides. Too good to be true? DCI Anna Travis, pulled into the fray, isn't so sure that they have their man. Then the suspect changes his story...… (more)

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Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)

It's been a few years since I'd read any of Ms La Plante's books but this felt like she had given up and just phoned in the story.

The text read like a list of events being recited by a narrator and the characters' voices were artificial, as if it were robots reading lines.

And the story ... very weak. The only reason the cops had any suspect was because he was found with one body then bragged about his kill list in the first few pages. Yet the whole way through Anna Travis is congratulating herself on her great police work.

Nah, waste of time, this.
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joweirqt | Jan 15, 2021 |

In this novel, the suspense is not built around the chase of the murderer but rather the careful reconstruction of events as the culprit leads the detectives down various leads. It doesn't have the same panache as other books with sensational revelations, but the careful investigation holds enough surprises to string the reader along. The ending is rather exaggerated in an attempt to finish with a flourish, but LaPlante's attention to detail and well-developed characters give her book substance. (

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Cecilturtle | Sep 1, 2019 |

Somewhere under the excessive handwringing and redundant summarization of evidence in this book there was a solid police procedural but getting to it was a struggle. Could have benefited from severe editing. There are fun reads, then there are reads like this - agonizingly dense. Full review will be posted once published in Deadly Pleasures. (

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MugsyNoir | Oct 27, 2017 |

BACKLASH is an Anna Travis Mystery (Book #8) written by Lynda La Plante.
A chance ‘pull over’ of an erratically driven van leads to the discovery of a brutally murdered woman and a full investigation by the Murder Squad. What they uncover leads to the opening of several ‘Cold Case’ Missing Persons Files.
A very suspenseful crime drama and police procedural, I couldn’t put it down.
James Langton continues to be an insufferable jerk, however, and Anna Travis’s expertise is seldom appreciated or acknowledged. (

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diana.hauser | Dec 29, 2016 |

Fantastic read if murder mysteries are your thing! I didn't want to put it down! My only regret is starting this series with this book as it's #8 in the series. I've already searched out #1 and planning to catch up. Great characters and great writing! (

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Neverwithoutabook | Dec 23, 2014 |

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Canonical title

Backlash

Original title

Backlash

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People/Characters

Important places

Taplow Quarry, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Important events

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Epigraph

Dedication

First words

'Quiet night so far, isn't it?'
'Yeah, an' we've still got seven hours to go before the shift finishes!'

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

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Unknown if Audible edition is abridged or unabridged

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▾Book descriptions

Late night on a notorious high-rise estate in Hackney and a white van is being driven erratically. The driver is pulled over by the police and questioned. A woman on the street after a long evening's drinking... She never makes it home. A suspect... an arrest... a confession... A case done and dusted? Five years earlier, a 13-year-old girl disappeared in broad daylight on a busy London street. DCS James Langton headed the investigation; the case was never closed. It has haunted him ever since. And now comes another confession, to this murder, and to one more besides. Too good to be true? DCI Anna Travis, pulled into the fray, isn't so sure that they have their man. Then the suspect changes his story...

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