Lynda La Plante practically invented the thriller.
Karin Slaughter
La Plante excels in her ability to pick out the surprising but plausible details that give her portrayal of everyday life in a police station a rare ring of authenticity.
Sunday Telegraph
It was supposed to be a simple case: a young man arrested for armed assault.
But it was just the beginning.
As Rodney Middleton awaits trial, Detective Jack Warr is warned by his mentor DCI Ridley that they have only scratched the surface of the man’s crimes.
Then DCI Ridley is suddenly removed from his post. No one is to contact him – and no one will say why.
As Warr digs into Middleton’s past, Ridley calls pleading for help, now accused of a murder he insists he didn’t commit.
To catch a monster and exonerate his friend, Warr must weed out the lies. But what awaits Warr if he uncovers the truth?
Lynda La Plante was born in Liverpool. She is the author of over forty novels, all of which have been bestsellers. She trained for the stage at RADA and worked with the National theatre and RSC before becoming a television actress. She then turned to writing – and made her breakthrough with the phenomenally successful TV series Widows.
Lynda’s original script for the much-acclaimed Prime Suspect won awards from BAFTA, Emmys, British Broadcasting and Royal Television Society as well as the 1993 Edgar Allan Poe Award.
Lynda is an honorary fellow of the British Film Institute and was awarded the BAFTA Dennis Potter Best Writer’s Award in 2000. In 2008, she was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to Literature, Drama and Charity.
Lynda La Plante is the first layperson to be awarded an honorary fellowship to the Forensic Science Society. In 2020 she launched the acclaimed Listening to the Dead podcast with former CSI Cass Sutherland, exploring forensic science and its impact on solving crimes.
