Alan Daniels had asked for writing paper and been given a lined prison-issue notepad. His note began, “TO ANNA,” in capital letters, and then beneath he wrote in his fancy scrawl: “People think that acting takes a giant ego, but it’s more about knowing where to put it, where to store it. You keep on shifting consciousness to different parts of you. Acting is really all about energy. Only when I was acting was I at peace, because I was no longer Anthony Duffy, the boy trapped in the cupboard. Goodbye, Anna.”
He had spent two days and two nights in a prison cell, longer than he had boasted he would. Always resourceful, he had hidden the plastic bag from the clean clothes he had been allowed to take to the police station. He tied it tightly round his neck, almost as tight as when he used to strangle his victims. The bag was pressed so close to his face that when the officers looked in on him every fifteen minutes, he seemed to be sleeping. It was on the two o’clock check when the spy hole was moved aside that suspicion was aroused. His hands were clasped behind him, a final show of his determination to die.
Anna received the news the following morning. She refused to read or listen to the contents of the note he had addressed to her. She felt an enormous relief at the realization that she would not have to face him over and over again in a lengthy trial. This way was really the best outcome for her, though as usual, Alan Daniels had only been thinking of himself. To celebrate what she felt was her “release,” she splashed out on a new suit. As she watched it being folded up with sheets of tissue paper and put in the box, she realized she was ready for the next case. She had cut her teeth on a serial killer, first time out. Nothing could faze her now. As she handed over her credit card, she smiled into the intense blue eyes of the helpful young saleswoman and remembered the tip Barolli had given her for the future: “Watch the eyes. Wait for the fear.”
Touchstone Reading Group Guide
* * *
Above Suspicion
Anna Travis is a rookie detective handpicked by well-respected Chief Inspector James Langton to join her first murder case investigation. Though she shows the usual jitters at her first postmortem, Anna quickly recovers to attack the case with a zeal and thoroughness reminiscent of her famed chief inspector father. When the key murder suspect decides to pursue Anna, she struggles to keep her head and her heart as she engages him in a delicate game of cat and mouse. Lynda La Plante succeeds in creating another compelling heroine whose dedication and single-minded pursuit of justice makes her a worthy adversary for doubting colleagues and the criminals who cross her path.
For Discussion
1. What are your first impressions of rookie Anna Travis? How are these impressions challenged or altered throughout the course of the story? What final conclusions do hold about Anna and her capacity to be an effective detective?
2. How effectively does La Plante situate you in the world of police work? What are the ways she allows you to understand the nature of the work that Anna, Langton, and their colleagues do? What are some of the roadblocks that inhibit the efficacy of the detectives’ work?
3. What personal conflicts arise for both Anna and Langton as they investigate the murder case? How does each try to manage or overcome his/her conflicts? Is each successful? Why or why not?
4. What is the trail of evidence that emerges to incriminate Alan Daniels? How are the detectives able to shift the evidence from circumstantial to prosecutable? What role does Anna play in this shift?
5. What role do parental influences play in the life outcomes of both the villain and heroes in Above Suspicion? What does La Plante suggests about the most compelling influences in crafting a person’s character? What do you believe?
6. What key insights does the profiler, Michael Parks, provide to the detectives? How do these insights impact the direction of the investigation? Do you believe in the value of a profiler? Why or why not?
Enhance Your Book Club
Explore the role of a profiler. The work of profiler Michael Parks proved essential in crafting a portrait of the killer in Above Suspicion. At the outset of the investigation, Michael reveals that the behaviors of a sociopath and a psychopath can often be indistinguishable from each other; only a trained eye can detect the difference. While Michael comes to his own conclusion about the killer, your book club members will go through their own exploratory process to make a case for why the killer is either a sociopath or a psychopath.
Prior to the book club meeting, divide your members into two groups. Group one members will explore the characteristics and behaviors of a psychopath and arrive at a single definitive list of these characteristics and behaviors. Group two members will create their own definitive list of characteristics and behaviors for the sociopath designation. Each group will chose a primary speaker to present their case for why the killer in Above Suspicion is either a psychopath or sociopath. Each group should use the specific behaviors and actions of the killer in the novel as part of their evidence.
Questions to consider:
a) What is your definitive list of characteristics for a psychopath and sociopath?
b) What are the key similarities and differences in these designations?
c) Did you agree with Michael Park’s designation? If no, why not?
d) Identify the single most surprising finding from each group.
We hope you enjoyed reading this Touchstone eBook.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2001 by Lynda La Plante
All rights reserved,
including the right of reproduction
in whole or in part in any form.
Previously published in Great Britain in 2004 by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd.
TOUCHSTONE and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
La Plante, Lynda
Above suspicion / by Lynda La Plante.—1st Touchstone ed.
p. cm..
“A Touchstone book.”
1. Prostitutes—Crimes against—Fiction. 2. Police—Great Britain—Fiction. 3. Serial murders—Fiction. 4. Policewomen—Fiction. I. Title.
PR6062.A65A63 2006
823’.914—dc22
2005051023
ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-9588-8
ISBN-10: 0-7432-9588-9
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Above Suspicion (Anna Travis Mysteries Book 1) Page 41
