Jack had gone from being a normal sized fish in a normal sized pond, to being a very small fish in the hugest pond in the UK—the Metropolitan Police Force. And he was out of his depth. After fourteen months of working at the MET, Jack still hadn’t found his calling, his passion, his heart in London and, as the months ticked by, he honestly feared that he never would.
When Jack finally walked into the Squad Room, he froze in the doorway. Shit! Ridley was not in meetings all morning and Jack being a little bit late was a very big deal.
Ridley didn’t acknowledge Jack’s presence, and no one in the team dared look away from him while he was talking. This was an impromptu briefing, in response to a phone call from DI Martin Prescott over in Aylesbury.
“We’ve just been handed a house fire, in which the charred remains of an unknown person have been discovered, together with approximately two million pounds in old money—also burned. This is being treated as murder, arson and robbery. It’s come to us because it’s looking like it could be connected to one of our old cases from ’95—the biggest train robbery this country has ever seen. No one was ever arrested and thirty million plus vanished without a trace. We’re heading to Aylesbury in twenty minutes.”
Then, and only then, did Ridley look at Jack. Ridley’s dark eyes were a frightening combination of anger and disappointment. “You’re with me,” he said, then headed into his office and slammed the door shut.
The team shuffled uncomfortably in their seats, wanting to offer sympathy but, equally, wondering what the hell Jack thought he was playing at by being so late. As Jack bowed his head in disgrace and wondered how this day could possibly get any worse, he spotted a blob of honey sliding down the front of his trouser leg. That’s fair, he thought.
A Q&A with Lynda La Plante
You studied acting at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) in London. Had you always wanted to act?
I had never really thought about being an actress, as from a very early age I had studied ballet. When I was twelve, I had a very nasty fall from a swing and injured both knees, so a career as a ballerina was no longer possible. To avoid disappointment, my mother enrolled me in drama classes. I doubt very much that I would ever have actually become a ballet dancer, but I soon became obsessed by acting and was encouraged by my drama teacher to apply for the Royal Academy.
Your peers at RADA included Anthony Hopkins, Ian McShane and John Hurt. Did you go on to act in any productions with them?
Ian McShane and John Hurt were friends of mine at RADA, but I had a much closer relationship with Anthony Hopkins. We worked together at a repertory company in Liverpool and then both starred in La Mandragola, a wonderful play by Goldoni. Shortly after the season, Anthony went on to join the National Theatre.
You toured with the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) and National Theatre, and had a successful television career. Why did you decide to give up acting and take up writing instead?
There comes a time in every actor’s life when they must face the future and decide where their career is going. I had been consistently cast in almost interchangeable roles in every crime series on television. Although I had a steady stream of work, I often felt dispirited. I returned to the theater in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into the Night, and even starred as Calamity Jane, but the frustration was building. My first attempt at writing was Widows, which went on to be an incredible success and, truthfully, I enjoyed the process of writing, researching and being part of a casting team more than I enjoyed acting. I knew almost immediately that I wanted to be a writer and creator and had no regrets about not returning to acting.
You are the multi award-winning writer and creator of the television series Prime Suspect. How did that come about?
After the phenomenal success of the TV series Widows (which has continued to the present day since a major movie directed by Steve McQueen, based on the original series, was released in 2018) I had become a fully fledged writer. I was approached by the network to see if I had any new material and that material became Prime Suspect.
Prime Suspect gave Helen Mirren her first major television role, as your character Jane Tennison. What qualities did she have as an actress that made you want to cast her?
I had seen Dame Helen Mirren on stage and admired her greatly. She is a brilliant actress and has a natural weight to her presence. She was also the right age to play Jane Tennison, which was very important to me following the research I had done, and having met detective chief inspectors working for the Met Police.
You have written a series of books based on the early life and career of Jane Tennison, which follow her from when she is a young police woman at the age of twenty, to when we meet her in the Prime Suspect novels at the age of forty-five. Why did you decide to write them?
I had never considered writing books about Jane Tennison’s background, but at a Q and A session after a book signing event, I was asked what Jane Tennison’s early life had been like. I was, to tell the truth, unable to answer the question. I know I’m not the only author who has found myself in that position, as I recall that Raymond Chandler was once asked where Philip Marlowe’s character came from and he answered that he hadn’t got the faintest idea. The more I thought about the question, the more interested I became in discovering where and when Jane Tennison began her career and started to research numerous female police officers. I was very impressed by their stories and interested to learn how tough it would have been for Jane Tennison to survive in this world. When we first meet Jane in Prime Suspect she is already forty-five years old—very accomplished, strong willed and exceptionally professional—and it continues to fascinate me to explore how she came to be this way. I am fortunate to realize that my readers are also keen to find out.
The Tennison books not only paint a vivid and colorful portrait of London and policing in the seventies and eighties, but they are also set at a time where forensic science is in its infancy. Was this a challenge?
As well as discovering how a young female officer survived the rampant discrimination and tough world of policing in the seventies, eighties and nineties, returning to this time means also entering a world where there was no DNA testing, no mobile phones and forensic science was in its infancy. This is not necessarily a challenge, but instead fascinating to learn how the investigations were carried out and to see the ability of the detectives when doing their jobs without advanced technology. This does, however, require a lot of work, particularly when making sure that the stories have all of the pace that readers are used to these days.
You are the only layperson to be made an Honorary Member of the Forensic Science Society. Why were you awarded this honor, and what does it mean to you?
Throughout my career in crime writing, I have been dependent on the Metropolitan Police officers, pathologists and the expertise of forensic scientists. I have never taken what is described as “dramatic license,” and have instead relied on the expert advice that I have been given. My respect for the scientists and the time they have given me to make sure my books are as factually correct as possible, is incredibly important to me, and because of this, I was given membership of the Forensic Science Society. I was very honored, and it is an award that I treasure.
You have written and produced over 170 hours of primetime television. Why did you decide to produce as well as write?
I decided to produce as well as write scripts mainly through a desire to have more involvement in the finished product, which you don’t always get as a writer. After one notable experience where my suggestions on a film were ignored, I felt very frustrated and therefore disappointed in the end result. For this reason, I decided to hire experienced producers, casting directors, set designers and costume designers and worked hard on learning my profession. Only then could I truthfully say I was in total control.
Of all the books you have written, do you have a favorite book and character?
My first book, The Legacy
, remains my most treasured novel. I know it was overly long and, in fact, so long that it had to be divided into two books, but the character of Evelyn remains my favorite. The Legacy follows the course of Evelyn’s life over five decades, which I really enjoyed exploring, so perhaps, in a funny way, this is also one of the reasons I enjoy writing Jane Tennison so much. I like following my characters’ stories throughout their lives and creating fully formed characters.
You are continuing to write the Tennison series (the newest book being The Dirty Dozen). Will there be any further Widows books?
I am continuing to write about Jane Tennison’s career through the years and The Dirty Dozen sees Jane joining the infamous Sweeney (the robbery squad), a tough group whose sole job is to investigate dangerous armed robberies. However, as much as I love writing about Jane Tennison, I truthfully don’t know if I can leave the amazing women from Widows behind. Perhaps there will be another shocking twist to their story . . .
The groundbreaking thriller from the Queen of Crime Drama
WIDOWS
Facing life alone, they turned to crime together.
Dolly Rawlins, Linda Perelli and Shirley Miller are left devastated when their husbands are killed in a security van heist that goes disastrously wrong.
When Dolly discovers her husband’s bank deposit box containing a gun, money and detailed plans for the hijack, she has three options. She could hand over the ledgers to the detective. She could hand them over to the thugs who want to take over Harry’s turf. Or, she and the other widows could finish the job their husbands started.
As they rehearse the raid, the women discover that Harry’s plan required four people and recruit hooker Bella O’Reilly. But only three bodies were discovered in the carnage of the original hijack—so who was the fourth man, and where is he now?
Now a major motion picture
Available now
WIDOWS’ REVENGE
Dolly, Linda, Shirley and Bella are back. And this time it’s a fight to the finish.
Against all the odds, Dolly Rawlins and her gangland widows managed the impossible: a heist their husbands had failed to pull off—at the cost of their lives.
But though they may be in the money, they’re far from easy street.
Shocked by her husband’s betrayal, Dolly discovers Harry Rawlins isn’t dead. He knows where the four women are and he wants them to pay. And he doesn’t just mean getting his hands on the money.
The women can’t keep running. They have to get Harry out of their lives for good. But can they outwit a criminal mastermind who won’t hesitate to kill?
Especially when one of them has a plan of her own . . . to kill or be killed.
Available now
THE DIRTY DOZEN
The fifth book in the Sunday Times bestselling Jane Tennison series.
April 1980 and Jane is the first female detective to be posted to the Met’s renowned Flying Squad, commonly known as the “Sweeney.” Based at Rigg Approach in East London, they investigate armed robberies on banks, cash in transit and other business premises.
Jane thinks her transfer is on merit and is surprised to discover she is actually part of a short term internal experiment, intended to have a calming influence on a team that likes to dub themselves as the “Dirty Dozen.”
The men on the squad don’t think a woman is up to the dangers they face when dealing with some of London’s most ruthless armed criminals, who think the only “good cop” is a dead cop. Determined to prove she’s as good as the men, Jane discovers from a reliable witness that a gang is going to carry out a massive robbery involving millions of pounds.
But she doesn’t know who they are, or where and when they will strike . . .
Available now
From the creator of the award-winning TV series PRIME SUSPECT, discover JANE TENNISON’S story, from rookie police officer to fully-fledged detective.
TENNISON
HIDDEN KILLERS
GOOD FRIDAY
MURDER MILE
THE DIRTY DOZEN
Available now
She's Out Page 40
