Lynda La Plante

I really should have just dropped this one, but I kept giving it longer to improve until eventually I'd come too far to quit now. I really wish I'd just given up earlier though and saved myself the bother.

I really disliked this book. The writing style was very dry, just '-- happened, and then --, and he said --.' I don't need a lot of excitement, but this was simply tedious. Lots of contradictions, lots of stretching believability. The story bounced from character to character to character, but really Jack was the center of the entire book universe, all the others only existed for his benefit. We hear a couple things about each, but none of them are really persons in their own right. They're only there to assist him, or be interrogated by him, or inspire him to feel something, or whatever. I couldn't muster much care for any of them since they were all so paper thin.

And unfortunately, I found Jack, the only developed character, very unlikable. And actually kind of a loser. I'm stunned anyone would craft a series around him! He's selfish, small minded, just does whatever he cares to do whenever he cares to do it. He shouldn't be a police officer at all really, much less considered for promotion. And on top of all that, he really isn't even very good at solving crimes. He basically fobs off all his work responsibilities to pursue his own interests, and it's only because one of the personal interests just happened to overlap with the case, that he ever contributed anything at all! Sheesh.

He's been a cop for years but has never felt much interest in anything until he started fixating on, (and admiring, and emulating) criminals! Yay, that's just peachy in a cop really. Also he had a lovely childhood with his adopted parents and never cared to know anything about his biological ones, until his dad is actually dying, and then suddenly he's on a mission to replace him before he dies or something, even at the expense of actually spending what time he has left with his dad! wth?? And we're told repeatedly that his girlfriend is the love of his life and most important person to him, etc. and then he's a terrible boyfriend for the entire book! Ugh. He's a self-centered @ss-hat and I'm glad to be rid of him.… (more)

Whole Life Sentence is written by Lynda La Plante.
It is stated by the author that this is her final Tennison crime novel, bringing readers up to the point at which the famous tv series Prime Suspect began.
“Newly promoted Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison has elbowed her way into the Area Major Incident Pool (AMIP), an elite team investigating non-domestic murders.”
I have followed Jane Tennison throughout her career with the books. Whole Life Sentence is one of my all-time favorites in the series.
It is hard to take sometimes, the sleazy, corrupt, sexist co-workers and her ‘bad luck’ with boyfriends. But she is a relentless detective and her growth and development despite so many roadblocks on the job is admirable. ****… (more)