Blind Fury

Anna Travis #6

by Lynda La Plante

A motorway service station on the M1: dimly lit, run down, poorly supervised, flickering lights, dark corners; a favourite stopover for long-distance lorry drivers on their way up north from London. Behind it, a body is found in a ditch, that of a girl barely out of her teens. She appears to have no family, no friends, no connections anywhere. Other girls have gone missing in the vicinity and no one has stepped forward to claim them. Anna Travis is assigned to the case. Her blood runs cold when she receives a letter from a lifer -- someone she was responsible for arresting in the past -- who writes to her from prison, asking her to visit him urgently. For he claims he knows who the killer is…

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Thriller, Audiobook, Procedural, Mystery Thriller

512 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Lynda La Plante, CBE (born Lynda Titchmarsh) is a British author, screenwriter, and erstwhile actress (her performances in Rentaghost and other programmes were under her stage name of Lynda Marchal), best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series.

Her first TV series as a scriptwriter was the six part robbery series Widows, in 1983, in which the widows of four armed robbers carry out a heist planned by their deceased husbands.

In 1991 ITV released Prime Suspect which has now run to seven series and stars Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennison. (In the United States Prime Suspect airs on PBS as part of the anthology program Mystery!) In 1993 La Plante won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her work on the series. In 1992 she wrote at TV movie called Seekers, starring Brenda Fricker and Josette Simon, produced by Sarah Lawson.

She formed her own television production company, La Plante Productions, in 1994 and as La Plante Productions she wrote and produced the sequel to Widows, the equally gutsy She's Out (ITV, 1995). The name "La Plante" comes from her marriage to writer Richard La Plante, author of the book Mantis and Hog Fever. La Plante divorced Lynda in the early 1990s.

Her output continued with The Governor (ITV 1995-96), a series focusing on the female governor of a high security prison, and was followed by a string of ratings pulling miniseries: the psycho killer nightmare events of Trial & Retribution (ITV 1997-), the widows' revenge of the murders of their husbands & children Bella Mafia (1997) (starring Vanessa Redgrave), the undercover police unit operations of Supply and Demand (ITV 1998), videogame/internet murder mystery Killer Net (Channel 4 1998) and the female criminal profiler cases of Mind Games (ITV 2001).

Two additions to the Trial and Retribution miniseries were broadcast during 2006.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've been happily reading the Anna Travis series by Lynda La Plante since the first book and enjoying them. Despite a few odds and ends that can be mildly annoying. Ongoing romantic angst, a tricky senior officer (in this case the early on love interest as well), and some seriously big books without always having quite enough story to fill out all of the pages.

BLIND FURY, unfortunately, nearly defeated me before the end. Which is a pity. Because the investigative elements of this book are actually not too bad. It does take a while for things to get moving mind you - but it's an interesting sort of a case, with the bodies of two young unidentified girls and an identified older prostitute seemingly having little in common. Aside from the circumstances of the dumping of their corpses, and the way in which they were raped and killed. Identifying the victims requires a lot of good old fashioned police investigative work - a lot of which is done by the team that Anna is working with - with flashes of insight from Anna herself. At the same time, for reasons best known to DCS Langton, Anna and a colleague also find themselves visiting a maximum security jail to discuss the case with a previously convicted multiple murderer who claims he has a unique insight into the mindset of this new killer.

Langton and Anna have a romantic history (they lived together at one point) and both have moved on. A while ago. It is mentioned, not quite as frequently as in earlier books, and it's sort of spiced up a little with some vaguely longing behaviour from Langton which seems to cause Anna to realise, frequently, that she's moved on. Moved on to the point where she forms a relationship with one of the guards on the unit where killer Cameron Welsh is held. And at this point the personal elements of the story start declaring themselves in bold face letters, with a little neon decoration for good measure.

BLIND FURY heads off into unbelievable territory fairly quickly - with the unfathomable concentration on an unconnected, unqualified, convicted killer as some sort of "expert" witness in the case. Which didn't stack up well on it's own, let alone when you also have to accept some of the leaps of brilliance or "intuition" elements of the normal Anna investigation style. Normally this sort of thing is a little easier to swallow as previous books have belted along at a good pace, but this one dragged. As the focus is increasingly on Anna and her personal life, the concentration on the actual investigation wanes - and that got really annoying, as the process of identifying the two unknown girls, connecting them to the dead prostitute and then the painstaking work required to try to identify suspects was reasonably compelling. Or at least it felt so stacked up beside the inevitability of the trainwreck that is Anna's personal life.

Overall there just wasn't enough of the good elements to hide or compensate for the increasingly sinking feeling of inevitability that hit as soon as a new man walked into Anna's life and the book dragged on to its foreseeable and really disappointing conclusion.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 6th book in the Anna Travis series by author Lynda La Plante.
In this book Detective Anna Travis investigates a serial killer who is targeting prostitutes. The latest victim is found naked by a truck stop and she is proving difficult to identify. With the mounting pressure to make progress on the case, Anna is offered help from a surprising source. An evil killer named Cameron Welsh, a lifer who Anna previously helped put behind bars is offering his help by identifying the serial killer, an offer Anna reluctantly accepts.

Another outstanding police procedural novel that ticks all the boxes. The series goes from strength to strength and I found this latest book one of the most enjoyable yet. I finished this book and immediately started the next one in the series, such was the pull.

[Michele Brenton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh dear. Perhaps it is because I have just read two extremely well written books in this genre that this one seems so clunky and awkward? I simply cannot force myself through it. I am on page 54 and already I want to hurl it across the room in irritation.

I have just finished reading The Distant Echo by Val McDermid and Knots & Crosses by Ian Rankin. This is no coincidence as I was shopping at the Range and they were selling crime novels at two for fiver and these are three of a set of four my mum and I purchased together.

I can't remember what the fourth one is because my mum is reading it at the moment but I hope it is better than Blind Fury.

I think the story will be fine for people who don't mind dialogue that sounds as if somebody wrote it as a 'serving suggestion' for actors to later add their own characterisation, accents and personality and maybe even change the words a bit to make them sound more believable. But for me it makes painful reading.

The female detective has gone to a prison - she is an experienced officer and yet every step needs to be explained to her as if she has never even watched a police drama on tv. When she gets there she is then told in huge detail all about the set up at the prison and then told that as she is an attractive woman they want to protect her safety!!! This all delivered in a language that would not be out of place coming from a Victorian governess rather than a prison governor/officer.
In contrast McDermid and Rankin (and Knots and Crosses was his first novel) give their characters dialogue that can be read and each character identified from how they say things and what they say. In Blind Fury everybody speaks with the same 'voice' except for a Dick Van Dyke type caricature of a 'bird on the game' who lurches between various stereotypical speech patterns such as one minute saying 'nothin' and then later 'nothing' and so on and so forth. Which is fine in a script because you can let the actor catch that type of thing as they overlay it with their interpretation but for me as I'm reading it - aarghh!!

Oh well. That's just me. This is a bestseller and Lynda La Plante isn't going to be suffering from my personal dislike of her style any time soon. My mum didn't like it either although she read it to the end because she tends to finish things once she's started and is in her 80s and is retired. I have a busier lifestyle and I am more impatient so I won't be doing so. I am not interested in the characters and couldn't care less whodunnit.

[Sam Still Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must say that I don’t take a lot of notice of the titles of Lynda La Plante’s DI Anna Travis novels, as I don’t think they usually relate to the actual novel. I suppose this book (the latest in the series) does, but you wouldn’t make the link until the end.

This book is about another murder case that DI Travis is working on, the murder of three women whose bodies were all found just off a London motorway. It’s a dead case with very few leads. Enter a murderer in gaol who specifically states he can assist the case and get into the killer’s mind. An interesting plot line that makes you think of The Silence of the Lambs but it really doesn’t go very far, except for setting up another lover for Anna.

I’m getting a bit sick of Anna and her boyfriends- yes, she’s very morally upright and dedicated to her career, so how does having a fling in each book assist the plot? Isn’t it in detective fiction canon that all detectives end up sad and lonely?

This is a spoiler but Anna doesn’t break the mould. In what must be the most boring case covered in this series, leads continually come to dead ends and suspects / witnesses are revisited again and again. This is fiction- couldn’t there be a bit more liberty to make it interesting?

The last couple of chapters go through emotions and timeframes very quickly- a little too quickly in my opinion. The blurb on the back of the book also says a little too much about what happens at the end- I had a chapter to read, read the blurb again and immediately thought, ‘Oh, I know what happens now’.

Generally with this series I don’t expect high literature but gripping action. This time I didn’t even get one of them.

[Jeremy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story is long and predictable and the characters are uninteresting. It seemed like more a chronicle of the main character's very average life than a novel that was meant to entertain anyone.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Linda LaPlante, even though some of her work does not always reach the levels of her best work. Who's among us does? Once, after she’d directed a successful TV series, I saw some interviews with the actor stars. They said she did enormous amounts of research and followed real case developments closely in writing her own screenplays. Frankly, it shows. One of the best things about her dramas, whether for the reading, listening, or watching audience, is the authenticity of the voices. You know, (though you also fear, since she writes crime dramas) that these are the people one really has to work with: policemen and –women that struggle to grasp worlds outside of their own limited experience and education, brutal and unsympathetic sociopaths, fearful citizens that dread contact with police at the same time they rely on them for their safety. Put this together with the kismet of progress on a case—a fleeting thought, a chance encounter, a slip of the tongue that leads one to think in a new direction—and you have the beauty and skill of La Plante. She promises you nothing more than a reflection of our lives.

I listened to the audio of this title, read capably by Kim Hicks for AudioGo, copyright 2011. We are treated, not to a mystery that twists and turns in unexpected ways, nor presents a new suspect every chapter, but one which proceeds as one imagines a real case would proceed—building one piece of evidence upon another until the result is inescapable. Because we are so conditioned to reading mysteries with new suspects cropping up often, I posit we readers create our own doubts, and imagine more than is given us, developing the mystery into something more than is written. Blind Fury almost feels interactive, the way La Plante has written it.

This story begins with every police detective’s worst nightmare: with an unidentified body in a vacant lot. It ends with a conviction, and several people dead or destroyed. Our lead characters change and grow and learn right before our eyes, and ultimately we turn from the story with knowledge that weights us. Kudos to both La Plante and Hicks, both masters of voice.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh dear, not very good. Disappointing as previously read the author's earlier works and can't believe its the same person.

Bland characters, so predictable, with distant and detached of narrative story telling Misleading that it was badged as needing one serial killer to catch another, it just felt like this was used to fill the pages, and added no value.

Very predictable ending with the main character just being a poor carbon copy of previous female detective that the author has created.

[Charlotte Burt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good one. A bit slow at times but I guess that's the ways with a police investigation sometimes.
I spoiled it a little bit by reading the book after it in the series beforehand by mistake so I knew how some things were going to turn out. It was a gripping read nevertheless.

[Ash · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the lowest rating I've ever given a book on this site thus far.
The writing style felt detached. Oft times the dialogue was stiff with no show of character.
And the character themselves felt very bland and 2d. I know this is in the middle of a series but a lot of the characters personalities was based on simple assumptions. And one should never stop exploring characters, even in a series, as it allows the reader closer understanding of the character.
The lead was supposed to be some strong woman making her mark in the detective areas of the world. But a lot of the time she got side-lined by the male counter roles and succumbed to keeping her mouth shut when treated poorly. She also hardly took care of her self, letting her health wane and drinking half a bottle of wine every night. She followed a troupe line of character popular in the crime/thriller genre. Which although not original can be done right and made interesting/original enough.
I didn't feel a thing for the victims. They had no family, hardly any friends and no stable homes. They had no one to mourn them and as a result I didn't feel a connection with them.
The whole killer getting another killer felt like a push on. The killer helping the team had maybe four chapters placed sparsely in the book and in the end Detective Anna Travis wasn't visiting him in prison just to see him.
After the first boring, detached and emotionless part of the book it became clear I was reading an insta-love romance novel where one part of the duo happened to be working this case that didn't really matter. It also followed another troupe of the character being nothing/not being able to do anything without a man.
It didn't help that this book had some offensive things to say about prostitutes and immigrants who obviously had no other choice but to do what they were doing.
On the whole I was disappointed. The name is baddass, the cover is baddass, the concept is baddass. But in the end, despite he lack of adjectives/emotional prose this book of 501 pages felt very long winded. It just didn't pull through.
Sorry, Lynda, just wasn't for me.

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Linda LaPlante writes excellent police procedurals in several series. This one features DI Anna Travis whom we saw earlier involved in a ridiculous affair with her boss, Superintendent Langton who continues to have a presence and influence on the investigations. He's also a very bright detective as we see in one scene.

The scenes with Cameron Walsh were a bit too reminiscent of "Silence of the Lambs." Walsh is a killer Travis had jailed years earlier but he's obsessed with her and claims to be able to help with their investigation into the deaths of young foreign workers.

You get a real sense for the plodding tediousness of a difficult investigation with few clues. It's definitely not a thriller but seems to me to be a more accurate depiction of how frustrating and repetitive an investigation can be. I rather liked the repeated interviews, tracking down and interviewing witnesses, the interplay among the characters, and the tedious seeming lack of progress that many other reviewers decried. I'm not so wild about the romantic relationships that Travis finds herself in constantly but which often lend little to the overall plot. An attempt at building up the character, I suppose.

A thriller it's not, but as a realistic portrayal of the frustrations of police investigations, it's top-notch.

[April · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cannot understand how anyone could give this book more than two stars. It was very poorly written and edited. But more than that, it was slow-moving and almost completely transparent. The characters were not well-developed. There were many inconsistencies. There are too many good books out there to waste your time on this one.

[Brigid Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anna Travis is part of the team investigating a serial killer, but will the team crack the case before he strikes again?
There are lots of twists and turns in this excellent crime thriller, and an unexpected ending.
This is my fourth read in the Anna Travis series, and the writing compels me to continue reading.

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a Lynda La Plante fan, then you’ll enjoy this novel. Lynda is at her best.

[Shaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Number 6 in the series...and I'm still not tired of Anna Travis or the supporting cast.

Once again a pretty standard police procedural. The writing isn't flowery or full of figurative language, but it gets the job done.

I have to say that I knew well before she got there, where La Plante was going with Anna's love interest in this book, yet still I fell hook, line, and sinker, even shedding a tear.

It's so hard to keep a series like this going. You've got to give but also hold back just enough to keep the reader interested. I personally think La Plante does a phenomenal job of doing that and perhaps this is why her series are so popular.

I've read some really scathing reviews of her books, and always have to scratch my head. But I think her popularity overall speaks to the quality of her work in this genre.

This particular book is a little more straight forward than some of its predecessors. The crime almost takes a back seat to the developments in Anna's private life. It felt like Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs and the real life Green River Killer had a baby. No big surprises. That said, I think it was needed, especially after a few books, namely 3 and 4, in which the plot got away from her. I also thinks she gave herself room to renew the complex relationship between Anna and Langton.

Good stuff in my opinion.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting story, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Detective Inspector Anna Travis is leading the investigation of the gruesome murders of three women. Their raped and brutalized bodies have been dumped close to a truck stop between London and Manchester. The cases are similar enough that Anna demands more investigation into the lives and possible connection between the 3 women. Her former lover, Chief Inspector Langdon is the head of her department, therefore, she needs to tread carefully around him, keeping contact to a minimum. But they soon know they’re looking for a serial killer.

A letter arrives from Cameron Welsh, a convicted murder that Langdon and Travis investigated several years ago, leading to his permanent incarceration. He’s a heinous sexual murder but incredibly smart and he’s offering his assistance on this particular case. Welsh is kept in a special security wing at Barfield Prison in Leeds and Langon and Travis journey to speak with. His information, though nothing new, helps them to change the focus of their investigation. However, it’s apparent that Cameron is infatuated with Anna, as much as Anna is disgusted and repelled by him.

While in the prison, Anna falls for a young prison guard Ken and she is able to overcome some of her distaste for being in the company of Welsh for the opportunity to see Ken. The feeling is very mutual, finally, there's some sunshine in Anna's life. But the bodies continue to pile up and the suspect list is empty.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detective Anna Travis has a serial killer on her hands. Someone is targeting prostitutes and killing them. The latest victim was found naked and by a truck stop. Anna and the rest of her unit have tried everything to identify the woman but she is a Jane Doe. With the trail growing cold, Anna’s boss is feeling the pressure to crack the case and soon. So when opportunity presents itself to Anna in the form of an offer from inmate, Cameron Welsh offering to help Anna track the killer, she can not pass up the invitation.

I had high hopes for this book and it did have glimmer of brilliance but it was far and between for me. I found Anna frustrating. I kept yelling at her to wake up and grow some, you know what. For instance, when she was interviewing a gal that she knew was lying, she just took the woman’s word and left. Later when she and another detective were talking, she said that she bet that the gal threw away the suitcase after I left. If Anna believed that the woman had the suitcase, than why did she not sit in her car and wait for the woman to toss it and than go through it? Another instance: Anna went back to the woman later and once again questioned her, the gal shock an article of the victim’s clothing in her face and Anna did not ask to look at it. She just apologized and left. In addition, there was a lot of dissecting about why the killer would target prostitutes but not a lot of action going on. Sadly, this book was just middle of the road for me.

[Fiona Caldarevic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't read a police crime book in ages, and what a delight. I'm a big fan of police shows, especially British ones, so can imagine exactly what this story would look like on TV.

There was a lot of detail, and the unfolding of the evidence was methodical and fascinating, even in the bits that were supposed to be tedious. But sometimes there was too much detail.. in the end especially. Hate it when some books don't tie up all the loose ends, but this book tied everything up and then some. It all sort of finished up and there was still 20 pages to go!

I thought the main character DI Anna Travis was fairly typical of detectives, although a bit too-good-to-be-true as she came up with nearly *all* of the evidence.

But for such a smart woman, what the hell was she doing getting engaged to a guy she'd only met three times!! And a guy who she thought *twice* that he might be a suspect!! And yes she needs more of a social life. She needs friends to tell her not to be so stupid. All work and no play makes Anna a slightly dull person.

Favourite characters were the Smiley wife and the young inexperienced lawyer. Emerald Turk was awesomely created.. loved her. The sleazy prisoner was gross.. and those scenes were too Silence-Of-The-Lambs albeit with a reluctant interviewer.

[Ilze · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know, after having read "The Talisman" I said I wouldn't read another La Plante. But my husband spotted it at a bookshop and bought it for me before I could stop him ... so I made my way through this slow mover: A couple of "cold cases" which are recognized as the work of a serial killer. La Plante has lost her touch and her editor has again left her in the lurch. In one interview Mike Lewis is questioning Smiley, the next moment "Langton pushes him relentlessly"! Another example is a photo Travis got from her boyfriend. In one description Ken is eleven, in another, nine (this is besides occasional word omissions and misspellings). Besides, Anna Travis is definitely acting completely out of character. The writer tries really hard to justify it, but somehow it felt like La Plante was going through the motions without really wanting to tell us anything. As for the blurb "one killer is needed to identify another", it's misleading. Not once is Cameron Welsh taken from his prison cell to come up to the villain. He's merely questioned within his secure cell.
A disappointing read.

[Kathleen Hagen]

Blind Fury, by Lynda LaPlante, B.,Narrated by Kim Hicks, produced by Audiogo, (audible inc.) downloaded from audible.com.

Anna Travis is assigned to a case involving a body that turned up by a poorly supervised truck stop/station. Other girls turn up in the same vicinity. Their bodies go unidentified because no one steps forward to even declare them missing. Anna gets a letter from a stone-cold killer that she put away for life. This killer claims to have information about this series of crimes. Anna’s boss makes her go up to the prison with a male officer in tow. The prisoner goes on with vague hints. Anna is furious that she is being asked to spend time with him because it’s clear that he only wants to make her keep coming back because he’s obsessed with her. Because she visits the prison so often for repeat conversations with the killer, she meets one of the prison guards and they are deeply attracted to each other. The case progresses with Anna more and more involved in finding the serial killer, and the affair heats up as well. This book brings resolution and also tragedy. I had a sour taste in my mouth as to the ending of this book.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember when I last read a book that was such a page-turner.

Being a fan of the Trial and Retribution and Prime Suspect television series, I was drawn to sample some of Lynda La Plante's writing, although a bit hesitant as I'm not a fan of crime fiction, and I am a terriby scaredy cat, so this was our first meeting.

"Blind Fury" is a book which is not about the writing at all, just purely and simply a pacey read. It's a murder mystery with no gruesome bits to make sleeping difficult, a cast of characters that you really don't get to know very well, or to even particularly care about, but you just want to read, and read, and read, and not stop until you get to the final full stop.

What a top little refresher this is - I think I'll be spending more time with Ms La Plante in future.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a three and a half than a four but definately not a three.....

I've read a few of Lynda La Plantes other books and can confirm this wasn't up to her usual standard.

Still so readable and you certainly feel compelled to keep turning those pages but the plot was a little flat.

This was a little predictable and felt a little farfetched. SPOILERS.............


I didnt think it was right how it ended.... especially Annas new mind frame after the Ken thing (not too big a spoiler).

Just felt flat in comparison to her other tales. Such an easy read still...

[Kathryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just started this on recommendation of local librarian. Better pick up the pace pretty quickly. Linda Laplante enterprises has a staff of people; so far so disappointing. Scrapped it in favour of American Wife. Regret the time I gave it at all.

[Vivienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another gripping page-turner in this series of police procedurals. Le Plante certainly captures how detailed and at times tedious an investigation like this is.

I really hope she continues to develop this series.

[Risa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning of this book was very slow. Actually it didn't exciting until page 200 or so which for a mystery is a very long time to wait for something exciting to happen. The conclusion(s) were very obvious early on in the book. I wouldn't waste my time reading this one. Don't know why I did?

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm afraid this book disappointed me...it was so incredibly drawn out, and repetitious. I enjoyed the story line though, with Anna showing up the rest of the team, once again.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not read a La Plante for some time - I think the TV drama series has put me off. But it was a good plot (although a little slow in places) - a couple of good twists near the end. A good read.

[Lyndsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Anna Travis series is one of my favorite thriller series. 100% recommend.

[Hazel White · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't really get the point of reading, or writing about gratuitous sexual violence. Sometimes the writing transcends the subject matter, but not, sadly in this case.

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incredibly tedious and predictable.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first Lynda La Plante book I've read and I was not impressed. I found the story to be very predictable and the characters to be very underdeveloped.