Blind Fury
An Anna Travis Mystery by Lynda La Plante
Review: Detective Inspector Anna Travis is assigned to a team of officers responsible for tracking down a killer who strangles and rapes young women, leaving no DNA, no weapon, no witnesses, no clue of any kind that could identify him, in Blind Fury, the sixth mystery in this series by Lynda La Plante.
So far the team has unearthed three victims who were killed years apart. Anna now receives a letter from Cameron Welsh, a cruel killer she assisted in arresting for a double murder years before. He tells her he can get into the mind of the murderer and help to identify him. She doesn’t believe him, but her boss feels that with nothing else to go on, this is at least worth a try. Never in her entire career has she worked on a case that looked as if it could go so totally cold. Even when they uncover key facts in the case, what appear to be promising leads, the outcome is not what they hoped for. Will one killer be able to help her find and catch another?
Blind Fury is an intense police procedural, one in which Anna's frustration in being unable to make any progress whatsoever on this case is palpable. That she may have to rely on the assistance of someone she loathes is abhorrent to her. This is not a fast reading novel, indeed it mirrors Anna's investigation in that seems to go in circles at times. But that's clearly intentional on the author's part and progress is, in fact, made, helping to build a strong(er) foundation of suspense for the gripping conclusion.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Blind Fury.
Acknowledgment: Simon & Schuster provided an ARC of Blind Fury for this review.
Review Copyright © 2011 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Selected reviews of other mysteries by this author …
Silent Scream
Touchstone (Hardcover), July 2010
ISBN-13: 9781439139295; ISBN-10: 1439139296
Location(s) referenced in Blind Fury: London, England
— ◊ —
Blind Fury by Lynda La Plante
Publisher: Touchstone
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-10: 1-4391-3931-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-3931-8
Publication Date: July 2011
List Price: $25.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): When the body of a young woman is discovered close to a highway service station, Detective Inspector Anna Travis is brought on to the team of investigators by her former lover and boss, Detective Chief Superintendent Langton. As more evidence is uncovered, the team realizes that they are contending with a triple murder investigation—and no suspect.
But then a murderer Anna helped arrest years ago makes contact from prison. Cameron Welsh insists that he can help track down the killer, but he will divulge his secrets only to Anna herself. Does he really have an insight into another criminal’s mind, or is he merely intent on getting into hers?
The team soon realizes that they are dealing with a killer whose deviousness has enabled him to commit horrific crimes, yet remain undetected for years. As the case draws to a close, Welsh’s obsession for Anna fuels a terrifying rage that will have disastrous consequences for Anna, who finds herself staring into the face of a desperate personal tragedy.