The first book in a brand-new series by the Queen of Crime Drama, Lynda La Plante. Millions of stolen, untraceable bank notes lie untouched in an old Victorian cottage, the hidden legacy of the Dolly Rawlins and her widows. But the millions are not forgotten. Released from prison, Esther Freeman is determined to retrieve the money. And so too is Mike Withey, Shirley Miller’s brother and … Miller’s brother and Audrey’s son.
When a fire breaks out at the derelict cottage, with a badly charred body inside along with what looks like thousands of burnt bank notes, it attracts the attention of the police and one young detective in particular, Jack Warr.
Jack’s investigation into the fire, and the burnt body inside, coincide with an investigation into his own past. Adopted at birth, Jack discovers his birth father may have been none other than Harry Rawlins, a renowned criminal.
As he finds out the truth about his own identity, Jack finds himself becoming increasingly aggressive, stopping at nothing to find the truth – including breaking the law himself.
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4 stars
DC Jack Warr is the main character in the first book of a new series by Lynda LaPlante. The book is fast paced and many characters were introduced in the first few chapters. I wish I had started with a character chart. I found I needed to go back and write down something. Jack and his girlfriend, Maggie moved from Devon to London to advance Maggie’s career as a doctor. Jack seems a little lost with no gumption to get a promotion. He was adopted and finds out his adoptive father is dying of cancer. He receives information about his real parents.
The police unit receives a case where a woman just released from prison is found dead in a fire in a cottage. There is also a lot of charred money found. Does this have something to do with a train robbery of millions in 1995. I was quickly drawn to Jack and I really liked Maggie. I think this series would make a great series. At times I felt like I was actually reading a script. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Thank you Zaffire and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I received Buried by Lynda LaPlante during a Bookish First raffle. The opinions given in this review are my own.
Jack Warr is one of the investigators of an arson/murder. While, at the same time, he is dealing with the impending death of his father, learning who his biological mother was, and searching for his biological father. It is a lot to deal with and he finds that the criminal investigation leads him to the same people who were involved with his biological parents. The arson/murder investigation is also somehow connected to a train robbery that occurred 25 years ago. The robbery was never solved.
This book kept me guessing. I thought that I had something figured out, only to find that I didn’t. I was surprised by the outcome of all of the investigations. That is what made this book so great. Its unpredictability. I was engrossed in the story, loved the characters, and couldn’t put it down. Truly well worth the read.
Lynda is becoming a favorite author
Buried starts out with kind of a flashback. Then takes you to Rose Cottage. You get lost in the world of the forensics team.
Jack Ward couldn’t find his purpose on the police force, that is until an unknown, charred body turns up. Not only is he on the hunt for a killer, but he’s also looking for his beginning!
The mysteries Jack uncovers read like it was all over the place. Once he uncovered some new information, that took him in a whole other direction of where he needed to be.
Him mom Penny and dad Charlie were a hoot! Maggie she grounded Jack and that made them stronger.
Was a great read, great mystery and page turner.
Welcome to Mystery Monday, my Fellow Book Dragons. I do apologize for the lateness of the hour, but I was devouring our Gem for this evening and after a rather excellent meal, fell asleep. I’m sure none of you have ever done that! This evening’s Gem was found in the burned rubble of a place called Rose Cottage, a rather pretty brooch from long ago with garnets and diamonds, not fancy, but quite classy. The garnets are blood red and the diamonds, though very small are of the most exquisite quality. It is worth much more than the bare eye would deem. This is Gem Maker Lynda La Plante’s “Buried”.
If, like me, you were wondering when Ms. La Plante would grace us with another tome, you will be delighted to know that this one meets the standard we have come to expect. This is her first new series in five years. And it certainly packs a punch.
It is the story of money, a lot of money, a lot of stolen money. A woman who has a prison record, several women who have records, actually. And how all this money ended up in a cottage burned to the ground with the corpse of a suspected pedophile, when the money was stolen before he was born.
Her DC in this one, Jack Warr, is handsome, sloppy and fully and happily in love with his fiancee Maggie. She loves him back equally. They put her career first and Jack ends up on the force in London. He’s not a city boy, he likes small town, villages. He is not ambitious.
Her side characters are ones you want to work with, go to lunch with, share a morbid joke over a body with, as everyone in such morbid work is wont to do from time to time to keep away the heebie jeebies. It’s the bodies response when neither fight nor flight are allowed. Sarcasm is God’s way of giving us a final tool in the sanity bag.
This is some of her finest work. I am glad this is a series because this means more to read of Jackie Boy. More is warranted. It also means we may very well see these on BBC or ITV or Netflix or Amazon. When it comes to Mystery TV the British do it best, then come the Australians and the New Zealanders. America rates about 6th on the list. And yes that is my opinion and I am not the end all be all on that either.
So, get this book, get it now. It goes on sale 4/7! That’s today. You’ll be glad you did! Remember to watch for the questions in the April Giveaway. Until tomorrow, I remain your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
I received a copy of this book from #ZaffreBooks through a #BookishFirst contest. My review is my own opinion.
DC Jack Warr is newly transferred with his girlfriend to London. Jack isn’t feeling like his job is a priority in his life until his adoptive father tells him that he is dying. Suddenly Jack finds his passion for the job all while trying to determine who his birth father is and how involved was he in a couple of old robberies, worth millions, that date back twenty years. Who is the body found badly burned up in a deceased ex cops house and how does it all come together?
I enjoyed the story line and like how there were flashbacks to show how each character evolved. I liked how Jack had inner conflict in deciding what kind of a man he wanted to be, when he found out that his biological father was a big time criminal.
*received for free from netgalley for honest review* First heard of this book on bookish first and later found it on netgalley, I did really like this book and only want to read the first book in this series even more but I did have one big problem with this book and it was the excessive fatphobic comments. they were just never ending and so so uncalled for! giving it a 4 star but only bc im rounding up from 3.5.
I did really like the characters and since I recently read widows revenge it was really cool to read a book with such a big time jump. nlg I knew who jack was pretty early in the book, before I knew his moms name tbh but it was, fatphobia aside, a good, entertaining book and im interested in the rest of the series!!
I am Linda LaPlante fan! All of her books, and this one is no exception, are well written with interesting characters and unique plots.
It’s brilliant and get your brain cells working
I received this book from BookishFirst. First book I’ve read by this author but won’t be the last.
This book starts out with a meeting of several women who had been in prison. Then, it cuts to “present day” and a lovely cottage called the Rose Cottage has burned down. During the initial investigation, a body is discovered in the living room and thousands of bank notes in the fireplace.
Jack Warr is a young detective constable who is considering taking the sergeant’s exam. He lives with his girlfriend, Maggie. Jack and his team are assigned to investigate the Rose Cottage fire which includes identifying the body and trying to determine where the money came from. As Jack investigates, he realizes that his past may be linked to these crimes and/or the perpetrators.
Jack was adopted and discovers that his birth father may have been a criminal related to one of the women potentially involved in the stolen money caper….and the burning of the cottage.
Lynda La Plante doesn’t disappoint in “Buried.” She brings back characters we have met in the past and weaves their stories all together in another novel full of the twist we love from Ms. La Plante.
I love that she drops subtle hints to the story that we can’t help but miss because she is such a masterful wordsmith.
Thank you to NETGALLEY for the free copy of this book in exchange of my unbiased review.
Buried by Lynda La Plante is the debut novel of DC Jack Warr series. This is the author’s first new series in five years and Lynda La Plante is currently working on the script for Buried. I found Buried to be well-written with complex characters and an intriguing crime. DC Jack Warr and his partner, Maggie have moved to London. The made the move because Maggie will have more opportunities in London to further her career as an orthopedic surgeon. Jack’s career has been stagnant thanks to his lack of ambition and he has not found an area of police work that excites him. DCI Simon Ridley decides to give Jack a chance and gives him a place in his Serious Crime Squad. Then a case from Aylesbury is brought to the unit’s attention and Jack cannot wait to dive into the investigation. When investigators were able to enter the remains of Rose Cottage, they found a body along with over a million pounds in burnt currency that is now obsolete. The money was from the 1995 robbery of a train where over 30 million pounds were stolen. Police never identified the robbers nor had any solid leads. Jack is quick to dive into the case which takes him into the murky criminal world where a person can quickly find themselves breaking a few rules while searching for answers. Jack is also dealing with the death of his adopted father who provides him with a file of information that will help him find information on his biological father. Jack begins digging into the past and uncovers some surprising information. I found the case to be interesting, though, I was disappointed that the answers are revealed as the book progresses instead of at the end. One of the reasons I like to read mysteries is because I like solving the case. The story plays out with flashbacks into the past revealing key details of the crime and about Jack. Buried is a police procedural story involving the Serious Crime Squad which consists of DCI Ridley, DS Laura Wade, DC Anik Joshi, and DC Jack Warr. There is intrigue, tricky characters, gangs, stolen money and much more. It is a multifaceted novel with everything tying together into a cohesive whole. The ending was unresolved (cliffhanger). I wonder if the case will continue in the next DC Jack Warr novel. I did like the epilogue. I was confused, though, at times and felt I was missing something. I did not know that this series ties into the Widows series by this author. I believe it would have been beneficial if I had read Widows, Widow’s Revenge and She’s Out. I do want you to know that there is foul language and intimate innuendos (and comments) in this book. Buried is a fascinating mystery with a flaming fire, police procedures, a by-the-book boss, clever criminals, and a conflicted character.
352 pages
3 stars
This book was hugely disappointing.
I didn’t like Jack. I found him to be lazy and a little too uncaring about his job. His “it doesn’t matter” attitude got to me. Being late for a briefing because the boss wouldn’t be there anyway? What kind of a copper is that?
The writing as top notch as usual for Ms. La Plante. However, the plotting was difficult and hard to follow. The was too much jumping around without clear transitions. It confused me. I have read several of this author’s book and have enjoyed them all, but not this one. I won’t be reading any more stories about lazy Jack.
I want to thank NetGalley and Bonnier Zaffre USA/Zaffre for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read and review.