I’m delighted to be part of Team Tennison, where, over the last few months, I’ve been reading the whole of the Tennison series, ready for the tenth book, which will be released later this year. My review of Taste Of Blood is written with thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me on the tour and to the publisher for my copy of the book.

Blurb:

Detective Inspector Jane Tennison was beginning to feel she’d made a big mistake.

Having requested a transfer to a station nearer her home, she’s now wondering if any serious crimes are ever committed in Bromley. Especially since the first case she’s assigned to involves nothing more dramatic than an altercation between neighbours over a disputed property boundary.

Jane’s new boss wants her to wrap up the enquiry as quickly as possible, but something in the apparently trivial case doesn’t add up.

Why was Martin Boon so adamant that David Caplan shouldn’t install a new set of gates when they wouldn’t encroach on his own property?

Against her boss’s orders, Jane decides to dig deeper, and soon uncovers a trove of dark secrets in sleepy Clarendon Court involving a tragic death and a forbidden love affair. As Tennison hunts for the missing piece of evidence that will identify a vicious killer, she knows that this case will either make her career – or break it.

Review:

I can’t believe I’m now reviewing Book 9 in the Tennison series! I’ve really enjoyed taking part in this project and Taste Of Blood might be my favourite in the series so far. We catch up with Jane who is just about to start a new position as Detective Inspector in Bromley. Once again, this is a different situation for Jane, in a much quieter area than she is used to, and I love how the author shows us how she handles this. We also get to catch up with some supporting characters from previous books and I enjoyed this, especially seeing how her relationship with Stanley has developed over time. Jane’s domestic situation is also different, as we’ve never seen her in a long term relationship before and I was interested to see how this would play out.

At the beginning of the novel, the plot moves quite slowly, but this is where the Jane we know and love comes into her own. She’s intelligent and tenacious and not afraid to go against the grain, and gradually the investigation gathers pace. We meet some interesting characters from different backgrounds and I felt that these were well drawn. I was really engaged in the story and I wanted to know what had happened between the families several years ago.

The ending of Taste Of Blood sets us up really well for the final book in the series and I can’t wait to see how it all comes to a close.

Taste Of Blood is available from Amazon.