Lynda La Plante’s novels fall into distinct continuities. Some are true standalones, but several lines (especially Tennison, Jack Warr, and Anna Travis) are built to be read in sequence because character history and professional fallout accumulate.
Below is a practical map you can follow without mixing story worlds by accident.
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Where should you start?
If you want a modern, currently active detective series: start with Buried (2020) (Jack Warr #1).
If you want the classic Jane Tennison story in book form (the original trilogy): start with Prime Suspect (1991).
If you want Tennison’s early-career prequel run (10 books): start with Tennison (2015).
If you want a complete series with a clean ending point (9 books): start with Above Suspicion (2004) (Anna Travis #1).
If you want a standalone: try Twisted (2014) (no series commitment).
Series and continuity map
- Jack Warr (6 books): modern Scotland Yard crime thrillers; read in order.
- Jessica Russell (2 books announced): a newer forensic-led crime series; read in order.
- Tennison (10 books): Jane Tennison prequel era; read in order.
- Prime Suspect (3 books): Jane Tennison core cases (based on the TV era); read in order.
- Anna Travis (9 books): detective-led procedural series; read in order.
- Trial and Retribution (6 books): legal/police case sequence; best in order.
- Lorraine Page (3 books): cold-case flavored crime line; read in order.
- Widows / Dolly Rawlins (3 books): heist/crime saga; read in order.
- Standalone novels and short works: read anytime.
Jack Warr books in order
Buried (2020): A new DC discovers an inherited criminal legacy while working his first major investigations, setting the series’ personal conflict and professional ambition on a collision course.
Judas Horse (2021): A case that rewards shortcuts tempts the wrong people, forcing Warr to learn how easily “useful” information turns poisonous inside the job.
Vanished (2022): A disappearance becomes a test of patience and procedure, widening the series into longer-tail investigations where the consequences don’t show up on day one.
Pure Evil (2023): A predator-driven case tightens the moral screws, pushing Warr toward decisions that define what kind of detective he wants to be.
Crucified (2025): A high-pressure investigation piles heat onto Warr’s unit, accelerating both the case intensity and the personal toll the series has been quietly building.
Sacrifice (2026): An art-fraud thread and a deadly obsession force Warr to gamble everything he has left, positioning this as a major endgame moment for the series.
Jessica Russell books in order
The Scene of the Crime (2025): A brutal assault launches an investigation built around a newly formed serious-crime unit, establishing Russell’s forensic approach and the series’ institutional power dynamics.
The Scene of the Crime 2 (2027): A staged killing in an abattoir pulls Russell into her most grotesque puzzle yet, expanding the series’ scale and the kind of violence it’s willing to confront.
Tennison books in order (Jane Tennison prequel era)
Tennison (2015): A young WPC is thrown into a hostile workplace and a first major case, laying the groundwork for Tennison’s resilience and the series’ “earned authority” theme.
Hidden Killers (2016): A new investigation exposes how easily violence hides in plain sight, sharpening Tennison’s instincts while the job’s culture pushes back.
Good Friday (2017): A high-stakes case meets public pressure and private compromise, forcing Tennison to balance outcomes against what the system will actually allow.
Murder Mile (2018): A concentrated stretch of danger tests Tennison’s stamina, widening the scope from one case to a pattern that won’t stay contained.
The Dirty Dozen (2019): Corruption and complicity creep into the edges of the investigation, pushing Tennison into messier politics and harder lines.
Blunt Force (2020): A brutal crime forces a more confrontational approach, raising both the investigative pace and the personal vulnerability.
Unholy Murder (2021): A case with moral and social heat demands Tennison’s clearest judgment, intensifying the cost of being right in the wrong room.
Dark Rooms (2022): Hidden spaces and hidden motives turn the investigation into an endurance test, pulling Tennison deeper into danger and doubt.
Taste of Blood (2023): The stakes go intimate and corrosive, tightening the emotional screws as Tennison’s experience starts to look like a threat to others.
Whole Life Sentence (2024): A culminating case reframes what “justice” can mean in practice, paying off long-running workplace friction and Tennison’s hard-earned authority.
Prime Suspect books in order (Jane Tennison trilogy)
Prime Suspect (1991): A murder case becomes a proving ground for Tennison inside a hostile hierarchy, defining the core tension between capability and resistance.
A Face in the Crowd (1992): A high-profile investigation collides with community pressure and internal politics, widening Tennison’s battles beyond the case itself.
Silent Victims (1993): A disturbing case forces Tennison to keep control when the work becomes publicly volatile, pushing the trilogy toward its most punishing confrontations.
Anna Travis books in order
Above Suspicion (2004): A debut investigation pulls Travis into a complex case-world fast, establishing her voice and the series’ procedural rhythm.
The Red Dahlia (2006): A high-pressure inquiry drags the past into the present, forcing Travis to work under scrutiny and escalating the series’ psychological edge.
Clean Cut (2007): A new case rewards patience and punishes assumptions, tightening Travis’s professional confidence while increasing the personal risk around her.
Deadly Intent (2008): A crime that refuses to stay simple pushes Travis into sharper choices, raising the stakes and the series’ intensity.
Silent Scream (2009): A victim-centered investigation turns brutal, making Travis confront how quickly “routine” becomes relentless.
Blind Fury (2010): A case that invites retaliation forces Travis to navigate danger that isn’t limited to the interview room.
Blood Line (2011): Family ties and hidden history complicate the hunt, widening the series into longer, more tangled consequence.
Backlash (2012): Blowback from prior decisions lands hard, testing loyalties and stressing the professional relationships that keep Travis afloat.
Wrongful Death (2013): A case with reputations on the line pressures Travis to get the truth cleanly, bringing the series to one of its most continuity-sensitive finales.
Trial and Retribution books in order
Trial and Retribution (1997): A child murder case throws a legal team into a nightmare scenario, setting the series’ blend of investigation, prosecution, and public pressure.
Alibi (1998): A case that looks solvable on paper keeps slipping, widening the suspect pool and stressing the line between “strong story” and “strong evidence.”
Accused (1999): A charged allegation forces everyone to pick sides early, then punishes them when the truth refuses to match expectations.
Appeal (2000): A verdict and its aftermath expose the system’s seams, pushing the series into consequences that extend beyond a single trial.
Trial and Retribution V (2002): A grim discovery expands into a multi-layered case, accelerating both procedural complexity and moral urgency.
Trial and Retribution VI (2002): The closing chapter leans into fallout and resolution, tying off the series’ long-running professional and personal strains.
Lorraine Page books in order
Cold Shoulder (1994): A case with buried answers forces a hard reset on what everyone thought they knew, launching the series’ signature cold-case tension.
Cold Blood (1996): A new investigation re-opens old wounds, raising the personal cost of getting the truth “right” the second time.
Cold Heart (1998): The past comes due in full, driving the series toward its most emotionally unforgiving reckoning.
Widows / Dolly Rawlins books in order
Widows (1983): Four women take control after a heist goes wrong, turning grief into strategy and setting the series’ criminal-engineering premise.
Widows’ Revenge (1985): The money doesn’t mean safety, and the past won’t stay dead, escalating the threat level and tightening the net around the widows.
She’s Out (1995): The story returns to the survivors with old loyalties and new pressures, pushing the saga into consequences that can’t be outrun.
Standalones and short works (read anytime)
Bella Mafia (1990): Power, loyalty, and violence shape a crime-family saga where the real danger is what success demands from the people who survive it.
Entwined (1992): Separated twins and a modern investigation collide, pulling history’s scars into a present-day mystery with escalating dread.
Sleeping Cruelty (2000): Wealth and politics curdle into threat, turning privilege into a trap that tightens the more you try to control it.
Royal Flush (2002): A high-stakes, high-society crime plot spirals into wider danger, built around risk, leverage, and who gets to walk away clean.
Twisted (2014): A family’s “perfect” life fractures under a sudden crisis, forcing a reckoning with what was hidden behind the appearance of stability.
The Escape (2014): A quick, tense prison-break story where the clock is the main villain and every choice narrows the path out.
The Little One (2012): A short, sharp piece that leans into dread and implication, designed to be read as a standalone bite of suspense.
The Legacy (1987): A multi-generational family saga where inheritance becomes a curse, building its tension through what gets passed down and what can’t be escaped.
The Talisman (1987): The Legacy’s sequel turns the family’s fortune into a sharper weapon, pushing the story into ambition, revenge, and the cost of wanting “more.”
Publication order vs recommended order
- Recommended (new readers): pick one series and read straight through it, starting at Book 1.
- Publication order (completionists): works, but it’s slower to navigate because the series runs overlap across decades.
- Chronological order: only meaningful inside each series (and those lists above already serve that purpose).
Latest release status
Most recent novel released (as of February 23, 2026): The Scene of the Crime (2025).
Next confirmed release: Sacrifice (March 12, 2026).
Next announced after that: The Scene of the Crime 2 (coming Spring 2027).
FAQs
Do Tennison and Prime Suspect overlap? Which should I read first?
Prime Suspect is the older trilogy. Tennison is a later-written prequel run. If you want the original experience, read Prime Suspect (1991–1993) first. If you want a long modern prequel arc, start with Tennison (2015).
Can I read Jack Warr without reading Widows?
Yes. Jack Warr is its own detective series. Widows is a separate crime saga.
What should I avoid if I hate spoilers?
Don’t jump into the middle of Tennison, Jack Warr, or Anna Travis. The cases may be self-contained, but the personal and professional consequences are not.
Bottom line
For most readers in 2026, the simplest, cleanest entry is Buried (2020) (Jack Warr #1). If you want to start with the iconic character in her original book form, begin with Prime Suspect (1991) and read forward.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.