Lynda La Plante Books In Order – Complete List

Lynda La Plante, considered one of the world’s greatest crime writers, is a British bestselling author well known for works like Jack Warr, Anna Travis, Lorraine Page, Dolly Rawlins, Legacy, Governor, Trial and Retribution, and the Tennison series. Here are the Lynda La Plante books in order for her several police procedural series, standalone novels, and novellas. The publication order is usually the same as the chronological order.

Latest Lynda La Plante Books

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Dolly Rawlins / Widows Books in Publication Order

1. Widows, 1983
2. Widows’ Revenge, 1985 (aka Widows 2)
3. She’s Out, 1995

Legacy Books in Publication Order

1. The Legacy, 1987
2. The Talisman, 1987

Prime Suspect Books in Publication Order

1. Prime Suspect, 1991
2. A Face in the Crowd, 1992
3. Silent Victims, 1993

Lorraine Page Books / Cold Books in Publication Order

1. Cold Shoulder, 1994
2. Cold Blood, 1996
3. Cold Heart, 1998

Governor Books in Publication Order

1. The Governor, 1995
2. The Governor II, 1996

Trial And Retribution Books in Publication Order

1. Trial And Retribution, 1997
2. Trial and Retribution II, 1998
3. Trial and Retribution III, 1999
4. Trial and Retribution IV, 2000
5. Trial and Retribution V, 2002
6. Trial and Retribution VI, 2004

Detective Anna Travis Books in Publication Order

1. Above Suspicion, 2004
2. The Red Dahlia, 2005
3. Clean Cut, 2007
4. Deadly Intent, 2008
5. Silent Scream, 2009
6. Blind Fury, 2010
7. Blood Line, 2011
8. Backlash, 2012
9. Wrongful Death, 2014

DCI Jane Tennison Books in Publication Order

1. Tennison, 2015
2. Hidden Killers, 2016
3. Good Friday, 2017
4. Murder Mile, 2018
5. The Dirty Dozen, 2019
6. Blunt Force, 2020
7. Unholy Murder, 2021
8. Dark Rooms, 2022
9. Taste of Blood, 2024
10. Whole Life Sentence, 2024

DC Jack Warr Books in Publication Order

1. Buried, 2020
2. Judas Horse, 2021
3. Vanished, 2022
4. Pure Evil, 2023
5. Crucified, 2025

Jessica Russel Books in Publication Order

1. The Scene of the Crime, 2025

Short Stories and Novellas

• The Little One, 2012 (Quick Readers 2012)
• The Escape, 2014 (Quick Reads 2014)

Anthologies in Publication Order

• Like a Charm, 2004
• Creative, Successful, Dyslexic: 23 High Achievers Share Their Stories, 2015

Standalone Novels in Publication Order

• Bella Mafia, 1991
• Entwined, 1992
• Seekers, 1993
• Sleeping Cruelty, 2000
• Royal Flush, 2002 (aka Royal Heist)
• Twisted, 2014
• The Scene of the Crime, 2025

Non-Fiction Books

• Getting Away With Murder: My Unexpected Life on Page, Stage and Screen, 2025

Lynda La Plante Biography

Lynda La Plante was born Lynda J. Titchmarsh on March 15, 1943, in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England. Her father was a salesman, and her mother was a secretary. She grew up in  Liverpool, Merseyside. After attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) training for stage, she appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company in several productions and well-known TV series under the stage name Lynda Marchal.

After leaving school, Lynda La Plante worked as a trainee at a fashion house before she moved to London to become an actress. Her first role was with the musical Cabaret and later worked as a nightclub hostess. In the early 1970s, she started writing scripts for episodes of popular British television series like Z-Cars and The Sweeney.

In 1983, Lynda La Plante wrote and produced the first season of Widows, a drama about four women who got together to continue the works of their husbands who were killed during a robbery. This drama earned her a BAFTA award for Best Drama Series. Next, she wrote for several successful television crime series, including Prime Suspect, which starred Helen Mirren as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison.

In 1994, she created her own television production company, La Plante Productions, where she wrote and produced the sequel to Widows. She is probably best known for her two-time Emmy Award-winning Prime Suspect ITV television crime series featuring Jane Tennison, which became a realistic crime drama. The series also aired on PBS in the United States.

The author is credited with basically completely transforming the 90s British TV crime drama genre, not to mention being one of the first to portray strong, independent female characters. However, in recent years, she, as a former actress, and other older people in the entertainment industry including Helen Mirren talked against age-based discrimination in the showbiz industry. However, she comforts herself with being able to write books that touch countless people around the world.

Lynda La Plante has also written several standalone novels. Her debut novel, The Legacy, was published in 1987 and became a bestseller soon after. There are so far over 30 Lynda La Plante books, including the Detective Inspector Anna Travis series, which features the female detective in the Metropolitan Police Service.

Based on the author’s remarks, Whole Life Sentences, the latest Jane Tennison novel is also the series’ last story, which ends in 2024. Lynda La Plante has written several standalone novels, including Twisted, which was released in 2014.

Towards end of 2024, the author signed a new contract with Zaffre/Bonnier which includes 4 new books, 2 republished novels, and an audio original. The first book in the new contract is Crucified. The second is The Scene of the Crime, published end of July 2025, which introduced a new main protagonist, Jessica Russell, an experienced CSI with degrees in psychology and criminology with an exceptional Masters in Investigative psychology and behaviour analysis.

Her books have been translated into over 30 languages and have sold over 15 million copies worldwide. She is the only UK female crime mystery writer who not only adapted but also produced a TV series based on her own novels.

What Is the Latest Lynda La Plante Book?

Lynda La Plante’s latest book is The Scene of the Crime, the first in the new Jessica Russel series, published in July 2025. This new series introduces Jessica, an experienced CSI with various degrees who has a new role that is quite different from her usual qualifications: bring together a team of three trusted officers and lead them to solve cases.

Television and Film Screen Writing, Production, and Adaptations

• The Kids from 47A, 1973-1974
• Widows, 1983-1985
• Unnatural Causes: Hidden Talents, 1986
• Screen One: Seconds Out, 1992
• Civvies, 1992
• Framed, 1992
• Seekers, 1993 (starring Brenda Fricker and Josette Simon)
• Comics, 1993
• Prime Suspect, 1993-2006
• The Lifeboat, 1994
• She’s Out, 1995, the sequel to Widows
• The Governor, 1995-1996
• Supply & Demand, 1997-1998
• Trial & Retribution, 1997-2009
• Bella Mafia, 1997
• Killer Net, 1998
• Cold Shoulder, 2000
• Mind Games, 2001
• Widows, 2002, US adaptation
• The Commander, 2003-2008
• Above Suspicion, 2009-2012
• Prime Suspect, 2011-2012, US adaptation
• Prime Suspect 1973, 2017
• Widows, 2018, Film adaptation of the same-name Thames television series

Lynda La Plante Awards

Here are the awards the author received over the years:

• Two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Mini-Series for Prime Suspect (1993, 1994)
• Edgar Award for Best Mystery TV Episode for Prime Suspect from the Mystery Writers of America
• Dennis Potter Writers Award for television writing from BAFTA in 2001
• CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2008 for services to Literature, Drama, and Charity
• TV Spielfilm Award at the International Film and Television Festival Conference in Cologne, Germany in 2008 for her television adaptation of her novel Above Suspicion
• Induction into the Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2009
• Honorary Fellowship with the Forensic Science Society (FSSoc) in 2013, the first non-science person to be inducted into the professional body, for her accurate portrayal of forensic sciences in her work.
• Honorary member of the British Film Institute
• Honorary Fellow from Liverpool John Moores University.
• Received and shared the Diamond Dagger Lifetime Award with James Lee Burke in 2024
• Received the Thalia Proctor Lifetime Achievement Award at Capital Crime in 2024