Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
A serial killer has murdered six prostitutes over twelve years, but apparently the seventh victim has no record of selling herself. DSI Langton and DS Travis find a suspicious link between the latest fatality, a seemingly innocent teen, and film actor Alan Daniels. Widening the geography of their inquiries, Anna and James analyze homicides at Daniels’ movie shoot locations where similar deaths to their case occurred in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. Though the evidence is impelling against the actor, no beyond a shadow of a doubt proof surfaces; instead the charming Daniels turns his attention on Anna.
This is a terrific British police procedural that pulls no punches on why Anna gets the job. The investigation on both sides of the Atlantic is fabulous as both cops and other law enforcement types feel that Daniels is their killer, but there is nothing substantial to take before a jury. The triangular relationships add suspense as the audience wonders whether the naive rookie will fall for the seductive charm of the polished actor or will she act on her admiration and attraction to her superior. Lynda La Plante, author of the delightful Prime Suspect series, provides a marvelous first act to the elation of the sub-genre.