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Summary
Summary
THE BASIS FOR STEVE MCQUEEN'S UPCOMING MAJOR MOTION PICTURE, WIDOWS IS A FAST-PACED HEIST THRILLER WITH AN ALL FEMALE CAST YOU WON'T FORGET.
Before PRIME SUSPECT there was WIDOWS . . . Facing life alone, they turned to crime together. Dolly Rawlins, Linda Pirelli and Shirley Miller are left devastated when their husbands are killed in a security van heist that goes disastrously wrong. When Dolly discovers her husband Harry's bank deposit box, containing a gun, money - and detailed plans for the hijack - she realises that she only has three options: 1. Give up and forget she ever found them; 2. Hand over Harry's ledgers to the police, or to the thugs that have been hassling her for information they think she has; 3. She and the other widows could carry out the robbery themselves Novices in the craft of crime, the three women make their preparations. Along the way they discover that Harry's plan required four people, not three. But only three bodies were discovered in the carnage of the original hijack - so who was the fourth man, and where is he now? Recruiting hooker Bella O'Reilly as their fourth, the widows are determined to execute their plan. Facing mounting pressure from DI Resnick, and local thugs Arnie and Tony Fisher, can they stick together and finish the job their husbands started . . .
Author Notes
Lynda La Plante was born on March 15, 1943 in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. She studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her breakthrough came when she created and wrote a six-part series Widows for Thames Television. She formed her own television production company and has written and produced many high-rating series. She is best known for her Prime Suspect television series and won an Emmy Award for Best Mini Series. She won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her work on Mystery! Her debut novel was The Legacy. Her other works include Bella Mafia, Sleeping Cruelty, Royal Flush, The Little Ones, Twisted, The Prime Suspect Cases, Hidden Killers, Widows, Murder Mile, and Widow's Revenge.
Her other awards include being made Commander of the Order of the British Empire, an Honorary Fellow with the Forensic Science Society, an Honorary Fellow from Liverpool John Moores University, and, also became an honorary member of the British Film Institute. She was inducted into the Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame and awarded an Honorary Fellowship with the Forensic Science Society.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
A dynamite premise and ample plot twists help compensate for the glacial pace of La Plante's novelization of her breakout TV series, originally published in the U.K. in 1983. After Dolly Rawlins learns that her husband, Harry, died in a fiery wreck while attempting to rob an armored car along with two other men, she discovers that Harry, the gang's leader, stashed a written plan for the failed heist in a safe deposit box. This find inspires Dolly to team up with Linda Pirelli and Shirley Miller, the widows of Harry's two assistants, to try and accomplish what their spouses couldn't. The job requires four people, necessitating the recruitment of street-savvy prostitute Bella O'Reilly and raising the question: why did the authorities recover only three bodies from the crash? Complications include a London cop who's determined to uncover evidence of the crew's prior crimes. La Plante (Good Friday) does a fine job showing the widows rise to the occasion. This reissue arrives just in time for filmmaker Steve McQueen's Hollywood adaptation. Agent: Nigel Stoneman, La Plante Global. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
In La Plante's (Good Friday, 2017, etc.) classic thriller, three women orchestrate a heist after their criminal husbands die in an explosives accident.Harry Rawlins has a reputation on the street for being both organized and ruthless. When he's killed in a heist gone wrong, along with two of his criminal associates, the violent Fisher brothers start sniffing around for his ledgers, in which Harry infamously documented every detail of every job. Harry's widow, Dolly, is devastated by the loss of her urbane and unscrupulous husband, but she is also determined not to let either the Fishers or the police have access to Harry's ledgers. Instead, she recruits the other widows to help her pull off the job that killed their husbands. At first the three women, who couldn't be more different, struggle to work together, but gradually they forge a friendship through their unconventional bonding activity. But there's still the problem of the fourth man, the one who walked away from Harry's heist and can anticipate their every move. The novel starts slowly; LaPlante's writing is dense, and there are an awful lot of characters to keep straight. But as the women begin to work toward their goal, they become complex and interesting characters. They aren't completely likable, but this proves LaPlante's ability to write realistic women who aren't always beautiful, charming, or even sensible. Instead, they are survivorshonest and determined, smart and courageous as hell. The novel was first published more than 30 years ago, but it's aged seamlessly; other than the fact that no one has a cellphone, it hardly feels dated at all. As conversations about equality and intimacy in Hollywood and the workplace finally become commonplace, the reissue seems particularly timely and relevant.It's good, dark fun: a feminist noir lovechild of Thelma and Louise and The Godfather. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
The planned heist of an armored car in central London goes horribly amiss. The bodies of the ringleader and two accomplices, charred beyond recognition, are found in the burned-out shell of one car. A second car, driven by a fourth man, is unaccounted for. The police investigate. Other gangland figures jockey to fill the void left by the loss of the top guy. But it is the three weeping widows who act. The boss's wife finds her meticulous husband's ledgers in which he has outlined step-by-step how to carry out the perfect crime. Can she and her fellow widows, plus a fourth conspirator, manage to accomplish what their menfolk could not? Thus they set off on this tale of female empowerment, evolution, and enrichment. This first U.S. publication of La Plante's ("Prime Suspect" series) novelization of her successful British TV series precedes the November release of a film adaptation from Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), with a screenplay coauthored by Gillian Flynn, and starring Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, and Daniel Kaluuya. Verdict This thriller provides more than enough thrills and plot twists to satisfy any crime novel enthusiast.-Bob Lunn, Kansas City, MO © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
