Blog Tour@RandomThingsTours The Real Prime Suspect/Jackie Malton. Memoir/A Woman In The Force.

About The Book:

The Real Prime Suspect is a jaw-dropping,
gritty memoir from Jackie Malton, former DCI
and the inspiration for legendary TV detective
Jane Tennison in Lynda La Plante’s Prime
Suspect.
Jackie Malton was a no-nonsense girl from
Leicestershire who joined the police force in the
1970s. It was a time of sex segregation in the police
force. Male recruits were given a truncheon; female
recruits received a handbag and were assigned
social work duties. But Jackie desperately wanted
to become a detective.
Feisty and determined, Jackie made her way into
some of the most male-dominated departments
of the police force. She worked in CID and the
famous flying squad before rising to become one of
only three female detective chief inspectors in the
Metropolitan Police.
In The Real Prime Suspect, Malton describes
the struggles she faced as an openly gay woman
in the Metropolitan Police, where sexism and
homophobia were rife.
Utterly compelling, the book is rich with
fascinating cases and intriguing characters from
Jackie’s time on the force. Jackie dealt with rapists,
wife beaters, murderers, blackmailers and armed
robbers but it was tackling the corruption in her
own station that proved the most challenging.
Ostracised and harassed by fellow officers furious
that she reported the illegality of some colleagues,
Malton used alcohol to curb her anxiety.
A chance meeting with writer Lynda La Plante
five years later changed the course of her life.
Together they worked on shaping Jane Tennison,
one of TV’s most famous police characters, in the
ground-breaking series Prime Suspect. Not long
after, Malton recovered from alcoholism and
now works as an AA volunteer in prison and as
a TV consultant.
Jackie Malton is a true trailblazer. She forged
a path in a male-dominated world and through it
all she remained true to herself. Jackie has spent
her life working in crime. Now she’s ready to share
her story

My Thoughts:

Like many people I have watched Prime Suspect, staring the excellent Helen Mirren. This portrays a female DCI and the problems she faces in a force dominated by men. She faces misogyny all dressed up in the old boys club. While this portrays a DCI and her problems, Jackie’s excellent memoir details her journey from a young police cadet to the rank of DCI and beyond.

This book is a no holds barred memoir of a woman’s journey through the murky waters of law enforcement, which unfortunately was a reflection of society at that time. To paraphrase Gilbert and Sullivan a (police)woman’s lot is not a happy one. This is a book I think all should read but especially men who are of the same age as Jackie; and ask yourself was I guilty of this mindset.

A book that is an easy though some what disturbing read. A book that we will all get something out of, as we follow Jackie on her journey as a woman in the police force. Also a double whammy; if not being a woman is hard enough, she is also gay and a functioning alcoholic.

Please read this book. I’m glad I did and hopefully you will be too. Recommended!

The Authors:

Jackie Malton was a police officer for twentyeight years. During her career she worked in the
drugs squad, CID, the flying squad (famously
known as The Sweeney), fraud squad and as a
hostage negotiator. She rose to become one of
only three female detective chief inspectors in the
Metropolitan Police.
Jackie has acted as an adviser on some of
the most successful British crime dramas,
including Prime Suspect, The Bill, Cracker, Life on
Mars, Ashes to Ashes, Trial and Retribution and
Murder Investigation Team. In 2019 she presented
the documentary series, The Real Prime Suspect
in which she revisited some of the most notorious
murder cases. Most recently, she was interviewed
for BBC 2’s documentary Bent Coppers: Crossing
the Line of Duty; she appeared in Steve McQueen’s
BAFTA-award-winning documentary Uprising
about the New Cross Fire; and made a guest
appearance on the new BBC Sounds podcast,
Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley.
Jackie regularly gives talks on policing and
currently volunteers in a male prison supporting
offenders recovering from addiction.
Twitter: @thursley.
Hélène Mulholland has been a journalist for
over twenty years and previously worked at
the Guardian as a political reporter. Hélène now
works on a freelance basis. The Real Prime
Suspect is her first book.