#BlogTour – #BookReview of #Prey by @vandasymon @RandomTTours @OrendaBooks #RandomThingsTours #SamShephard

By calturner on August 26, 2024

I'm delighted to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for excellent police procedural thriller Prey by Vanda Symon. Thank you as always to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this fantastic book.

About the book:

On her first day back from maternity leave, Detective Sam Shephard is thrown straight into a cold-case investigation - the unsolved murder of a highly respected Anglican Priest in Dunedin. The case has been a thorn in the side of the Police hierarchy, and for her boss it's personal.

With all the witness testimony painting a picture of a dedicated church and family man, what
possible motive could there have been for his murder? But when Sam starts digging deeper into the case, it becomes apparent that someone wants the sins of the past to remain hidden. And when a new potential witness to the crime is found brutally murdered, there is pressure from all
quarters to solve the case before anyone else falls prey.

But is it already too late…?

About the author:

Vanda Symon lives in Dunedin, New Zealand. As well as being a crime writer, she has a PhD in science communication and is a researcher at the Centre for Pacific Health at the University of Otago.

Overkill was shortlisted for the 2019 CWA John Creasey Debut Dagger Award and she is a four-time finalist for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel for her critically acclaimed Sam Shephard series. The fourth in the series, Bound, was shortlisted for a Barry Award. Vanda produces and hosts Write On, a monthly radio show focusing on the world of books at Otago Access Radio.

When she isn't working or writing, Vanda can be found in the garden, or on the business end of a fencing foil.

My Review:

Prey by Vanda Symon is the latest instalment of her brilliant DC Sam Shephard series of books. A fast paced police procedural thriller in a series that just keeps on going from strength to strength, Prey is a superbly plotted story that once started you will not want to put down! Although part of a series, Prey does read very well as a standalone, although why you would want to with a series as good as this one is beyond me!

On her first day back after maternity leave, Sam Shephard is thrown straight into a cold case investigation. As feisty and quick witted as ever, Sam finds herself investigating the unsolved murder of a highly respected Anglican Priest in Dunedin who has links to Sam's boss DI Johns - which makes this case not only an extremely important one, but also deeply personal..

With everything pointing to the priest being a dedicated church and family man, who could possibly have ever wanted him dead? As Sam stars digging deeper beneath the surface, it becomes apparent that someone has secrets that they want to keep hidden. And then a potential witness is found brutally murdered and the pressure is on to find the murderer before anyone else is killed. But is it already too late?

Vanda Symon has written yet another stunning and intricately plotted tale that draws you in from the very first page and doesn't let go until the final page has been turned. Sam Shephard is a strong female character who has a mind of her own, not standing for any nonsense from anyone. And now, with the extra layer of being a new mum and everything that goes along with that, I can't help but love this character even more than I did already!

With dialogue that is sharp and witty, bringing a lightness to what is otherwise a dark, gritty and fast paced thriller, Prey brings out an even more vulnerable side to Sam than ever before. A vulnerability that began to emerge in Expectant, but has now become even more transparent as she tries to juggle her role as a new mum alongside her work as a police detective.

A superb but shocking thriller, with the kind of twists and turns that I have come to expect from this author, Prey is yet another dark and intelligent police procedural thriller that I would highly recommend.

I'm excited to see what Vanda Symon has in store for this wonderful cast of memorable characters next!

Prey by Vanda Symon is available to buy now: