by Vanda Symon
SYNOPSIS
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 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…?
REVIEW
Sam Shephard returns from maternity leave to find that she has been assigned a cold case, and just to add to the pressure, she discovers that her boss has a personal connection with the investigation. Whilst juggling work and motherhood, Sam is determined to solve the case to finally get some closure for the victim's family.
I am a huge fan of this series and in particular the main character, Sam. I really enjoyed getting to see so much character development as she tried to navigate her return to the police force after a period of maternity leave. It was interesting to see a different side to Sam and how her new role as a mother and general family life had an impact on her work life as a detective. The guilt she experienced when leaving her daughter, and her more emotional responses to certain parts of her job felt incredibly raw and realistic and it made me love the relationship between her and Paul even more. The way they dealt with parenthood was hilarious and provided some light relief from what turned out to be quite a dark murder investigation.
The investigation itself had lots of different elements and it was definitely a shock to see how everything turned out. The church setting, the various suspects, the family connection and all of the old secrets kept made this a highly entertaining police procedural. As I have come to expect from this series/author, the story doesn't shy away from difficult topics - the investigations covers everything from abuse in the church, blackmail, the lengths people will go to protect their family, emotional and physical abuse, violence and murder. Prey is another solid addition to the Sam Shephard thriller series, readable and incredibly thorough. The ending was left slightly vague but I really hope to be reading another instalment soon!
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 three-time finalist for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel for her critically acclaimed Sam Shephard series.
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.
Thanks to Anne Cater - @RandomTTours, Vanda Symon @vandasymon and Orenda Books - @OrendaBooks for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Crime Fiction / Police Procedural
Publisher: Orenda Books
ISBN: 978-1916788220
Pages: 300pp
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