by Vanda Symon
SYNOPSIS
A killer targeting pregnant women.
A detective expecting her first baby…
The shocking murder of a heavily pregnant woman throws the New Zealand city of Dunedin into a tailspin, and the devastating crime feels uncomfortably close to home for Detective Sam Shephard as she counts down the days to her own maternity leave.
Confined to a desk job in the department, Sam must find the missing link between this brutal crime and a string of cases involving mothers and children in the past. As the pieces start to come together and the realisation dawns that the killer’s actions are escalating, drastic measures must be taken to prevent more tragedy.
For Sam, the case becomes personal, when it becomes increasingly clear that no one is safe and the clock is ticking…
REVIEW
Detective Sam Shephard is working out the last couple of weeks before her maternity leave when a case comes in that hits everyone in the team hard. A heavily pregnant woman has been attacked and left for dead in the street with no clear motive. Because of her own pregnancy, her superiors think that Sam should be distanced from the investigation and especially from meeting the family involved, so she is restricted to desk duties. But this case feels personal, and Sam takes it upon herself to get justice even if this means using a slightly different approach and methods. But will the perpetrator stop at one attack, or does Sam have a massive target on her back in a case which could end in tragedy?
There is something particularly vicious about crimes against/attacks on pregnant women. But if I've learnt anything about crime fiction from New Zealand, it's that these authors do not shy away from brutal storylines or shocking violence. The initial attack in this story is shocking and as more details become clear this escalates even more. However, if you are worried about the level of violence, this does then level out and the remainder of the book is more of a typical police procedural, following Sam and her colleagues as they attempt to close in on the attacker.
I think if I had read this book five years ago, it would have been a completely different reading experience. Because I now have children myself, it was a quite challenging read at times. The subject matter is just very emotive but this was actually what drew me to the book in the first place. Expectant is book five in the Sam Shephard series but a first read for me and the key to the story is definitely Sam. She is hilarious, brash and sweary but obviously dedicated to her job. After reading Expectant I am really excited to be able to go back now and read through the other books in the series and learn about all of the developments that led to where Sam is now.
A dark, thought-provoking and emotive story, Expectant is a must read for fans of tense thrillers and the police procedural sub-genre.
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.
Thanks to Anne Cater - @RandomTTours, Vanda Symon - @vandasymon and Orenda Books - @OrendaBooks for the opportunity to read and review.
Publisher: Orenda Books Genre: Police Procedural / Thriller
ISBN: 978-1914585579
Pages: 320pp
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