Bound by Vanda Symon
The passionate, young police officer Sam Shephard returns in a taut, atmospheric and compelling police procedural, which sees her take matters into her own hands when the official investigation into the murder of a local businessman fails to add up...
The New Zealand city of Dunedin is rocked when a wealthy and apparently respectable businessman is murdered in his luxurious home while his wife is bound and gagged, and forced to watch. But when Detective Sam Shephard and her team start investigating the case, they discover that the victim had links with some dubious characters.
The case seems cut and dried, but Sam has other ideas. Weighed down by her dad’s terminal cancer diagnosis, and by complications in her relationship with Paul, she needs a distraction, and launches her own investigation. And when another murder throws the official case into chaos, it’s up to Sam to prove that the killer is someone no one could ever suspect.
About the author.
Vanda Symon is a crime writer, TV presenter and radio host from Dunedin, New Zealand, and the chair of the Otago Southland branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors. The Sam Shephard series has climbed to number one on the New Zealand bestseller list, and has also been shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel and for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger. She currently lives in Dunedin, with her husband and two sons.
Review.
‘Bound’ by Vanda Symon is a captivating and enthralling book that took my attention from the off! Her characters are spot-on, well polished but with spunk and humanity! This is the fourth book in the series and I would recommend reading the first three. Not so much because you need to but because you will love them! However, this can be read as a stand-alone quite easily. When I return to Sam’s Dunedin, it always makes me want to visit, as Vanda’s writing makes it sound amazing. Coffee next year Vanda?!
On this outing, Sam Shepard finds herself investigating a home invasion where a local business man was killed, his wife tied up and unfortunately his son is the one to find him. It turns out that the victim has some dodgy pals and his business might not be as clean cut as appearances seem. It may look to be cut and dry case but Sam starts to have doubts and although she doesn’t have the support of her colleagues she carries on investigating her theories! In her private life her dad is at the end of his life due to cancer and her relationship with Paul has it’s good and bad points.
I think Sam is one of my favourite characters in modern crime fiction! She has this core inside of her which knows what is right and wrong and she never takes the easy option if it means not finding out the truth. Sam is loyal to her friends and family. I want a best friend like Maggie! Plus, she is funny and so kind to people she meets through her work. There are not many people who would have taken the information she is given in this book and run with it. Especially when there is conflicting emotions running through in the background. I am really interested to see how she develops in the next book! There is going to be another book isn’t there……
One of the things about Vanda’s books is their instant association with New Zealand. Sometimes when you read books set in other countries they are toned down in order not to alienate the reader. However, these books are the opposite - local references, dialect is used, cultural references (one day I will try a Tim Tam!) and this gives them an air of authenticity and a freshness somehow. I’m learning new stuff and the reader actually feels they are immersed in the plot, also thanks to the excellent writing! So well done Orenda for letting that shine through.
‘Bound’ was one of my most anticipated books of 2021 and it did not disappoint - an easy 5⭐️!
