Sam Shephard is a detective in the beautiful city of Dunedin in New Zealand. Beautiful, that is, unless you count the nasty endeavours of certain criminals who want to exploit the city and area with dubious substances and women who have few choices. Sam works in a police department where there are long memories for all of past crimes and present suspicions, so when a vicious home invasion takes place and a man lies dead, Sam must follow her instincts to unravel the truth, however unpalatable that may be. Already up against an imminent family tragedy, she must tackle (sometimes literally) those she encounters who are intent on hiding all sorts of truth. The fourth in a lively series of incredible and well written adventures, this book can easily be enjoyed as a standalone tale of a young woman police officer with an impressive instinct for people and many abilities, not least in terms of self defence. Written with a lively sense of humour as Sam describes everything in her own words, this is a “police procedural” that is compelling and human, a real page turner in all senses. The characters, even seemingly minor in the great scheme of things, leap from the page, while the settings stretch from the beautiful houses of the wealthy to the less salubrious areas of an intriguing city. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to reacquaint myself with the fiercely independent Sam and her friends and family, and to review this amazing book. The Prologue to this book reveals a nightmare. A woman sits bound to a chair, staring at the body of her husband John, messily dead at her feet. Determined to stay alive for her son, fear and pain overwhelms her. When Sam arrives on the scene later, being the female officer present she is the one to interview Jill Henderson in a long night, featuring the presence of her traumatized son Declan. Contact with her colleagues, apart from her lover Paul, is dominated by the angry and opinionated DI Johns her boss, of whom she says “For whatever reason, he had it in for me, and nothing was going to change that”. The other person of significance, Detective Malcolm Smith, nurses the physical and mental scars of an encounter with a couple of the leading criminals in the area, in which another officer died. As the investigation proceeds, Sam is typically given the least likable jobs, such as searching for the source of cheap masks used in the raid. While the suspects seem to be obvious, Sam’s questioning of many of those involved in the secretive John’s life begins to make her wonder if the answers are a little more complex. Meanwhile, her father is seriously ill, her family are gathering around, and her mother seems to despair of her. As her relationship with Paul continues, her friend Maggie makes an observation that could change everything. The characters in this novel are so well drawn as to be immediately multi dimensional, as their appearance, actions and gestures are brilliantly described. Sam herself leaps from the page, fully realized as a woman with determination and drive, as well as a touching concern for even those who seem to dislike her. The pace of this novel is well constructed, with human punctuation of eating unhealthy food at odd times and realistic conversations with people of all kinds. There is sufficient action to maintain the excitement throughout this novel, and I found the writing clever without the weight of extra description. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I recommend it to anyone who appreciates a lively detective novel with an excellent lead character.

Detective Sam Shepard is back, and I couldn’t be happier! Bound is book four in this series and it’s a series that goes from strength to strength. These books sit easily among my favourite crime reads, I love everything about them- great plot, fantastic setting, sublime writing and a lead character I want as my best friend. The dialogue is sharp and witty, the story is utterly gripping – I devoured it in one day, staying up way past my bedtime! The emotional undertones are just wrenching. I shed tears, lots of tears at the end of this one. I thought Ringmaster (book two) was emotional, Vanda Symon certainly takes it up a notch with Bound. This is so much more than ‘just a crime novel’, I genuinely care about these characters and I’m gutted I read it so quickly because now I have to wait for more. And I do definitely need more! .

After following Sam through the preceding three books in the series and watching her as she has grown and matured in her life, both in and out of the police force, she has become a bit of a friend now and I am always keen to catch up with and see what she is up to. Well, in this latest instalment, things are kicking off on every front for her. The book opens with a particularly brutal crime which seems to be firmly tied to some unsavoury underworld bigwigs. However, it all seems to have come together a bit too conveniently for Sam’s liking, and she has her doubts about the way the investigation is going. Knowing Sam as we do by now, she never opts for the easy route and can’t keep her doubts to herself, which sets her on a collision course with most of her colleagues, particularly her boss, DI Johns, with whom her relationship just gets worse and worse. The scenes between feisty, take-no-crap Sam and the cantankerous boss are some of my favourites in the book. At least Paul always has her back, and their relationship seems to be going from strength to strength. I have to admit, through the author’s descriptions, I have slightly got the hots for Paul myself but things are getting more complicated for Sam in that area of her life too. Then, throw in her father’s illness, her fraught relationship with her mother, the decline in her old partner Smithy … poor Sam has anything but a quiet life in any quarter at the moment. Thank heavens for Maggie! I thought this book was fabulously plotted from start to finish. The crime was brutal and baffling, and it was a joy to watch things unfold to reveal all, which did not end as I thought it might. Vanda’s writing is smarty and snappy, with short chapters that keep you reading and reading at pace, with no time to even take a breath, it is fairly relentless which keeps it exciting. The clues are there to the solution if you pay attention, but it is fiendish enough to keep you guessing, and there are plenty of surprises at the conclusion to reward the effort of reading to the end (which is no effort at all, to be fair) and leave you panting for the next book to see how certain aspects pan out. Vanda is a really clever writer. Her plots are ingenious and gripping, her characters living and breathing and she creates a real sense of place, which will make you dying to hop a plane to New Zealand as soon as possible. Sam is a proper, imperfect, relatable, warm and admirable person to carry the story, you really care about what happens because of her. I only have one complaint. I now have to wait a whole year for another Sam Shephard book, which is tortuous. Write faster, Vanda, please. Faster, faster!

Thank you to the publishers for this early review copy, having previously read and loved containment I had high expectations for this so started it straight away. It is now fair to say that Vanda Symon is becoming one of my favourite authors. I've now read book 3 & 4 in the series, so books 1 & 2 have been added to my wish list (Hope Santa checks that this year). Vanda delivers a good crime thriller, love the characters, good plots, great tension and pace. Very happy to recommend her on to other crime readers.

A leading light amongst the surge over the past decade or so of quality antipodean crime writing - belatedly getting more noticed globally - Dunedin-based Vanda Symon has crafted a pretty terrific series starring young detective Sam Shephard, a headstrong and engaging heroine with plenty of personality. Now Shephard returns in a thrilling fourth novel kick-started by a brutal home invasion where a shady businessman is shotgunned and his wife is left hospitalised after being tied to a chair, gagged, and left to watch his blood pool on the floor. When evidence starts pointing to a couple of high-profile lowlifes who are prime suspects in an earlier unsolved cop killing, many of Shephard’s Dunedin CID colleagues are ecstatic. But our sassy heroine is uneasy, and decides to investigate further - annoying her colleagues - while at the same time juggling with plenty of professional and personal conundrums; a dying father, ongoing family issues, and the stresses of a workplace relationship. With Bound, Symon takes an already-great series to another level, bringing everything together superbly with real verve and personality. Shephard has become one of my favourite heroines in contemporary crime fiction, anywhere. Bound has an intriguing plot with plenty of surprises, snappy repartee, touches of humour, vivid visuals and setting, and a real sense of energy. Excellent storytelling from an author who goes from strength to strength. Can't wait for the next one!