The story starts with a graffiti ‘tagging crew’ the ‘Blood Broz’ at work down a secluded side street when one of the boys hears a noise. Investigating he finds a woman barely alive covered in blood. The rest of the crew decide to scarper to avoid trouble, but Timi faces the moral dilemma (of which there are several in the novel) to flee or not and decides to stay and try to save the woman and give some comfort to her until help arrives. Alas she dies from massive bloodless as her abdomen was sliced open. The jaw dropping twist is she was pregnant, her baby was delivered and taken. The plot then focuses on first trying to recover the baby, if it survived, and locating the killer. This is the procedural part which is conventional with a few false alarms and twists along the way. So, an attention-grabbing plot. At times the plot is secondary to the examination of human feelings which is beautifully handled and raises the story above a mere gory murder investigation. The central character Sam is also pregnant so the effect on her is profound, equally terrified for the ‘precious load’ she is carrying but also determined to catch the killer. The latter part is complicated by her being confined to the office as she is only a month from her expected date. Her boss thinks Sam contacting the family would be too upsetting for them, but they want to meet her, making strong emotional bonds even though they are devastated. The procedure sees the police looking into those who have tried to take children in the past and its natural to feel some of their pain which drives them to do the unthinkable. Consideration is also given to those whose personal circumstances make motherhood near impossible, those women who find themselves homeless or underage mothers with unsupportive family. All of this is written with a delicacy and compassion for something so many take for granted whilst for others it remains an all-consuming desire. Sam naturally is central to the story and its her thoughts and feelings that push the story along. We see her as a determined woman battling in a male dominated environment but at the same time also very vulnerable. She has the doubts all expectant mothers have, will the delivery go well, feeling not being ready, will she be a good mother and does she really love Paul the baby’s father. Thankfully she has her flat sharing friend Maggie on hand for the necessary pep talk as both of their futures are to change. The pacing is variable and nicely judged, with gradual build ups and then quick let downs as successive avenues of investigation each prove fruitless, before the build up to a frantic finale. After the gory start the danger becomes psychological rather than physical until the jeopardy close to the end. There are a few twists along the way with the ending surprising me somewhat being one that presents a terrible choice but turns out quite touching. The dialogue is smart, the interactions and banter amongst the detectives convincing with some jibes stinging like a whiplash. Sam can hold her own and appears adept at deflating testosterone inflated egos like a pin bursting a balloon. There’s also a lovely cameo where a midwife berates senior officers, her fury and scorn being palpable and beautifully if coarsely expressed. Expectant is a scalpel sharp crime thriller able to shock and touch the reader in equal measure. Now to start the series at the beginning.

Emotional, impactful and not a little grisly, Vanda Symon delivers a shocking opening to the latest in this so, so welcome Sam Shephard novel, the 5th in this terrific series. Timi is a tagger and he and his pals have been spraying when they stumble across a dying woman. in a Dunedin alleyway. Though his pals run, Timi stays with her and the courage and the deep compassion he shows only enhances the brutality of this crime. Aleisha Newman was savagely murdered and her unborn child has been ripped from her womb. Detectives must ascertain the motivation for this callous and truly terrible act as well as searching for the baby and trying to determine whether this killer is likely to strike again. We learn about the reasons babies and small children go missing in New Zealand and it is all very distressing stuff. No wonder the public is up in arms over this case. Sam Shephard feels this loss all too keenly. Heavily pregnant herself, she’s confined to desk duty which only serves to make her irritable, but of course she feels this murder incredibly personally. In this incredible series we have watched Sam grow and develop and as a result we have come to know and love her. The best and fiercest of friends; a loving daughter even when she is fighting with her parents; a bolshie employee who always stands her ground, sometimes with a bit too much mouth, she is a woman who wears her heart on her sleeve but strives to maintain her independence in every situation. That’s not ever been easy in the Police, and it’s getting less so in all aspects of her life the closer towards giving birth she gets. Sam is on the cusp of great personal change and she’s finding all a bit overwhelming. Though she’s been told to stay away from this case, there’s no way Sam can do that. She is devastated by what has happened to Aleisha and she thinks she is in the perfect position to help find the killer. Knowing Sam is deliberately putting herself in the path of a killer is real edge-of-the seat stuff and Vanda Symon ramps up the tension as Sam and her soon to be born baby take on the case. Vanda Symon manages to alleviate some of the harshness and brutality of this case by showing us Sam’s warmth and humour and her close relationships with the people she loves. This is a Sam who is learning that being a mother means she’s going to have to change, even if that’s a course she’s finding tricky to navigate. It’s being about to be a mother that helps her with this case though and allows her to come to terms with the enormity of what’s to come and the changes she’s going to have to make. Verdict: Vanda Symon has produced a dark and tension filled, shocking drama about one of the worst crimes imaginable. She has written an unforgettable heart-breaking story that had me chewing my fingernails with worry. But she has also allowed Sam to grow and develop, to shine in her new persona of mother to be, albeit allowing that smart mouth and sense of humour to stay undiminished. There will be more sparks to come along Sam’s journey, that’s for sure.

Expectant is the fifth book in the Sam Shephard detective set in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is every bit as readable as the previous four, A heavily pregnant woman is brutally murdered on the streets of Dunedin. Her baby is cut from her by a crudely executed Caesarean operation, the placenta is also taken. The whole city is thrown into shock. Sam is herself heavily pregnant so the crime strikes home in a way that some others may not have done. Because she has only a couple of weeks more work before her maternity leave kicks in, Sam is sidelined in the investigation – essentially doing desk research on baby abductions from the past to look for anything that could help the current case. The baby is found safe and well. Was accessing the placenta, rather than the baby itself, the true motive of the crime? Sam investigates and begins to learn about stem cell research – stem cells (quite easily obtained from the umbilical cord) are essential in creating treatments for some inherited diseases. The cells have to be a precise match. Who would have the knowledge and ability to commit such a crime? And now would they convert the cells that had stolen into suitable medication? Sam and the team soon decide that stem cell access was the most likely scenario – and the race is on to find the perpetrator. But where to start? There follows a major search in which Sam’s own life is placed in jeopardy as the net closes. She ends up a long way removed from her initial desk research role. As ever with Vanda’s books, Dunedin comes through loud and clear. The series is recommended for anyone heading for the South Island of New Zealand.

Thank you to the publisher for this early review copy of Vanda's latest book, I admit to being quite the fan of her writing. This was a good read full of tension, twists and great characters. A shocking crime shakes the community, is this a one off? Will there be more? Why would someone do it? What could they gain from it? Happy to recommend all Vanda's books to crime thriller fans.

Detective Sam Shephard's latest adventure treads familiar ground in some respects - she's still suffering under DI Johns - but goes to new places in others - the case we follow here is even more personal than usual. Sam is shortly to give birth, so the murder and mutilation of a pregnant woman in a Dunedin backstreet obviously comes very close to home (and gives DI Johns a new excuse to try and shut her out of the investigation). Beneath the shocking horror, it's a cleverly constructed mystery, Sam's condition however giving her few natural insights into why somebody would do such a thing. That, and DI Johns' success in keeping her away from the centre of things, leaves time and space to explore how Sam is feeling at this juncture in her life: her partner Paul, and her ever disapproving mother, coming and going through the narrative to give us different perspectives. As readers of this series will be aware, Sam's life is never straightforward and we've seen her change from the carefree young woman of the early books to, well, nearly a mother (but emphatically not one who will be a clone of her own mother - the tension between the two is still palpable, even if here things are a bit more peaceable than before). But Sam being Sam, she's never going to let herself be kept out of things, is she? It's just a matter of interpreting DI Johns' orders creatively... and of not being afraid to have a stand-up slanging match with him when the time comes (go, Sam!) As ever, Sam places her quest for justice ahead of common sense and self-preservation. And you can guess the outcome of that when Johns finds out about it. All in all, a satisfying and engaging return to one of my favourite detectives doing what she does best - ie causing trouble. This series shows no sign of flagging and I have high hopes that in the next instalment we'll see Sam coping with new complications as a mother and again firmly keeping Johns in his place.