There is a lot to like about Sam Shephard. A LOT to like. She’s takes no prisoners (well she’s a policewoman so she does, but you know what I mean), she’s sassy and no nonsense and has some great one liners and put-downs. She’s back in The Ringmaster, after the brilliant first novel Overkill, and this proves that the first book was no fluke. When there are a series of murders in towns where the circus seems to have visited..there is a link surely? There’s been one woman found in the Botanical Gardens. (That opening chapter is chilling since it starts so nicely and ends in death). More bodies to come. This is an entertaining read and interesting police procedural. The settings in and around Dunedin are well evoked and well used in the story . The book would make an interesting if not gruesome trail of the city. I might not want to go to the Botanical Gardens now. Great to see such iconic and beautiful sites used for fictional crime. It always makes things seem so much worse! Vanda has a nice sense of style and timing to these novels. Easy to read but gripping at the same time. Evocative of time and place. I really want to go to Dunedin now. I would recognise it and feel like I knew it from Vanda’s writing. It was interesting to see how the police force in another country operate too and see how a city looks upon a visiting circus as ‘outsiders’. How do we judge travellers and the travelling circus? Automatically assume they are up to no good, mistreating the animals and abusing the hospitality of the local townspeople? Sam tackles work hierarchy issues and personal challenges whilst working on the case and there are a few twists and turns along the way. It makes for very interesting reading although I do think longer and few chapters would help the flow of the novel even more. Ah Sam, I do enjoy working with you. Another great case. Roll up for the next one!

This is the second book in the Sam Shephard series from Vanda Symon, but this is my introduction to this feisty detective. Some how Vanda Symon has actually made Dunedin, in New Zealand sound interesting and not just about the Egg chasing. Like most Brits, my experience of New Zealand is that it rather stuck in the twentieth century, and the 1960s are just about creep up on them. Oh, that and getting completely battered at Rugby by the All Blacks. Vanda Symon has written an atmospheric and compelling thriller with plenty of twists and turns, a red herring or two that makes it captivating. She even makes you feel sorry for Cassie and the outcome there, nearly had a tear in my eye, but then I prefer them to humans. Sam Shephard has moved from the one-eyed town she was previously they police officer for, where she had to do everything, to Dunedin where she gets to be the bottom of the ladder. Sam is doing her detective training in the city and has managed to get a place with Maggie’s (best friend) uncle and aunt in massive house with a view. Even though she can never get parked near the house or the police station for that matter. When called out to the visiting circus she has to deal with animal rights activists and students making a stand about the use of animals at the circus. As a country girl she has a soft spot for animals and especially for Cassie who she gives some attention too on every, frequent visit. When the body of a young student is found murdered at the side of a river, the investigation kicks into overdrive. As a member of the team, she is the punchbag for the Detective Inspector Johns as he just does not get on with her, but then the feelings are mutual. While supposedly on the outside of the investigation she is kept in the loop and tries to understand what is happening. Even coming up with leads, whether they are relevant is a different matter. But by doing all the hard work it is Sam who discovers the truth behind the murder and has to make a dash of hope, when everyone else is busy elsewhere. This is an excellent thriller with excellent characters and gives a total immersion into the investigation and how Sam is coping with everything going on. Atmospheric and compelling, Dunedin finally got interesting.

The South Island of New Zealand is the setting for this powerful murder mystery, featuring the actions, attitudes and realisations of Sam Shephard. After a book evidently narrating her investigations into troubles in a small town, she has now moved to Dunedin, a bigger city with a University and a larger police department. For unknown reasons to Sam, as a young female detective constable, she has earned the antipathy of the bullying DI Johns, who is continually criticising and sidelining her. As this is a first person narrator, we discover how much Sam resents this, and how much her friends both in the force and out of it try to help her endure it. Written with both a keen sense of the dramatic and a sharp sense of humour, this is a novel in which twenty first century policing and relationships are shown in depth. There are some genuinely thrilling moments, as Sam’s farming background demonstrates that she has a toughness denied to city dwellers. There is complexity but also some funny sessions as Sam deals with parental pressures, romance and her friendships with Maggie and her colleagues in the police force. A relatively short novel which packs a real punch, Sam is a real hero in every sense. I was very glad to be given the opportunity to read and review this book as part of a blog tour. The book opens with the murder of a young Phd student as she evidently places her trust in her killer. When Sam is called to the discovered body, her time guarding the crime scene awakens her curiosity, so her clever dealing with a protest at the newly arrived circus becomes a lesser concern. However, despite her evident abilities and courage she finds herself having to pick up from recordings of interviews what is going on in the investigation, and suddenly she becomes the focus of attention herself as her involvement with the circus forces her into much publicised action. Alongside her dramatic professional life there are the drawbacks of city life, of parking and coming across other police officers in awkward circumstances. Her friendship with Maggie is the source of much of the undoubted humour of this book, and contributes to Sam’s professional survival in the face of her openly bullying boss. Fortunately, Sam’s strong personality and temper makes sure that she sometimes gets the better of the powers that be, and at least this reader had to suppress a quiet cheer at the brilliant replies that she comes up with when provoked. This was a fast paced book with plenty of action and a good dollop of mystery. I enjoyed the female led action, and the ending really lived up to the rest of the novel. This is not a heavy read, yet very satisfying on many levels. No knowledge of New Zealand is needed, as many of the elements of this book are universal. It features a strong mystery, together with a fascinating investigation ambushed by the personal obsessions by some of the police. There are interesting observations on circuses, families and relationships. I really enjoyed reading it, and recommend it it as more than a murder mystery; it is a substantial mystery and satisfying read.

After thoroughly enjoying the first in the Sam Shephard series, I was pleased that I could jump straight into The Ringmaster to see what Vanda had in store for the feisty NZ copper. After previous events in Mataura, Sam has now moved to Dunedin and has been fast tracked to Detective Constable. Despite it being what she had hoped for, the move has brought its own set of issues… from colleagues who think she must have done something to get the gig to her now coming under the command of the one DI she managed to right royally piss off the last time their paths had crossed. When she becomes the first detective on scene when the body of a college student is discovered, Sam thinks finally she may get the opportunity to show others what she can do instead of being given all the crappy tasks that DI Johns takes great pleasure in assigning to her. Instead she finds herself as liaison between the police and the travelling circus that has recently taken up residence in Dunedin. Little does she realise how this simple task is going to affect her. Sam is back at her sassy best along with her best friend Maggie. This time she has a couple of allies in the form of her partner Smithy and sparring partner Paul Frost. The sparks between them give some of the lighter moments in the book and she has certainly met her match in him. She still can’t help but let her feelings be known even if it does put her further into the firing line of her boss, but it is also what makes her a good officer. To add to her problems her parents are in town and to say that her relationship with her mother is a little fractious is an understatement, and she seems to have acquired a stalker. What I will say is that this book will challenge your beliefs and highlight how peoples preconceived ideas can often be wrong. Even Sam is proved wrong to an extent when investigations look like the circus folk may be involved. The scenes with the circus were also the cause of the biggest titty lip I have had in a long time and even now am not sure I am over the shock of it. Once again Vanda Symon has given the great mix of humour, and tension whilst throwing in the moral dilemmas without being preachy about them. The ending was not quite what I expected but that is what makes it so good. This was another fabulous totally engrossing read and yes I was back to craving Toffee Pops.

I adored ‘Overkill’ by Vanda Symon, the first Sam Shephard (review here) and I was ecstatic when a reading copy of book number two ‘The Ringmaster’ dropped through my letterbox! Sam is one of my favourite female characters, I fell in love with her during ‘Overkill’ and ‘The Ringmaster’ has just strengthened my admiration. The same can be said for Vanda Symon’s writing, I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed spending time with these two ladies again. We catch up with Sam after events in ‘Overkill’ have, let’s say, encouraged her to leave and start again in a new town, Dunedin. She is working towards her dreams of being a detective, but her boss seems to keep putting barriers in her way. Sam being Sam though does not let this stop her. There is a fantastic scene where she really lays into the guy, calling him out on his atrocious behaviour and I did find myself doing a fist pump and saying ‘yes, girl!’ That moment is just one of many superb moments in this book. Sam is feisty, cool, speaks her mind and doesn’t take any crap from anyone. But she also has a big heart, making her very likeable and very human. At this point I have to say ‘why the elephant? Why??’ Anyone who has read this book will know EXACTLY what I’m talking about! That incident really shows how big Sam’s heart is and I did have a Joey in Friends feeling where the book had to go in the freezer for a wee while. ‘The Doll Factory’ by Elizabeth Macneal which I read recently had a similar traumatising effect on me at one point! My books are going to be ruined if I have to keep putting them in the freezer! ‘The Ringmaster’ is an outstanding police procedural novel. The outcome came to me just before the big reveal and I did mutter ‘ohmygod…’ when I realised where the conclusion was headed. It’s an incredibly satisfying read, you are right alongside Sam as she pieces together the clues and the dramatic end brings everything together in a nicely parcelled package. Not only does Vanda Symon have an enviable talent when it comes to creating characters and witty dialogue, some of the one liners were truly magnificent. But she is also supremely skilled at bringing her settings to life. The Botanic Gardens sound beautiful, despite a body slightly marring the landscape! The streets of Dunedin and the towns people’s suspicion of the circus folks come to life and as readers, you truly feel you’re right there. This series is one I cannot recommend enough. Fantastic writing, wonderful characters, a cracking mystery, this is a read that I did not want to put down and I was sad when I reached the end. Now I am eagerly and impatiently awaiting book three.