I’m delighted to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for brilliant police procedural thriller Expectant by Vanda Symon. Thank you as always to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this fantastic book.
About the book:
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 she is no longer safe, and the clock is ticking…
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.
My Review:
Expectant by Vanda Symon is the latest instalment in her brilliant DC Sam Shephard series of books. A fast paced police procedural thriller that will keep you gripped from beginning to end, this is a superbly plotted story that once started you will not want to put down!
Expectant reads very well as a standalone, although why you would want to with a series as good as this one is beyond me! Sam Shephard is as feisty and quick witted as ever and still living with her best friend Maggie. But this time sees a very different Sam as she awaits the arrival of her first baby, counting down the days until the start of her maternity leave. So when a heavily pregnant woman is found murdered, the shocking crime feels uncomfortably close to home. With Sam confined to a desk job, she sets out to find the missing link between this murder and a string of cases involving mothers and children in the past.
But for Sam the case becomes even more personal when it becomes apparent that her own life could be in danger. So with the clock ticking and the pieces of the puzzle slowly beginning to come together, drastic measures need to be taken to prevent even more tragedy.
Vanda Symon has written yet another intricately plotted tale that draws you in from the very first page and doesn’t let go until the final page has been turned. Sam Shephard is a strong female character who has a mind of her own, not standing for any nonsense from anyone. I love this character! She is written as a multifaceted woman, with dialogue that is sharp and witty, bringing a lightness to what is otherwise a dark, gritty and fast paced thriller. But Expectant also brings out a more vulnerable side to Sam that we haven’t seen before, a vulnerability that is made even more apparent by the overwhelming concern she feels for her unborn baby as the killer prepares to strike once more…
A superb but shocking thriller, with unexpected twists and turns that keep you on your toes throughout, Expectant is a dark and at times disturbing police procedural thriller that I would highly recommend. I can’t wait to see what Vanda Symon has in store for this wonderful cast of memorable characters next.
Just wow!
Expectant by Vanda Symon is available to buy now:
Check out what these other fabulous bloggers have to say about this book:
Cal Turner Reviews 
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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